
Yogi Berra, Master Yankee Catcher With Goofy Wit, Dies at 90 - pbhowmic
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/sports/baseball/yogi-berra-dies-at-90-yankees-baseball-catcher.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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fiatjaf
The Austrian economist Ludwig Lachmann once walked into the colloquium room at
New York University, where the blackboard displayed this quotation: “When it
comes to the future, one word says it all: You never know. – Y. Berra.”

Having built much of his economics on the unknowability of the future,
Lachmann noticed the quote. However, having lived in South Africa for decades
and being unfamiliar with the wit and wisdom of the former New York Yankees
catcher, he pondered the chalk inscription for a bit, turned to those
assembled, and in his heavy accent said, “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the
works of Professor Berra.”

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danso
I knew Yogi had something to do with baseball but if all ever did was come up
with great sayings, that alone would've justified a lengthy obit in the Times
-- I've always found it funny the kind of people who pat themselves on the
back for quickly seeing that a Yogi-ism is "dumb", as if they're excited to
discover someone in the world dumber than they -- but I had no idea at all
that he was so great a player to be considered the best catcher in the history
of the sport.

Reminds me of Steve Wozniak, whose antics and pranks and baffling generosity
are so amazing that you almost forget that he was also, incidentally, a
freakishly outstanding engineer, and a co-founder of Apple.

~~~
coldcode
Yogi was not only a great guy who said funny things but he played for 10 World
Series winners in 16 years, a feat no one else has ever done. Plus they named
the cartoon character after him, which is amazing by itself.

~~~
scrumper
Yogi Bear was named after this guy?! Oh that makes so much more sense than who
I thought it was all my life (the TV inventor, Logi Beard).

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grayprog
Not being American and not being interested in baseball, I never knew that
Yogi Berra was a famous baseball player. All I knew was a quote of his that I
liked. I thought he really was a yogi. It is this quote:

"You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might
not get there."

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digitalengineer
As a kid in another country I use to think grownups were referring to the Yogi
Bear cartoon character. We used to watch those cartoons all the time and the
bear also had funny quotes and remarks. (Baseball isn't really a big sport in
my country).

~~~
chipgap98
Yogi Bear is named after Yogi Berra. Berra was known for his goofy sense of
humor and so the cartoon character is modeled, in someways, after him

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bitmapbrother
Yogi Berra Quotes:

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

You can observe a lot by just watching.

It ain't over till it's over

It's like déjà vu all over again.

No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

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

We made too many wrong mistakes.

Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.

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bayesianhorse
He was a living legend. Until he died.

~~~
drzaiusapelord
I plan to attend his funeral so he'll attend mine. That's just good manners.

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JacobAldridge
I, also, was surprised to learn that he was still alive until recently. So in
many ways, this announcement is like déjà vu all over again.

One of those characters who transcended his sport and his nation. Vale.

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briandear
When I was a kid, I was a baseball nut. Berra was an Astros coach from
1985-1989 and one of my greatest thrills was meeting Berra before a game in
1986. For a 9 year old with an encylopedic (at the time) knowledge of the
Yankees and Astros, that was a thrill that resonates even to this day. I met
Michael Jordan really briefly in 1996 and it didn't come close to that memory
of Berra. An apt quote for today: "Always go to other people's funerals or
else they won't come to yours." RIP Yogi. Thanks.

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mikegreco
Yogi was in a league of his own in so many ways. He was the greatest catcher
in the history of baseball, but he's remembered for his wit and character.

I met Yogi once, when I was a teenager. This man had a thousand
accomplishments to his record, and a museum built in his name, and he still
took the time to talk to a young man and give him advice on how to achieve his
dreams. He was a uniquely good person, and he will truly be missed.

"If you can't imitate him, don't copy him."

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protomyth
Class and ability in a 5'7" package. A lot of current players in a lot of
sports could learn a lesson or two from him.

He had the ability. He had a year where he hit more home runs than strikeouts
as a regular player. Like a lot of good catchers, he went on to manage.

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yesiamyourdad
A friend related a story on Facebook this morning: this friend was at a
baseball camp in Houston when Berra was coaching there and Berra came to coach
the kids one day. His advice to my friend "you can't hit and think at the same
time". 9 words to summarize the importance of developing an intuition.

Coincidentally on Sunday I was trying to figure out a word for "yogiism" \-
"malapropism" comes close but it's not it. I was googling around and ran into
a story about Berra. Apparently at age 16 Berra tried out for the St. Louis
Cardinals and Branch Rickey (legendary coach of the Cards) told him that he'd
never make it in baseball.

There's a scholarship at Columbia in his name that he established because he
regretted that he dropped out of school in 8th grade and never completed his
formal education.

Link possibly paywalled, but here goes: [http://www.wsj.com/articles/yogi-
berras-best-yogi-ism-was-a-...](http://www.wsj.com/articles/yogi-berras-best-
yogi-ism-was-a-profound-act-of-kindness-1431387000)

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Amorymeltzer
A select, semi-official list of his yogisms at his museum's website:
[http://yogiberramuseum.org/just-for-
fun/yogisms/](http://yogiberramuseum.org/just-for-fun/yogisms/)

More here:
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yogi_Berra](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yogi_Berra)

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_Codemonkeyism
Sad day.

My wife found the Yogi Berra book in our bookshelf lately and I needed to
explain that

a.) Yogi is no Yogi

b.) He's genius and sounds like a mix of Zen master and Yogi.

~~~
eludwig
NPR did a little retrospective this morning. This is great:

"Yogi, what do want done for your funeral arrangements?"

"I don't know... surprise me!"

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joelberman
As a Bostonian I hated the Yankees. But I loved Yogi.

~~~
bardworx
As a New York, I hate the Red Sox but can return the admiration for Ted
Williams. Healthy competition doesn't have to stop admiration.

~~~
smokinjoe
Respect the player, hate the laundry.

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DiabloD3
"It ain't over till it's over." \-- Yogi Berra

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pgodzin
It was tough to see this news pop up after enjoying a big Yankees win. Yogi
was one of the greatest catchers and Yankees in history, and he was part of
more World Series teams than any other player (10!). Sad day for baseball
fans.

~~~
twinspop
Played in 14 WS, won 10. Even more remarkable.

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gadders
Amazing. As a Brit, I knew of him but assumed he had died some time in the
50's or 60's. An interesting man.

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comrh
After retiring he was a local fixture in North Jersey. He will be missed.

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circa
Some good "Yogi-isms" listed here -
[http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13722210/yogi-berra-
quotes...](http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13722210/yogi-berra-quotes-
celebrating-late-great-new-york-yankees-legend)

~~~
drzaiusapelord
Honest question, what's the deal here? Are these all weird little slips of the
tongue people find amusing, like that person in your life who is
unintentionally funny, or are these purposeful little zen koans he comes up
with to make you think and laugh?

Or is Berra's appeal that you'll never know if its the former or the latter?

~~~
bardworx
It's a bit of both and neither at the same time.

Some quotes were taken out of context: "when you come to a fork in the road
take it" \- both forks lead to his house.

He never graduated high school which created interesting dialog and attributed
to some of his quotes.

Regardless, he played for 17 years in the majors, and managed several more. He
went to the championship something like 75% of the time. He was a good player,
said interesting things, and had high baseball IQ.

You can observe a lot by watching a guy like that.

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senthil_rajasek
I am so popular that no one will believe that I am still alive.

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island
Next year's Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium will be rough.

I hope they find his World Series rings that were stolen last year. RIP Yogi.

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norswap
I always loved his whimsical one-liners. Thankfully, Jean-Claude Van Damme is
still alive.

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norswap
And for a longer collection of quotes:
[http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra](http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra)

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gopowerranger
There's a little tavern on "the Hill", an Italian neighborhood here in St.
Louis, down the street from where Yogi and Joe Garagiola grew up. My, then
girlfriend, lived near there and we'd occasionally go to the tavern with her
grandfather. Once in a while, Yogi would show up, even just 10 years ago, to
say hi to old friends who would think nothing of him as a hall-of-famer but
everything as a dear friend who had been gone a while.

~~~
wj
Can I ask the name of the tavern? As a huge Yankees fan living in St. Louis I
might stop by some time I'm in the neighborhood.

~~~
gopowerranger
Milo's Tavern. Not far from Ruggeri's where you can get something to eat but,
as Yogi said, no one goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

