Forgive Us, Yogi, If We Laugh Through Our Tears

The beloved Yankees catcher and phrase-mangler Yogi Berra is with us no more.

The man who famously said “You can observe a lot by watching” amused us a lot, by speaking. And, as an 18-time All-Star who played on 10 championship World Series teams, won three MVP awards, hit 358 home runs and held the record for most hits in World Series play (71), he was a giant in the game of baseball. (Thanks to David Olney of ESPN insider for those stats).

Although we grieve his passing, it is not possible to think of Yogi and the many wonderful phrases he left behind without a chuckle. Things like:

“It’s déjà vu all over again.”

“If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”

“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

“The future ain’t what it used to be.”

“I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”

“I never said most of the things I said.”

And, on a more serious note: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Well, for Mr. Berra, it’s over. But if you want to remember him in the future, one resource is the Sports Byline USA audio collection, here at the Library of Congress, which contains this interview with Ron Barr on March 23, 1998.

Let us leave you with this Yogi Berra quote:

“I think Little League is wonderful. … It keeps the kids out of the house.”