"Lawrence Peter (Yogi) Berra was born in St. Louis in 1925. During his 19-year career as a catcher with the New York Yankees and Mets (1946--65), he was named Most Valuable Player three times (1951, 1954, 1955). He holds many World Series records, including most series played (14), games played (75), and World Champions titles (10). He managed the Yankees to a league pennant in 1964 and the Mets to a league championship in 1973. Famous for his comical malapropisms, such as, "It ain't over til it's over," he was featured in many commercial endorsements. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1972." (WW.Biography.com)
I like Bio.com, but I'm appalled that Mr. Berra's allegories are summarily dismissed as "malapropisms". It is surely the antiquated cultural stereotype of the "dumb athlete" which influences the author to ignore the uncanny metaphysical insights which underlie Berra's writings. Judge for yourself:
"95% of this game is half mental."
"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical."
"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."
"I want to thank all those who made this night necessary."
"I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early."
"You got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
"Slump ? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hittin'."
"This is like deja vu all over again."
"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much."
"I couldn't tell if the streaker was a man or a woman because it had a bag on its head."
"You can observe a lot just by watchin'."
"In baseball, you don't know nothin'."
"How can you think and hit at the same time?"
On seeing a Steve McQueen movie: - "He must have made that before he died."
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."
"Nothing is like it seems, but everything is exactly like it is."
"We have deep depth."
"We made too many wrong mistakes."
"If people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them."
"It ain't over till it's over."
"If you can't imitate him, don't copy him."
REPORTER: "What would you do if you found a million dollars?" "If the guy was poor, I would give it back."
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore!"
"Congratulations on breaking my record. I always thought the record would stand until it was broken."
"Everyone I know drinks Miller Lite. And if they don't, I probably don't know them."
"If there's one pitch you keep swinging at and keep missing, stop swinging at it."
"If you don't know where you're going, when you get there you'll be lost."
"I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."
"Right-handers go over there, left-handers go over there, the rest of you, come with me."
"So I'm ugly. So what? I never saw anyone hit with his face."
"The other teams could make trouble for us if they win."
"There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell em."
"Well, I used to look like this when I was young, and now I still do."
"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel."
"Why don't you pair 'em up in threes?"
"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."
