Fansided

MLB power rankings: Top 30 nicknames of all-time

By John Buhler

Aug 14, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) smiles after a single against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) smiles after a single against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Circa 1955, American baseball player Yogi Berra, catcher for for the New York Yankees, swinging the bat during a game, 1950s. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
Circa 1955, American baseball player Yogi Berra, catcher for for the New York Yankees, swinging the bat during a game, 1950s. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images) /

7. Lawrence Berra: Yogi

Yogi Berra is another player that will probably never be replicated. He won 13 World Series as a member of the New York Yankees. Berra was an 18-time All-Star catcher for the men in pinstripes and won three AL MVPs in the 1950s.

For as good as Berra was calling games behind the plate and driving in runs in the batter’s box, his persona ultimately set him apart. While the nickname Yogi comes from how he would often times sit cross-legged in meditation after suffering a loss, Berra was best known for his unique speech patterns known as Yogi-isms.

They’d be a tad non-paradoxical in nature, but people would extract the deeper level meaning from these witty expressions. From “90 percent of the game is half mental” to “It ain’t over till it’s over” to “it’s déjà vu all over again” Berra’s quotes not only are part of baseball’s fabric, but America’s lexicon at that.

Though he may not have been a very well-educated man, Berra was definitely a thinker. He was a Socrates behind the plate for the Yankees for 20 years (1946-65). Berra passed away at age 90 in 2015, but all the Yogi-isms live on.

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