NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the more widely quoted philosophy of Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees Hall of Fame catcher who died Tuesday at age 90:
On his approach to at-bats: “You can’t think and hit at the same time.”
On selecting a restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
On economics: “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
On the 1973 Mets: “We were overwhelming underdogs.”
On how events sometimes seem to repeat themselves “It’s deja vu all over again!”
On baseball attendance: “If people don’t come to the ballpark, how are you gonna stop them?”
On a slipping batting average: “Slump? I ain’t in no slump. … I just ain’t hitting.”
On travel directions: “When you come to a fork in the road take it.”
On pregame rest: “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”
On battling the shadows in left field at Yankee Stadium: “It gets late early out there.”
On fan mail: “Never answer an anonymous letter.”
On being told he looked cool: “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
On being asked what time it was: “You mean now?”
On being given a day in his honor: “Thank you for making this day necessary.”
On a spring training drill: “Pair off in threes.”
On his approach to playing baseball: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
On death: “Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise they won’t go to yours.”
On learning: “You can observe a lot by watching.”
On his team’s diminishing pennant chances: “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.”
On the fractured syntax attributed to him: “I really didn’t say everything I said.”