The Tao of Yogi: A compilation of Berra’s wisdom
The New York Yankees great died Tuesday at age 90, after a lifetime rich in success on the field and skewed sagacity off the field. In tribute, we offer some of his observations.
Reporter Phil Pepe, who covered the Yankees during Berra’s career, perhaps summed up Berra’s wisdom best: “He has a native intelligence, an innate wisdom, and a wonderful way of cutting through all the folderol and getting to the heart of a matter,” Pepe wrote. “When he says something that seems funny, it really isn’t funny at all; it is wise.”
Berra himself always seemed to be a reluctant philosopher, and he told a reporter whence his witticisms came: “You see, I break up the English a little bit. I don’t mean to do it, but it just comes out that way.”
Here’s a collection of some of our favorite quotes that are attributed to Berra:
In giving directions to a former teammate who was coming to visit him at his home in Montclair, New Jersey, Berra accidentally injected a profundity that even made it into one of George W. Bush’s State of the Union addresses:
“When you come to a fork in the road: take it” ~ Yogi Berra Berra is the only man to manage both Yankees and Mets to the World Series.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 23, 2015
Some advice on being attentive:
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