Baseball season is in full swing. When old-timers think about the game, names like Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel come to mind.

Yogi Berra  was a major league player and manager, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972 and one of only six managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. Berra tended to fracture the English language during interviews and some of these humorous malopropisms are presented for your pleasure.

    “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
     ”You can observe a lot by watching.”
    “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
     ”It’s deja vu all over again.”
     ”If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
     ”I usually take a two-hour nap, from
    one o’clock to four.”
     ”If the people don’t want to come out to
    the park, nobody’s going to stop them.”
     ”Why buy good luggage? You only use
    it when you travel.”
     ”I didn’t really say everything I said.”
    Hey Yogi, what time is it? “You mean now?”
    On why the Yankees lost the 1960 series to Pittsburgh: “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
    On the tight 1973 National League pennant race: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
    On being told by the wife of New York Mayor John V. Lindsay that he looked cool despite the heat: “You don’t look so hot, either.”
    On Yogi Berra Appreciation Day in St. Louis in 1947: “I want to thank you for making this day necessary.”
    On the American League situation: “The other teams could make trouble
    for us if they win.”
    After receiving a check made out to “Bearer” for his appearance on Jack Buck’s pregame show in St. Louis: “How long have you known me, Jack? And
    you still don’t know how to spell my name.”
    Dale Berra, Pittsburgh Pirate shortstop and son of noted linguist Yogi Berra, on the comparisons being made between him and his father: “Our similarities are different.”
    Asked if first baseman Don Mattingly had exceeded his expectations this season: “I’d say he’s done more than that.”
    On the acquisition of fleet Ricky Henderson: “He can run anytime he wants. I’m
    giving him the red light.”
    Casey Stengel, manager of the Yankees, Mets, Braves and Dodgers said:

“All right, everybody line up alphabetically according to your height.”
“I made up my mind, but I made it up both ways.”
“Being with a woman never hurt no professional baseball player.
It’s staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.”
“Good pitching will always stop good hitting, and vice versa.”
“The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from
the guys who are undecided.”

No related posts.