Yogiisms...

[drakew]

I dunno where these came from, I found them on an old partition from an old hard drive on an oldm computer. If these are from someone here, thank you so much, I still smile at these simple yet 'profound' wisdoms.

It seems to be an article about who actually said what, even my fave 61 Yankee was credited/blamed.

This is worth a rerun::


It ain't over till it's over.
This quotation is undoubtedly the best-known Yogiism. However, what he really said was You're never out of it 'til you're out of it in regard to the 1973 National League pennant race.

I want to thank you for making this day necessary.
This was said at Yogi Berra Day in St Louis in 1947. It is supposed to be the first Yogiism. By his account, he asked teammate Dr. Bobby Brown to write a short speech, and he misspoke, replacing the word 'possible' with 'necessary'.

It's like déjà vu all over again.
Many people think that Berra would have never said the word déjà vu, as it wasn't his kind of language. But Yogi himself insists that he said this in reference to home runs by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle , who often hit homers.

When you get to a fork in the road, take it.

I never said half the things I said.
Yogi can't even escape creating a Yogiism in his disclaimer for not creating all of the Yogiisms. He was pointing out that he didn't say everything that people think he said, which is very likely.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

 Yogi said it regarding Ruggiero's, a restaurant in St. Louis where he and Joe Garagiola had worked as waiters, which had become so popular that his old friends couldn't get in anymore.

Tomorrow night is another day.
Yogi said it when his team lost a night game. He knew they would play better tomorrow.

We have a good time together, even when we're not together.
This quote was talking about his wife Carmen. Apparently it makes perfect sense to them, and it means that he likes to spend a little time away from her, but wants to be back together after it.

Our similarities are different.
This quotation was actually said by Dale Berra, Yogi's son. It's interesting to note how similar they are in their linguistic qualities.

I thought they said steak dinner, but then I found it was a state dinner...
...It was hard to have a conversation with anyone; there were so many people talking.
This was about a fancy dinner he attended at the White House. 

We make too many wrong mistakes.

This quotation was about his team, the New York Yankees, when they lost the World Series in 1960.


Other quotes
"Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting."

"You can observe a lot by watching."

"It gets late early around here..."

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

"If I didn't wake up I'd still be sleeping."

"I usually take a two hour nap from 1 to 4."

"If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else."

"The future ain't what it used to be."

"If people don't want to come to the ballpark, how are you gonna stop them?"

"Always go to other people's funerals otherwise they won't go to yours."

"You have to give 100 percent in the first half of the game. If that isn't enough, in the second half, you have to give what is left."

"Never answer an anonymous letter."

"Think?! How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"

"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel!"

"Ninety percent of this game is mental, and the other half is physical." (A variation on this is, "Ninety percent of this game is half mental.")

"Prediction is very hard, especially when it's about the future."

"The first 90% of any trip takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the other 90%."

[Don Mattinglyhad exceeded expectations, Yogi said "I'd say he's done more than that!"

"the future ain't what it used to be"

  "I never said half the things I said".

    "I wish I had an answer to that because Im tired of anwering the question"

In context
When asked what makes a good manager of a baseball team, he said "A good ball club".

When asked what time it is, he said "What? You mean right now?"

When he was asked if first baseman Don Mattingly had exceeded expectations, Yogi said "I'd say he's done more than that!"

His wife Carmen asked where he would like to be buried, and he said "Surprise me!"

He was told by the wife of the Mayor of New York that he looked cool in his summer suit, and he said "You don't look so hot yourself."

At a dinner in an Italian restaurant, he was asked how many slices should be cut in his pizza, and he replied "You better make it four, 'cause I don't think I could eat eight."

• Tweet