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RIP, Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra — one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball history, and one of its wittiest sages — has died at 90, exactly 69 years to the day after his major league debut with the Yankees. Since then, he became a 15-time All Star, three-time American League MVP, and led teams from both leagues to the World Series as a manager. In all, he either played or managed 21 World Series, thirteen times for the winning team.
Berra was a beloved figure for the sayings he offered which came to be known as Yogi-isms, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” probably being the most famous. He once gave directions to his house as “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.”
One of the iconic images of his career is him hugging Don Larsen after Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Not as widely known, is that Berra called the perfect game; Larsen didn’t shake him off once.
RIP Yogi. The game isn’t as colorful without you.
Published in Sports
I was just about to write a post about Yogi Berra. You beat me to it.
My favorite Yogi-ism: “When you get to this level, half of this game is ninety percent mental.”
Nobody goes there any more its too crowded.
RIP Yogi you will be missed.
And there was this AFLAC commercial from nine years ago:
Yogi had a later gig as a movie reviewer where he made hilarious comments in the same vein as his baseball bon mots.
Another one:
“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”
Whiskey Sam:
I missed your post on Yogi before I put mine up. Sorry. Frankly, Yogi’s death has shaken me up a bit. The loss of a childhood hero, I guess.
I think this is the wrong time to say, Deja vu all over again!, but it’s too good not to repeat-
You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.
What a gem he was. Thanks for letting me know this news Whiskey Sam.
Yogi engendered that kind of response. I’m not old enough to have seen him play, but he always felt like Baseball’s Kindly Grandfather to my generation.
The first baseball game my dad ever took me to was to see the White Sox play the Yankees in Chicago. Yogi was behind the plate. Those are the types of memories that compensate one for getting older. Rest in peace.
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
This seems silly, but somewhere deep in my little child baseball heart I believed Yogi would be with us forever.
Every Pittsburgher’s favorite Berra play:
Yogi’s assessment of his team’s Series loss: “We made too many wrong mistakes”
Goodbye, Yogi. Don’t let the devil block the plate on your way home.
We obviously love Yogi-isms for their tautological and humorous nature, but some of them are brilliant.
“It ain’t over till it’s over” will still be used long after we are all dead because it summarizes never giving up so perfectly.
More rings than Liberace…
My dad was an avid baseball and Yankee fan, thus I was born a Yankee fan. Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s Yogi was one of my heroes along with Mantle and others. Yogi’s passing brings back fond memories of trips to Yankee Stadium with my dad, of hot dogs and sodas and later beer. Why do hot dogs always taste so much better at a ball game? One of the commenters on the Times site said that rather than being sad, he wanted to stand and applaud with a big smile. I would suppose to honor a life lived fully and well.
RIP Yogi.
Heard reported today a hilarious Yogi-ism I hadn’t heard before…
On a sweltering summer day, Yogi was introduced to the mayor of NY ( mayor Lindsey? ) and his wife. Mayor’s wife, making smalltalk says to Yogi -“You look remarkably cool.”
Yogi replies – “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
Only Yogi. RIP
Tom Seaver: Hey Yogi, what time is it?
Yogi: You mean now?
90. It should happen to all of us.
Yogi was a lifer, a guy like Don Zimmer who was infinitely more comfortable in uniform than out. He never went to the booth and spent the rest of his life talking about himself.
Baseball at its best in an unbroken string of knowledge and love for the game passed down from one generation to another. Yogi is a vital thread in that string.
I’ll have to make it over to the Yogi Berra Museum at Montclair State college soon. I won’t go this weekend though. No one will to go this weekend, it will be too crowded.
I first heard this one as a very young man and didn’t understand the hilarity contained within, but as always it is classic Yogi.
Could there ever be a major league baseball player like Yogi Berra again? The guy outwardly looked and talked like the butcher in the old neighborhood or the guy with the trucking company; a regular guy. You know, one of dad’s war buddies from the unit. But, what a great baseball player he was, and a clutch hitter. I really wish I could have watched him play in his prime. There will never be anyone remotely like him again. Rest in peace, Yogi, and thank you for all the great memories.
His Stats:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/berrayo01.shtml
Here’s video of Don Larsen’s 9th inning of his perfect game against the Dodgers, in the 1956 World Series, with Yogi’s famous bear hug at the end (Vin Scully with the call):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=11&v=bC5-tTxxlpU
I had no idea he was still alive.
RIP.
I had always assumed many if not most of the “Yogi-isms” were apocryphal. Can anyone shed some light on this?
The way I see it, there are several possibilities as to the origin of any given Yogi-ism:
My guess – and it’s only a guess – is that Yogi made a few choice #1’s. He was therefore encouraged to do #2’s, which were greater in number. People came up with their own #3’s, and these are by far the greatest in number.
He really was a beloved figure, especially in the New York area. I hate and have always hated the Yankess, but I loved Yogi Berra. I bet he’s telling Jesus right about now, “The ball parks here are like a small part of heaven.” May the Lord shine eternal light upon him.
I like the one where he badgers one of his teammates to drive him to some great ice cream shop many miles away. He told him they had a hundred flavors . When they finally got there Yogi ordered a vanilla.
The Yogi Book
Page 39: Nolan Ryan on Yogi Berra: “If Yogi had gone to college they would have made him talk clearer, but not better.”
People forget that Yogi was a truly great player. Nearly 60 WAR.
Just saw a quick tribute. The voice-over at the end was Yogi: “It was fun. If I had it to do all over again, I’d do it again.”
NPR had a nice tribute/obit. They recounted that Yogi had a conversation with his wife several years ago, in which they were discussing choices that they had over which cemetery to choose. She asked “So, where do you want to be buried?”
“I don’t know; surprise me.”