Farewell, Yogi

So sad to hear about Yogi Berra's passing, even though the man lived to the ripe old age of 90. It's kind of appropriate that the man left us on the last day of summer, given all the joy he brought to fans of "The Summer Game" for nearly 70 years...

One of baseball's greatest characters as well as one of its greatest players (and he was no slouch as a manager and coach, either), Yogi had a real flair for garbling the English language. "Yogi-isms" have become such a major part of baseball lore that he's often credited with malapropisms and twisted bons mots that he never actually uttered. (Or, as he put it, "I really didn't say everything I said.")

Therefore, I tend to take most purported Yogi-isms with a grain of salt, and have generally avoided quoting them unless I can find some evidence that he really said such a thing. But there's a beautiful "Yogi-ism" going around Twitter this morning that, even if it never actually emerged from his lips word-for-word, really does sound like something he'd say — especially in light of the 65 happy years he spent married to Carmen, who's pictured above with him during his early/mid-70s tenure as manager of the New York Mets.

"Love is the most important thing. But baseball is pretty good, too."

Rest in Peace, Yogi. And if you come to a fork in the road in the afterlife, take it.

 

 

Comments

[metsilverman.com]

RIP, Yogi. And I'll always love "It ain't over til it's over" and the team he said it about it: the '73 Mets, from last to first in a month. You could not not like Yogi.

[Evelyn Wangari]

continue resting with the angels Yogi.