– “This is like deja vu all over again.”
– “You can observe a lot just by watching.”
– “He must have made that before he died.” — Referring to a Steve McQueen movie.
– “I want to thank you for making this day necessary.” — On Yogi Berra Appreciation Day in St. Louis in 1947.
– “I’d find the fellow who lost it, and, if he was poor, I’d return it.” — When asked what he would do if he found a million dollars.
– “Think! How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?”
– “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
– “I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.”
– “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”
– “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
– “You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”
– “Baseball is 90% mental — the other half is physical.”
– “It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much.”
– “Slump? I ain’t in no slump. I just ain’t hitting.”
– “A nickel isn’t worth a dime today.”
– “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”
– “It gets late early out there.” — Referring to the bad sun conditions in left field at the stadium.
– “Glen Cove.” — Referring to Glenn Close on a movie review television show.
– Once, Yogi’s wife Carmen asked, “Yogi, you are from St. Louis, we live in New Jersey, and you played ball in New York. If you go before I do, where would you like me to have you buried?” Yogi replied, “Surprise me.”
– “Do you mean now?” — When asked for the time.
– “I take a two hour nap, from one o’clock to four.”
– “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
– “You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough in the second half you give what’s left.”
– “90% of the putts that are short don’t go in.”
– “I made a wrong mistake.”
– “Texas has a lot of electrical votes.” — During an election campaign, after George Bush stated that Texas was important to the election.
– “Thanks, you don’t look so hot yourself.” — After being told he looked cool.
– “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”
– “Yeah, but we’re making great time!” — In reply to “Hey Yogi, I think we’re lost.”
– “If the fans don’t come out to the ball park, you can’t stop them.”
– “Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”
– “It’s never happened in the World Series competition, and it still hasn’t.”
– “How long have you known me, Jack? And you still don’t know how to spell my name.” — Upon receiving a check from Jack Buck made out to “bearer.”
– “I’d say he’s done more than that.” — When asked if first baseman Don Mattingly had exceeded expectations for the current season.
– “The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.”
– “He can run anytime he wants. I’m giving him the red light.” — On the acquisition of fleet Ricky Henderson.
– “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”
– “It ain’t the heat; it’s the humility.”
– “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”
– “You should always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
– “I didn’t really say everything I said.”
1. It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
