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23 Yogi-isms, Brought To You By Yogi Berra

by Melissah Yang

In stunningly sad news, legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra died at age 90, according to his foundation the Yogi Berra Museum. Berra, whose real name was Lawrence Peter, is widely considered the greatest catcher of all time, nabbing a record 10 World Series championships while playing for the Yankees (along with another three rings as a coach and manager for the boys in pinstripes and their rival Mets). But there were also Berra's famously paradoxical yet witty "Yogi-isms," quotes that have become so ingrained in everyday speech you almost forget they spawned from the baseball legend's mind.

Berra might have dropped out of school in the eighth grade, but the man knew his way around words. Just as he could get on base whacking balls outside the strike zone, the affable man was a master of contradictions with an endless supply of backward phrases that teetered the line between the wise and the ridiculous. He even published a collection of his Yogi-isms in 1998, The Yogi Book: I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said!

Berra wasn't just beloved by the Yankees. He was celebrated by baseball fans everywhere. At the time of his death, Berra's record as the player with the most World Series championship rings still stands — and so too will his famous Yogi-isms endure.

"It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over."

"It's Déjà Vu All Over Again."

"When You Come To A Fork In The Road, Take It."

"I Usually Take A Two-Hour Nap From One To Four."

"You Can Observe A Lot By Watching."

"Nobody Goes There Anymore. It's Too Crowded."

"We Made Too Many Wrong Mistakes."

"Never Answer An Anonymous Letter."

"It Gets Late Early Out Here."

"If The World Were Perfect, It Wouldn't Be."

"I Wish I Had An Answer To That Because I'm Tired Of Answering That Question."

"If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, You Might Wind Up Someplace Else."

"If The People Don't Want To Come Out To The Ballpark, Nobody's Going To Stop Them."

"Baseball Is 90 Percent Mental. The Other Half Is Physical."

"The Future Ain't What It Used To Be."

"If You Can't Imitate Him, Don't Copy Him."

"You Wouldn't Have Won If We'd Beaten You."

Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

"You've Got To Be Very Careful If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, Because You Might Not Get There."

"There Are Some People Who, If They Don't Already Know, You Can't Tell 'Em."

"It Was Impossible To Get A Conversation Going. Everybody Was Talking Too Much."

"A Nickel Ain't Worth A Dime Anymore."

"Half The Lies They Tell About Me Aren't True."

"A Lot Of Guys Go, 'Hey, Yog, Say A Yogi-ism.' I Tell 'Em, 'I Don't Know Any.'"

Image: Getty Images