Berra is famous around the non-baseball world for his pithy comments and witticisms, known as Yogiisms.
Similar utterances are called "Colemanisms" or "Colemanballs" in the United Kingdom, "Cruijffiaans" in The Netherlands, "Perronismes" in the French speaking part of Canada and "Trapattonismi" in Italy. In Australia they are called "Dyerisms," after Australian rules football legend Jack Dyer. Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn is also the source for several humorous "Goldwynisms."
Yogiisms should not be confused with Farberisms (popularized by Prof. David J. Farber). The former are typically either pleonastic or oxymoronic redundancies, while the latter are most often non-sequiturial mondegreens, though both usually share the goal of making a point through surreally humorous, absurdist mis-use of language, especially the alteration of clichés through malapropism and mixed metaphor.
[edit] Examples
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Yogi BerraAs a general comment on baseball: "90% of the game is physical, the other half is mental."
On why he no longer went to a trendy Minneapolis restaurant: "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded!"
On the attendance problem experienced by the Kansas City Athletics: "If the people don't want to come to the ballpark, how you gonna stop them?"
"It ain't over till it's over." - After Berra's 1973 Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East; the Mets rallied to win the division title on the next-to-last day of the season.
When giving directions to his New Jersey home, which was equally accessible via two different routes: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
On why, despite a lack of managerial experience, he thought he could be successful during his first year as a baseball manager: "You can observe a lot by watching."
Advice given to a young player who had unsuccessfully adopted the batting style of a well-known veteran: "If you can't imitate him, don't copy him."
On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: "I'd like to thank all those who made this night necessary."
On the afternoon shadows that fell on left field at Yankee Stadium: "It gets late early out here."
When, during a batting slump, his manager told him to think about his approach: "You can't hit and think at the same time."
"If Babe Ruth were alive today, he'd turn over in his grave."
"You should always go to other people's funerals. Otherwise, they won't come to yours."