Never one to mince words, New York Yankee Yogi Berra is likely best remembered for his many quips – and after 90 years, the baseball giant had dozens of humorous malaprops.
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I wish I could say Berra proceeded to fill my notebook with Yogi-isms, those pearls of simplistic wisdom that have dominated sports pages and ESPN since the Yankee great died on Tuesday at age 90. There’s always an argument to be made in your favour, if you can find a listener who knows how to observe watchfully.
Yogi Berra was arguably the most beloved baseball player you can think of, as the great Mike Vaccaro writes in today’s New York Post.
This man truly loved the Yankees organization and everything they represent, and from this tribute, you can tell how much he was loved back as well.
“I can’t think and hit at the same time.”
I also remember Yogi Berra coming out to the Hamptons one August day to be part of the annual Artist-Writers softball game.
My favorite: “Nobody goes there anymore”.
In ‘Warm Memories of Yogi at the Golf Club, ‘ Peter Morrice recalls stories about recently deceased Yogi Berra.
And for somebody known for goofy sayings, he kept his dignity in one very important way. If you got the timing, it’ll go. Whether that was because Yogi happened to be rather bearlike and solid in his build – in every facet except his height, that is – or because of the witticisms so often attributed to him was a significant contributor to the cartoon’s humor, no one is exactly sure. For me, personally, I miss him.
Although Yogi was famous for “Yogi-isms” “It ain’t over ’til it’s over, it was his down-to-earth local attitude that won over residents in the area”. That’s not a typo and I did mean home runs, not walks. I carefully watched how he treated his aides, the people who took care of him. If that doesn’t give you chills, I don’t know what will. The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, however, is planning a public memorial October. 1. “If you come to a fork in the road, take it” was his too.
And on they would go throughout the decades. Bobby introduced me to Yogi and we had a good conversation.
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Before the national anthem, a video honoring Berra was shown on the scoreboard and a wreath of flowers shaped like the number 8 was brought out and laid behind home plate by catchers Brian McCann, Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez, as well as former catcher, manager Joe Girardi.
