RIP Yogi

[godotwaits]

Awwwww.... I guess the fat lady finally sang. Lived a good long life though.

[jdd2]

Trivia:

Like many Hanna-Barbera characters, Yogi's personality and mannerisms were based on a popular celebrity of the time. ... Yogi's name was similar to that of contemporary baseball star Yogi Berra, who was known for his amusing quotes, such as "half the lies they tell about me aren't true." Berra sued Hanna-Barbera for defamation, but their management claimed that the similarity of the names was just a coincidence. Berra withdrew his suit, but the defense was considered implausible and sources now report that Berra was the inspiration for the name.

[godotwaits]

sounds like deja vu all over again...

[jdd2]

(CNN)You don't have to be a baseball fan or even know who Yogi Berra is to appreciate his wacky way with words.

His colorful, disjointed sayings -- known as Yogisms -- have been quoted by countless politicians and are now fixtures of the American lexicon.

"I really don't know why I say them," he once told CNN. "It just comes out."

Most of his Yogisms are either paradoxical or obviously redundant. But so-called Yogisms weren't always actually uttered by the World Series champion.

"I never said some of the things I said," he once said.

Here are some of his most memorable Yogisms that actually came from the Hall of Famer:

"It ain't over 'til it's over"

"It's deja vu all over again"

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

"I usually take a two hour nap from one to four"

"Never answer an anonymous letter"

"I didn't really say everything I said"

"I want to thank you for making this day necessary"

"We made too many wrong mistakes"

"You can observe a lot by watching"

"The future ain't what it used to be"

"It gets late early out here"

"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be"

"If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them"

"Pair up in threes"

"Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel"

Former President George W. Bush once said he could use some help from Berra's wordsmith ability.

"Yogi's been an inspiration to me, not only because of his baseball skills, but of course for the enduring mark he left on the English language," Bush said. "Some in the press corps think he might even be my speechwriter. "

[lar]

Yogi leaves behind quite a legacy. He was a great baseball player and an integral part of some of the best of the Yankees teams. He played in 14 World Series. As a manager he took two teams to the World Series. Even more than his accomplishments on the field, Yogi was a good man.

Of all the things that Yogi said that were humorous I think one of his best quotes has a certain ring of truth to it, "The future ain't what it used to be". Ain't it the truth?

RIP Yogi.

[mnhermit]

RIP Mr. Berra - the second catcher I knew of in MLB

[dradtke]

His wife once asked where he wanted to be buried. He said, "I don't know. Surprise me."

[billhammond]

No one will be going to his funeral -- it'll be too crowded.

[kenlarsson]

Sports Illustrated cover the year Yogi returned to the Yankees as their manager,



He was a great player and an even greater personality in baseball.

[epaul]

Yogi might be gone but he'll never go away.

I met him once (at the Fargo airport. he was arriving for Roger Maris' funeral, I was departing for brothers golf in AZ). I said "Hi", he said "Hi".

[t-bob]

Yogi and a yoga?, a weird comic, a great baseball player, AND an amazing man... RIP

[fauxmaha]

A truly remarkable guy. By any standard, he was tiny! 5'7" and 185 pounds? Too small to be a Major League player. Yet he hit over 350 career home runs and even managed 30 in two different years. A small man isn't supposed to have that kind of power.

Sorry to see him go.

[coachdoc]

My favorite Yogi quotes, "Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical." And, "the ranger won't like that Yogi." (I know, BooBoo said that, but you get the idea.)

[Doug]

I dislike baseball and I'll still miss Yogi.