My brother the trout, Salvelinas Fontinalis, commented on my post Spring Out Back, quoting Yogi Berra: “You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”

Mr. Berra was clearly a wise man. He was after all the guy who said, “this is like deja vu all over again.” I thought it might be fun to see if Mr. Berra had any other notable quotes, and it turns out that yes indeed he did. Here’s a list:

• As a general comment on baseball: “90% of the game is half mental.”
• On why he no longer went to Ruggeri’s, a St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
• “It ain’t over till it’s over.” In July 1973, when Berra’s Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East; the Mets rallied to win the division title on the penultimate day of the season.
• When giving directions to Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which is accessible by two routes: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
• On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: “Thank you for making this day necessary.”
• “It’s déjà vu all over again”. Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back to back home runs in the Yankees’ seasons in the early 1960s.
• “You can observe a lot by watching.”
• “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.”
• Simultaneously denying and confirming his reputation, Berra once stated, “I really didn’t say everything I said.”