Hall of Famer Yogi Berra Dies at 90

New York Yankees legend and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra passed away Tuesday evening, as announced by the Yogi Berra Museum, at the age of 90. He played 18 seasons with the Yankees and won an absurd 10 out of 13 World Series in that time. He played with likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Whitey Ford; he was behind the plate when Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in the World Series, at the time just the sixth perfect game in Major League Baseball history. The image of Berra leaping into Larsen's arms at the end of the game is pretty much all you need to know about Yogi.

Berra was famous for his nonsensical sayings, like "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded," or "If you see a fork in the road, take it." It was almost like he was some sort of Dr. Seuss character that spoke in real words instead of gibberish. He had a twinkle in his eye that gave you the feeling he was a troublemaker, someone who was always in on the joke, and it was this personality that endeared him to fans long after his playing career ended.

Listed at 5' 7" and 185 pounds, Berra was the prototypical catcher, a tiny human bulls-eye behind the plate. He finished his career with a slashline of .285/.348/.482 and 358 home runs. He was a three-time MVP and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1972. He also dabbled in managing, taking both the Mets and the Yankees to the World Series, but never winning it as a manager.

He was fired by the Mets in 1975 and went back to the Yankees as a coach before eventually becoming manager in 1984. At the time George Steinbrenner was still firing everyone who looked at him funny, so Berra was cut loose early in the '85 season. He would not return to Yankee Stadium until 1999, after Steinbrenner personally went to his home to bury the hatchet. Since then, Berra had been at Yankee Stadium as often as his schedule and health allowed, and was still a guest instructor at spring training. If you haven't read this story about his relationship with fellow Yankee great and personal spring training chauffeur Ron Guidry, you should check it out.

Yogi's wife, Carmen, who passed away in 2014, played a bit role in one of the better Yogi-isms in lore. Yogi had sent her an anniversary card and signed it "Yogi Berra." When she asked why he felt the need to sign his full name, he said he wanted to make sure she didn't think it came from some other guy named Yogi.