100+ Best Yogi Berra Baseball Quotes That Break the Rules (And Make You Think)

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

"You can observe a lot by just watching."

"It ain't over 'til it's over."

"Baseball is ninety percent mental—the other half is physical."

"If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else."

"The future ain’t what it used to be."

"I really didn’t say everything I said."

"It gets late early around here."

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours."

"I never said most of the things I said."

"It’s déjà vu all over again."

"I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four."

"Half the lies they tell about me aren't true."

"We made too many wrong mistakes."

"A nickel isn't worth a dime anymore."

"I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win. Somebody’s gotta lose. Pick a number."

"You wouldn't have wanted to hit behind me anyway—I was right in front of you."

"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

"I really can't complain, but sometimes I still do."

"I wish everybody had the drive I had. But I hope they don't. Because I want to win."

"I’m lucky I didn’t listen to anybody."

"It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up."

"The talent is what you're born with. The heart is what makes you great."

"You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there."

"Dancing is a workout. If you think it isn’t, try doing it for ten minutes."

"No one ever rooted for Goliath."

"You can thank your mother for your looks, but you can thank your father for your brains."

"The more you do, the more you can do."

"I spend a lot of time talking to myself, and I find I’m pretty smart."

"Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die."

"The manager has to do what the manager has to do."

"I’m not going to buy my kids’ love. I’m going to earn it."

"Skill is developed through practice. Instinct comes from experience."

"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat—and if it keeps up, I change bats."

"You can’t think and hit at the same time."

"It’s hard to concentrate when someone’s hollering ‘kill the umpire.’"

"I've never made an error at first base. Not one."

"If you ask me anything I don’t know, I’m not going to answer."

"Slump? I ain’t in no slump. I just ain’t hitting."

"I attribute my success to intelligence, skill, and luck—and I figure the harder I work, the luckier I get."

"If we don’t win, it’s not your fault. If we do win, it’s not your fault either."

"The only way I can lose my job is if I live too long."

"When you’re hot, you’re hot. When you’re not, you’re not."

"I’d always rather be lucky than good."

"You don’t discover anything new by going down a well-worn path."

"Life is a constant series of decisions."

"If people don’t want to come to the ballpark, nobody can stop them."

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."

"I usually go fishing at Lake Mahopac. It’s a nice place to fish. Or anywhere where they have fish."

"I took longer to get older than most people."

"I never thought of going broke when I retired. I just stopped playing."

"You can’t think too much about the game—you just have to play it."

"When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. I told them they didn’t understand life."

"It’s like déjà vu all over again… or is it the same thing twice?"

"I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens."

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or use it as motivation to improve."

"People who say it can’t be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

"You gotta expect the unexpected."

"The game is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."

"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog."

"The pitcher has the ball, but the batter has the advantage—he knows where it’s going."

"I never saw a sign on the dugout that said, 'Relax, nothing is under control.'"

"I always wanted to be a Yankee. Even when I was a kid, I wore pinstripes to bed."

"I knew the record would stand until it was broken."

"You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows—but it helps."

"The secret to catching a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."

"I caught every ball that was thrown to me in the World Series. Except the ones I missed."

"It’s amazing how much you don’t know about a game you’ve been playing for years."

"If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him."

"If you believe in yourself, you can achieve anything."

"Success is something you earn, not something you expect."

"Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

"When you see something happen, you can say it happened. When you don’t see it, you can’t say it didn’t."

"You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you have the timing, it just goes."

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."

"It’s not how often you get knocked down, it’s how fast you get back up."

"I’ve never met a man I didn’t like—except maybe the guy who cut me off in traffic."

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

"If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change."

"The real skill is knowing when to swing."

"Even the best pitchers throw bad pitches. Even the worst hitters hit good ones."

"My family is my greatest achievement."

"I owe everything to my wife. She believed in me when no one else did."

"I raised my kids the same way I played baseball—by example."

"I may have missed a few games, but I never missed a bedtime story."

"Home is where the heart is. Mine beats in St. Louis and the Bronx."

"Love is the most important stat in any family’s box score."

"I taught my kids to respect others, work hard, and never give up."

"My wife says I talk in my sleep. I told her I wasn’t asleep."

"I never kept trophies. I kept memories and moments with my family."

"The best inheritance I can leave my kids is character."

"I measure success not by rings, but by hugs."

"Family doesn’t care about your batting average. They care about your heart."

"Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."

"You don’t stay ahead by resting. You stay ahead by working."

"I didn’t get to be a star by showing up on game day."

"Preparation is everything. That’s why we practice in the rain."

"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle."

"I spent more time studying catchers than swinging bats."

"Repetition builds instinct."

"You can’t fake fundamentals."

"The little things? The little things are the big things."

"I practiced blocking pitches in the dirt so much, I could do it blindfolded."

"Greatness isn’t found in talent alone—it’s forged in daily effort."

"Show up early. Stay late. That’s how legends are made."

"I didn’t set out to be a legend. I just wanted to play ball."

"Legacy isn’t measured in stats. It’s measured in smiles."

"They say I changed the game. I say the game changed me."

"I never looked back. There’s nothing behind me worth seeing."

"The fans gave me more than I gave them."

"I hope people remember me as someone who loved the game."

"Winning feels good. But teaching feels better."

"I didn’t write the book on catching. But I helped edit it."

"The uniform meant more than the name on the back."

"I played for pride, not praise."

"I didn’t chase fame. I chased excellence."

"If my quotes make people smile, then I’ve won again."