What Time Is It? You Mean Now? Is a hilarious compilation of the quotes of Yogi Berra. The book was written in New Jersey, where Berra lived, and he had help from Dave Kaplan. Yogi famously quipped he did not say all the things he said. Maybe, but somebody did. What Time Is It? You Mean Now? is absolutely essential for baseball fans, and even people who are not fans of the sport will find the quotes funny. The book has 176 pages of quotes. Berra was even funnier than Casey Stengel, and his misanthropes are famous. Do you think what he said was funny?
Top Twenty Yogi Berra Quotes
Yogi Berra famously said he did not say all the things he said. Fans are not sure, but one thing is certain: what Berra may or may not have said is very funny. So, without further ado, the top twenty. In reverse order, with some commentary.
20. I looked like this when I was young and still do.
Ageless wonder. Fans wanted Yogi Berra to live forever. He lived to be 90 years old.
19. If you ask me a question, I don’t know. I’m not going to answer.
Berra confused even himself.
18. If you don’t set goals, you’ll never reach them. Or, like they say in golf, if you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time. Take any player in the major leagues: I’d say just about everyone of them had a dream – a goal – to be a big leaguer when they were kids. It wasn’t an easy goal, but it was a reachable one, and that’s important.
Yes, goal setting is important.
17. You can get old pretty young if you don’t take care of yourself.
Like many misanthropes of Yogi Berra, this one is true.
16. Slump? I ain’t in no slump. I am just not hitting.
The way to get out of a batting slump is to shrug it off and not think about it.
15. If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.
The world is not perfect, but we should not, like Berra, expect it to be.
14. Little things are big.
They are, and good things come in small packages.
13. I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
Switch hitting is important, even Berra realized that.
12. You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.
This is true. A batter hits home runs by not trying for them.
11. So, I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.
Teammate Joe Dimaggio called him ‘Gorilla.’ He was the smartest and most able gorilla ever.
10. The game isn’t over until it’s over.
True. This may be the most famous Yogi Berra quote of all time.
9. He’s learning me all of his experience.
Berra said this of Teammate and coach Bill Dickey. Both wore number 8, and to this day, the Yankees are the only professional sports team to retire the same number, 8, twice.
8. I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.
What?
7. Alright, everybody par up in groups of three.
More funny math from Yogi Berra.
6. You can observe a lot just by watching.
One can.
5. I just want to thank everyone who made this day necessary.
Yogi Berra said this in a speech on ‘Yogi Berra Day’ in St. Louis, where he grew up.
4. When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
Sound directional advice.
3. It gets late early out there.
Berra said this referring to the shadows in left field at Yankee Stadium, but it is true of everything.
2. It’s like Deja vu all over again.
True.
1. Ninety percent of this game is half mental.
True of all things. One must have the correct attitude.
Career Statistics
Yogi Berra won three American League Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP) and ten World Series. What would a catcher with three world titles and ten MVPs be worth today? Yogi Berra’s statistics are eye-popping. Not bad for a gorilla. All totaled, Berra played for 19 years, hit .285, and smashed 358 home runs. He could hit well and play good defense. He moved to left field at Yankee Stadium, inspiring a quote later in his career. Berra played for Casey Stengel and was, perhaps, more quotable than the famous manager. Can you imagine a conversation between the two of them?
What Did He Mean When He Said All Those Things?
Yogi Berra, his protestations aside, probably did say all of those things. Nobody, including him, has (or had) any idea what he meant, but those quotations made him famous. There is a logic to the statement that Yogi Berra was crazy, like a fox. He profited by being quotable and became world famous.
Conclusion
Yogi Berra was so quotable he was the subject of no fewer than 10 books. Berra has so many famous quotations that it was difficult to select 20. Fans of Berra wanted him to live forever. He died at 90 years old of natural causes. Berra was a war hero as well, and he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 (which was awarded to him by President Barack Obama). Berra lived a life that was more like Forest Gump than any person who walked the face of the earth.
