THE WIT AND WISDOM OF YOGI BERRA

Lawrence Peter Berra (“Yogi”), was in born 1925 and passed away in 2015. He was 90 years old.

Yogi Berra had three careers. He was a famed baseball player, a popular thinker, a much quoted author and a shrewd businessman.

THE BASEBALL PLAYER

Yogi Berra was born in St. Louis MI. After he signed with the Yankees in 1943 he went to serve in the U.S. Navy in World War II. As an American professional baseball player he played catcher for the New York Yankees. He was for a while their manager. Altogether he played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (1946–63, 1965). Then he joined the New York Mets in 1965 as coach. Berra remained with the Mets for the next decade. In the last four years he was their manager. Yogi Berra is regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history. He was 18-time All-Star and 10-time World Series champion as a player. Berra was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

During WW II he was a gunner's mate on the attack transport USS Bayfield during the D-Day invasion of France. As a Second Class Seaman, Berra was one of a six-man crew on a Navy rocket boat, firing machine guns and launching rockets at the German defenses on Omaha Beach.

THE YOGI-ISMS

Yogi Berra was a high-school dropout. He published nine books since 1961. He was awarded in 1996 an honorary doctoral degree by Montclair State University. His folk wisdom is known for his off the cuff brief comments, malapropisms, and witticisms, known as "Yogi-isms".

Yogi-isms often took the form of either an apparently a paradoxical contradiction, But the witticism offered an underlying and powerful message of humor and deep life wisdom.

His known comment on life:

"90 percent of it is half mental".

Sounds as if Yogi Berra knew the power of the Law of Attraction you are what you think about!

Although he was a high school dropout, Berra learned the lessons of life through his astute observation power: "You can observe a lot by watching." Meaning - always stay perceptive with heightened awareness!

Berra allegedly gave driving directions to fellow baseball player and later NBC sportscaster, Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home that was accessible by two routes:

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

This classic Yogi-ism is an hour-long philosophical discussion regarding the meaning of life. Life is a do-it-to-yourself project. In the academic circles of the professional philosophers it is branded as Existentialism. In short version – there are many valid and moral alternatives on how to live your life. There are many alternative way for reaching your objectives. Let alone that the popular past alternative is to do nothing and remain where you are…

We all know that life holds a promise of many repetitions of the same scenario. See the folks who keep getting married, then divorced, then getting married again… Or look at the politicians that for ever run for elected public office – win or lose. Watch nature – sun rise sun set. On all those round or elliptic transitions Yogi Berra said: "It's déjà vu all over again."

In July 1973, Berra's Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East. The Mets rallied to clinch the division title in their second-to-last game of the regular season. Yogi Berra summed it up: "It ain't over till it's over."

This saying is most repeated by presidential candidates who always cling to the last hope of winning. While actually it was Queen Victoria who said: “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat.”

Yogi Berra’s definition of monetary inflation:

“A nickel is no longer worth a dime these days.”

Most fittingly (wittingly) Yogi Berra observed:

"Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours."

On why he no longer went to Rigazzi's, a St. Louis restaurant Berra said:

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

Lastly a Yogi urban legend:

A couple came up to Berra at his museum and asked him to “make up a Yogi-ism.” Berra’s response was:

“If I could just make’em up on the spot, I’d be famous.”