Lawrence Peter Berra played Major League Baseball for 19 years for the New York Yankees. He played on 10 World Series Championship teams, is a MLB Hall of Famer and has some awe-inspiring stats. His name is consistently brought up as one of the best catchers in baseball history, and he was voted to the Team of the Century in 1999.
Amazing accomplishments aside, they probably aren’t how you know Lawrence. You know him as Yogi, a nickname given to him by a friend who likened his cross-legged sitting to a yogi. Yogi is famous for his fractured English, malapropisms and sometimes nonsensical quotes. He’s closing in on 86, and there seems to be no end to his fan’s love for him.
In honor of the beginning of the US baseball season, here are 25 Yogi Berra quotes that will make you shake your head and smile. Naturally, add your favorites in the comments, there are many more out there!
1. “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
2. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
3. “You can observe a lot just by watching.”
4. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
5. “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
6. “If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
7. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up some place else.”
8. Responding to a question about remarks attributed to him that he did not think were his: “I really didn’t say everything I said.”
9. “The future ain’t what it use to be.”
10. “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”
11. On why he no longer went to Ruggeri’s, a St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.”
12. “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”
13. “We have deep depth.”
14. “All pitchers are liars or crybabies.”
15. When giving directions to Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which is accessible by two routes: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
16. “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”
17. “Never answer anonymous letters.”
18. On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: “Thank you for making this day necessary.”
19. “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”
20. “Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.”
21. As a general comment on baseball: “90% of the game is half mental.”
22. “I don’t know (if they were men or women running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads.”
23. “It gets late early out there.”
24. “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?” -Carmen Berra, Yogi’s wife. “Surprise me.” – Yogi
25. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Number 5 is awesome
Agree
Always got a kick out the “90% …is half mental”
You can’t help but laugh…
funny guy . sometime unintentionally i think but still cracks me up . Dont get the whole Jellystone connection ?
I think its yellowstone as in yogi bear. Im no expert on the matter but I think yogi bear has nothing to do with yogi berra.
Yogi Bear is the first thing that popped into my mind when i read the title of this list
I don’t know anything about Yogi Berra, but Yogi Bear is definitely from Jellystone (obviously named for Yellowstone).
the name yogi bear was a play on yogi berra because the initial plan was to have the bear say a bunch of weird quips a la yogi berra.
the bear needed a park, like…..a home base or whatever……… a national park. using yellowstone , they flipped the name a touch, calling it jellystone, the same way they flipped yogi berra into yogi bear.
originally, the bear wasn’t suposed to be that major of a character — just minor here and there — but only the name tied the bear to berra. the template, mannarisms, speech, and some general actions were directly, purposfully influenced by the honeymooners character that art carney played, ed norton.
You’re dead on. Berra actually hated the bear. People would accidently call him that, and he loathed it!
“originally, the bear wasn’t suposed to be that major of a character — just minor here and there ”
oh really? who was supposed to be the main character in ‘The Yogi Bear Show’ then…?
hahahaha …. the yogi bear show? hahaha i dont know ,,, chuck norris probably.
nah seriously, the bear had existed 3 years before the yogi bear show. he was a bit part character on the huckleberry hound show, but was more popular than huckleberry hound within the first 9 months of his debut,
because he was funny…..
like art carney and yogi berra had a love-child. what could be better than that? aside from chuck norris playing the ranger, that is?
It is a well-known FACT that Chuck Norris is the leading man in every film that he starred in….and those he didn’t starred in.
Gaah!
*didn’t star in.
Ha ha 16 is my favourite.
yea, ima start going to funerals lol
Funny how people like this occasionally stumble on to something kind of profound. fun list. The only other one I knew that wasn’t here was when he said, “It gets late early out here.” (I’m not sure where he was at the time)
That is on here though. It’s number 23
Did you make this list after watching Sports Show with Norm MacDonald?
No, I didn’t see that! I like Norm too! The story is, on opening day a local radio station played this cool little song, “Talking Yogi Talk” and I thought to myself, “Wow! I forgot about Yogi’s sayings, I bet there isn’t a list on listverse about it, and it’s high time there was!”
pretty amazing quotes
on another note man baseball is boring as hell
Great list, loved the quotes.
Most of these reminded me of English made in Nigeria e.g. Reverse Backwards
Never thought about that before, but it’s true! In Hong Kong, I ate with a bunch of Nigerian traders on Nathan street. The first one ordered, “Coffee, none milk, little bit too much sweet.” Every order placed and everything said after that had me in stitches.
This list was great, I didn’t know that Yogi Berra was still alive, that’s fantastic.
So, he wants coffee, without milk..and then you lost me on that too much sweet part. No sugar? Just a skosh of sugar? I’d hate to be the waitress there.
Side Note: I am surprised that there are traders in Nigeria, I thought the entire population of Nigeria consists of deposed dictators and their wives. LOL
All of these quotes were brilliant. My favourites were 16, 19 and 22
This list is too American. More non-American content please.
No it’s not
Considering how it’s quotes from an American sportsman, I fail to see how this could be less American?
it could be less american if he made one of the quotes while playing on the road, at the blue jays. … but only a little……
Pretty sure Rossco is joking – a fun jab at the people who make that exact complaint on so many other lists.
nonono, Rossco is right, how dare this author shove all this ‘Americanism’ in our faces!
Considering how it’s quotes from an American sportsman, I fail to see how this could be less American?
Well first of all, you mis-stated the idiom. You should’ve said “…I fail to see how this could be more American?”. And the answer to that is – it would be “more American” if the quotes were actually unique to, or specifically about America and/or the primarily American sport of baseball. They’re not. Even the couple quotes that do actually refer to an element of baseball (5 & 14 in particular), the humor is not contingent upon it being about baseball. Humor itself, knows no borders. Now you personally might not find these to be humorous which is fine of course, but my point is: funny is funny, regardless of origin. So in short, stop whining.
I’ve just translated these quotes into Spanish and now they’re not American anymore.
Yogi was one of a kind. Very humorous list.
Hahaha nice list!
If you like Yogi Berra you should definitely check out Murray Walker (F1 race commentator)! For example:
“A sad ending, albeit a happy one.”
“Two laps to go, then the action will begin. Unless this is the action, which it is.”
“Either the car is stationary or it’s on the move.”
“It’s not quite a curve, it’s a straight actually.”
This may not work, but here’s some great Murrayisms: Of course there are many thousands more
” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TZ_YLQSgg&fs=1&h…
And… some more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnXDEw3gqhk
Oh, and Murray Commentates on Snooker!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-oAsDCGNA
i’m not gonna lie, I was hoping for Yogi Bear.
I loved this, #9 is my favorite.
Fail for double-clicking
Unusual, humorous fun list today.
Thanks Christine.
Wilkum!
“Curveballed guns on the list – baseball is my favorite remedy for insomnia and preventing premature ejacs yo.”
I remember that , lmao.
His comments were always unintelligible, but awesome.
So am I correct in thinking that although the phrase ‘it ain’t over ’til it’s over’ is a common saying today, it has to be attributed to this guy?
why attribute it to berra?
per #8
he admitted he really didn’t say everything he said.
the 1 i was looking for:
i’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. let them walk to school like i did.
lame . what is wrong with being poor ? or stupid for that matter? (ive been called stupid hundreds of times and look at me , I’m quiet possibly the most amazing specimen of good looks ,humility and humour the world has ever known , , I had to practically beg Jamie not to include me on yesterdays list ) . this list isnt about baseball , its about one cool guy and his strange yet fascinating intercourse with the English language . you comment makes you sound like an arrogant snob .
Jamie must have had a hard time editing you out
yeah , I think I really cut him deep.But I think Jamie just used the violent threats to cover his disappointment . But after i explained that even someone like Batman has to wear a mask for a reason , everything was cool . bless him . . .
Interesting! Is there a name for this kind of muddled logic? Reminds me of Ringo Starr when he said “It’s been a hard days night”.
BTW, Ringo said it, Lennon sung it, and Dick Lester made it into a movie.
Yep, and it was Lennon who added the brilliantly ironic “…couldn’t get much worse” to the song “Getting Better”.
Number 5 is not just by Yogi Berra. I dunno if he said that, and if so, whether he said it first, but I know that it’s a legendary, world-famous comment from Charles Shackleford, born in my hometown of Kinston, NC, who played basketball at NC State in Raleigh. Someone mentioned that he did a good job, and he said, “I can shoot with both hands! Coach says I’s amphibious!”
True story. And this list is one of my instant faves!
And the quote I hoped to see goes like this: (When asked about Joe DiMaggio’s marriage to Marilyn Monroe) “It sure beats the hell outta roomin’ with Phil Rizzuto.”
Maybe Charles stole it from Yogi!
Thanks for the high praise, I appreciate it from you, I love your lists!
Maybe Charles stole it from Yogi!
Thanks for the high praise, I appreciate it a lot, I love your lists!
ACK! Double post!
haha! I like this list. Funny guy. My dad was a fan of him. My favorite quote was number 16.
Great and fun list!
A quote from Yogi (the first time I met his name):
- What time is it?
- Do you mean now?
I was expecting to find this list extremely boring and ‘too American’ as I didn’t really know who Yogi Berra is, and I hate baseball because, well, it’s effectively rounders. But this really was hilarious! Some of the quotes are just fantastic, so thankyou for introducing me to Yogi!
I think I just discovered who wrote Geroge W. Bush’s speeches.
sorry, he just sounds like a complete waste of space…not funny, just a man who seems uneducated, very much like George Bush!
you sound like a complete waste of space. Go take a long walk off a short pier.
Don’t apologize for that, apologize for being a douche.
If you don’t like it, go to another site, or make your own list website.
Another troll with the old baseball vs cricket argument. They are both different sports. That is like trying to compare American Football and Soccer. Also besides Australia and England, cricket is played by mostly third world countries aka the poor and often stupid.
Like Nicaragua. Horray for me and Roberto Clemente!!!!
That is very offensive, I have nothing against baseball but there is no need to demote other countries to prove a point. Many people who are regulars here on Listverse are from these Third World Countries that you think are poor and stupid . I agree with your first comment . . . The second one was CRAP . . . words of an angry/offended South African Cricket Lover
@ Zack…you seem to be one of those stupid white racist guys whom people hate hate to be around because of their arrogance and stupidity. It seems you have been inbred in your family and know nothing of this world other than calling all Cricket countries poor and stupid. Even Jamie Frater is from New Zealand and its an amazing cricket team they have. Do you even know what you are saying you ignorant fool.
@ areyoumad? you have an apt name for yourself. are you mad??? get a life and start respecting others and other cultures and countries; else someday someone will shove your arrogant attitude up you……you can fill up the blanks.
I don’t see what’s wrong with #21…
Let G = baseball, M = mental
G(.9)(1/2) = M
G(.45) = M
∴ Base is 45% mental
*baseball
Nope… Even if 90% of baseball is 50% mental, he said nothing about the remaining 10%. So that can be anything between 0% and 100% mental, putting the total anywhere between 45% and 55%.
If we’re going to be all math about it.
Love the list and love Yogi. Though always thought his nickname was because of the bear and not THE yogi.
No wonder they called him Yogi. Some of this quote have so much zen in ‘em it’s amazing…
Number 6 or this other one: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up some place else, are worthy of meditation.
“The future ain’t what it used to be” is a common saying by my side.
This guy may be a misunderstood philosopher-astronomer genius, number 6 is consistent with the Baryon asymmetry concept which states that the amount of matter in the original post Big bang universe was slightly bigger than the antimatter.
“It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it” – Yogi Berra
17. “Never answer anonymous letters.”
Sounds like advice for the internets. The man was a PROPHET!!!!
this was a fun list, but you missed the opportunity for a great bonus (since it doesn’t quite fit in the list, itself).
“you can’t compare me to my father. our similarities are different.”
—dale berra
I DID read that one! The bonus is a good idea, didn’t think of it. I thought I was pushing my luck with 25 so it never entered my brain
thanks miss negative Nancy way to be a big downer
These quotes remind me of Archie Bunker!!!
The only bad thing about a collection of Yogi quotes is that it distracts from what a great player he was. He and Bench are the greatest catchers in 135 years of professional baseball. BTW, it doesn’t really fit with this list, but one of the greatest Yogi moments is in the recent American Express commercial with Yao Ming (“Yo!” “Yao.” “Yo!” “Yao!”)
Cricket????????? – im not an american… but Im sure , very very sure…90% of cricket players (lovers) are POOR… okay?!!! have you been to INDIA?, pakistan? Sri Lanka? Bangladesh?….
You’re an Idiot
The reason that these less economically developed countries play cricket has nothing to do with wealth – it has to do with the British Empire who brought the sport to said countries. (All the mentioned states and those such as Australia and New Zealand were once part of the British Empire.)
In response to Zack, the majority of these ‘poor’ and ‘stupid’ states which play cricket are rising in power dramatically. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, to name but a few, have high growth rates of above 8% – some of the largest in the world. (Indeed, the largest growth rates are held by no western countries) – in other words they are, as a state, anything but poor. It just so happens that due to their gargantuan population that when this wealth is distributed it doesn’t stretch far enough. To obtain equal wealth per capita as the US, India would have to have three times the GDP (which is extreamly difficult to achieve) because they have approximately three times the population.
In-fact, India have the 10th largest economy in the world – above the majority of western nations
As for this conjectured ‘stupidity’, have you ever wondered why the majority of prodigies are coming from such states? Granted, they may not have a high literacy rate or such but you have to, again, remember that they have a huge population – i’d love to see the US or such educate a billion people highly.
And of course, Asia, and India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all rising in the technological fields – that requires intelligence.
Either way you really shouldn’t prejudge a country based on a few statistics or the media portrayal of such state – even less so you shouldn’t make fallacious statements based on hand picked ideals. Indeed, i could argue that only violent countries play american football because the US is ranked 85th on the global peace index (and has been lower in the past few years). – but i won’t, because there are cultural factors that are the cause, as with cricket.
while watching a list of deceased greats scroll up the scoreboard in Yankee Stadium,”i really hope i never read my name up there someday” is my fav not listed.
and #14 since i am an ex-pro catcher and agree 100%
HAHA! Love it- didn’t hear that one
Lady5, isn’t cricket that game that is so boring that it never draws a crowd, and everyone who does love it watches from home? I watched a so-called championship game in China with my Aussie and English friends. They didn’t even pay attention to the game most of the time. They were just interested in the final score!
Yeah, I guess you could call that rich and smart.
Obviously they didn’t want you to feel left out, they were just being polite!
you know, among sports leagues in the world, the indian premier league ranks below only the nfl in average attendance, right?
How about a top 25 by George W Bush? Much funnier.. For God`s sake, I still have my Bushisms calendar from a few years ago.
Frickin’ search engines. How do they work?
http://listverse.com/2007/09/05/top-10-unfortunate-comments-of-george-bush/
I love #15: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Who doesn’t mind a bit of adventure now and then?
I personally can’t stand neither cricket or baseball, but that wasn’t really the point of this list. Why some people use it as a segue to insult any country , culture or race is beyond me. When you make blanket statements about ANY country , aren’t you guilty of the same stereotyping and arrogance held in your accusations?
Listverse seems awash with this crap these days.
Thank you! I never intended it to be a ‘baseball only’ list, just to share the musings of a man with a unique way of speaking who HAPPENED to be a great baseball player.
Exactly! And you’re quite welcome. Thank you for a great list !
Lady5 – Only an obnoxious person such as yourself could turn a list about comical quotes into a moronic comment. Go jump off of a building please.
Love this list, but it’s missing a great one:
“I’ve never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.”
Or did he not say that one?
the truth is often funny
” go to funerals so they’ll go to yours” hahaha
i’d like to meet this man…
It’s “quotations,” not “quotes.”
True story- Yogi Berra once gave my grandmother the finger!
This is definitely my favorite comment so far!
So he fingered your grandma?
Great and fun list, I’d never heard of Yogi Berra before but he seems to be a pretty funny guy, 10 and 19 cracked me up!
My favourite quote is this: When at a press conference Berra said he was really excited because his sister was about to give birth “…and I dont know whether I am going to be an uncle or an aunt”.
Too bad nobody these days has this type of wit…everyone just spews cliches
What made Yogi particularly funny is that he was not purposely trying to be witty. He would just say whatever came to mind, and you often got unintentional gems like these.
Vanessa, has got a mil-lion-aire lover on
— Lo v e W e alt hy * C// 0 m– Karen, who is 27 yrs old, married with a we alt hy CEO with the help of this c lu b too. Will you be the next?
LOL at no.20.
I am Brazilian, I don´t understand Baseball but this list is great.
I know some famous Brazilian people that speak like Yog Berra .
I don’t get it. If he made these remarks to be funny then they’re great but if he was seriously making these comments then he’s either retarded or just plain stupid.
I can actually see the sense behind “If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.” I mean, a perfect world for someone might not be a perfect world for someone else, right? Then again, I doubt that was intentional. Accidental deep quote??
#21 is my favorite. LOL. There are more Yogi Berra quotes here:
http://www.quotecollection.com/author/yogi-berra/
Name
Though Yogi DOES admit that he never said probably half the quotes that he was credited with, but if so, here are two of them not on the list and I love them. 1). He was in the Yankees clubhouse getting into his uniform when a teammate of his came in (the teammate I do not know who he was) and Yogi said, “What did you do last night?” and the teammate said “My wife and I went to see Dr. Zhivago”. Yogi in return replied “Gee, I didn’t even know you were sick !!” 2). Yogi was attending a very upscale gala or banquet if you will and was wearing a summer suit and was dressed to the nines. The wife of the mayor of NYC (again, I don’t know who was the mayor, it was probably LaGuardia) approached him and said “Yogi, you look pretty cool tonight”. Yogi’s response to her was “You don’t look very hot yourself either”…….I do love Yogisms !!!