Ten Rings: My Championship Seasons

by Yogi Berra, Dave Kaplan

In more than a century of baseball history, there is only one player who has won the most championship rings—Yogi Berra. He has ten of them, in fact. One for each and every finger.

In Ten Rings, Yogi, for the first time, tells the stories behind each of those remarkable championship seasons, spanning 1947 through 1962, baseball's golden years. It was a time when players played for the love of the game, a time when dynasties were born and baseball became the national pastime. And what a pastime it was.

With Yogi Berra at their heart, Casey Stengel's Yankees took on their heralded archrivals: the Cleveland Indians, the New York Giants, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and, of course, the Boston Red Sox. And with those teams was Yogi's constellation of contemporaries, a who's who of the Hall of Fame: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Phil Rizzuto, and many others.

Each season brought its own drama, and it's all brought to life by the man who witnessed it. Ten Rings is a one-of-a-kind story told by a one-of-a-kind guy, baseball's elder statesman, the beloved Yogi Berra.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, American History

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2001

About the author

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was an American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career (1946–1965) for the New York Yankees. Berra was one of only four players to be named the Most Valuable Player of the American League three times and is one of only six managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. As a player, coach, or manager, Berra appeared in 21 World Series. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly Shakespeare but Lawrence "Yogi" Berra played through so many historic moments in baseball from Don Larsen's perfect game to the home run chase of 61 in 1961. From the highs of five consecutive championships to the lows of losing to the heavy underdog Pirates on the last at bat of the 1960 World Series. Yankees fans or just fans of the game will enjoy.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorenzo “Yogi” Pietro Berra liked playing baseball with his two older brothers when he was a young boy in St. Louis. His brothers wanted to try and play baseball professionally, but their father told them that it was a sport for “bums” and wanted his sons to get “real jobs.” However, his brothers convinced their father to give Yogi a chance. When Yogi got into the minor leagues, he was quite humble, thankful to play.

Berra got drafted during WWII and was in the Navy. He mentioned it just briefly in this book, but said that he was at the D-Day invasion.

When he returned to baseball, he returned to the minor league, but finally got in as a Rookie with the New York Yankees in 1946, where he got to learn and play ball with some of the more accomplished players, including Joe DiMaggio, who he became friends with. DiMaggio was towards the end of his career at this time, as he was also having some physical problems and finally retired in 1951.

Berra was there on Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium on April 27, 1947, for the event honoring Ruth as he was nearing the end of his life due to throat cancer. Ruth would die a year later.

Berra writes about his manager Casey Stengel, who was often tough on Berra and the other players. He also writes about Mickey Mantle who started playing with the Yankees in 1951. When Berra and other players started playing with the Yankees, they were not paid well, and several of them had to work at other jobs during the off-season to make a decent living. As Berra gained more experience he demanded more money. He was living with his parents with his new bride, Carmen Short, who he married in 1949, and wanted to make a good enough living so they could have a house of their own and raise a family.

Berra would become known as an excellent catcher. He would make the calls for the pitcher.

Berra talks about playing during the Korean War when some of the players were drafted. In the late 1950s, although players were dedicated to their teams, their teams weren’t dedicated to their cities. The New York Giants played at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. The Brooklyn Dodgers played at Ebbets Field in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. Fans were less inclined to go to Manhattan to see the Giants and would rather see the Dodgers in Brooklyn or the Yankees in the Bronx. However, in Brooklyn, the Ebbets Field needed more seating and so some fans stayed away from attending those games. A new stadium was proposed for the Dodgers, but never followed through. Television was also affecting attendance. Both the Giants and the Dodgers relocated their teams to California in May 1957; the Giants went to San Francisco and the Dodgers to Los Angeles.

In 1959, Berra’s mom passed away. In 1961, Casey Stengel was no longer the manager, having been fired after the Yankees lost the World Series. Some new teams were formed, such as the New York Mets who played in Queens, and Stengel became their manager. Ralph Houk became the Yankee’s new manager. By this time, Berra who was thirty-six was the “old guy,” and he was playing outfield.

Berra felt fortunate that he was able to play for the Yankees, as he said that he saw too many families uprooted by trades, and having to start new lives, and put their children into new schools.

The game was changing in the 1960, with people complaining that the players were making too much money, and the games were all about the players' stats. But the Yankees won the series that year and Berra says that it was the last one they would win in fifteen years. Berra soon left as a player, but then became a manager. He mentions that he got inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1972. He says that a Museum and Learning Center was built in his honor at the Montclair State University in New Jersey. At the museum is a special case that has ten Yankee championship rings.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the all time great players as well as characters, Yogi Berra was a member of ten Yankee teams that won the World Series. This is more than anyone else, with fellow Yankee Joe DiMaggio second with nine. While there have been many books written by and about Yogi, this one is a very selective autobiography. As the title implies, while there is some background concerning his youth, the focus is on the years 1947-1962, when the Yankees were dominant.
Berra describes some of the high points of the championship regular seasons as well as those of the World Series. He also spends some time explaining the years when the Yankees lost in the World Series and the times when they failed to win the American League pennant. It was a time when players were bound to a team via the reserve clause, so the players were generally at the mercy of the ownership. Berra describes his salary disputes with management, and it is amazing to read what players were paid when Berra played. Some modern players get far more per game than the earlier players were paid per season.
Although there was a supplemental author, the tone of the prose is that of Berra. He remains one of the most popular players of all time, he is as much a legend regarding phrases as he is for his actions on the ballfield. It is an entertaining read.

[Kyle Beacom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was prompted to pick up this book at the local library after watching the documentary "It Ain't Over." In this case, I'd watch the documentary before reading this ok. Thr movie gets in to more of Yogi's personal details, like his decades-long marriage to Carmen and his time in the military. The book focuses almost entirely on Yogi's baseball career. However, I did learn that Yogi and Carmen used Martha Stewart as a babysitter for their boys.

Yogi takes you through each of his ten championship season as a Yankee, spanning from 1947-1962, a remarkable run by those Yankee teams. Each championship season is a short chapter. Yogi's career was surrounded by star players, including DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Elston Howard, and Whitey Ford.

My wish here would be a longer book with a bit more depth and, of course, more baseball stories.

[Read1000books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yogi Berra was a catcher (and later, outfielder) for the New York Yankees baseball team from 1947 to 1962. In those seventeen seasons, New York went to the World Series fourteen times and won ten of them (hence, the title of the book). Berra was voted MVP three times and during his career played with, for, or against some of the legends of major league baseball: DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Rizzuto, Billy Matin, Ford, Stengel, Campanella, Jackie Robinson, etc., etc.. If you like baseball history, you'll love this book. Yogi was a good writer (I've read a couple of his other books) and his "Yogi-isms" aren't bad either.

[Tim Timberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berra seems like a goofy, happy guy who just happened to win ten World Series. As he admits, some of it was luck. But it also seems in the book that Berra downplayed his own role on those championship teams. Yes, he had great teammates- DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Mantle, etc. Berra was right up there, too. I can't read this book and Berra's own luck and not think about all the great players who never got to play, let alone win, one World Series. It was an easy read, and Berra paints baseball as part of a wholesome America where everyone loves each other, your teammates always had your back, and great friends had fun playing baseball together.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decided to pull this one out of my to read stack to coincide with the World Series (Go Dodgers !) No Yankee fan here but who did not like Yogi. He comes across as the down to earth guy from St Louis who loved the game worked hard and loved being a Yankee. As far as accomplishments, ten World Series rings, don’t know it that will ever be replicated. Fun enjoyable book, check it out if you love baseball like I do.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snapshot of each of Yogi Berra's World Series Championships. He spent 18 years playing for the Yankees, went to the World Series 14 times, and won it all 10 times. The most dominant team of any era in baseball history.

Not much in the way of "Yogisms" in this one, but a great way to get a synopsis of his career with a spotlight on the playoff games. I also enjoyed his occasional takes on the modern game in a few of the chapters, as he compared some of his peers to modern stars.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely written pseudo-autobiography of a part of Yogi Berra's career. It is written in the first person with Yogi's vocabulary and syntax very evident. He is still the only player to have played on ten World Series Championship teams. When reading, you feel that you are right there with Yogi experiencing the things that he did.

[David Edie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book to get a sense of what the Yankee dynasty of the 1950s looked like from the eyes of a player, but I did wonder if I had picked up a children's book a few times. Yogi was a hell of a ballplayer but not much of a writer and it doesn't appear that a ghostwriter did much cleanup on this one. It's an easy read to keep on the nightstand but this book lacks anything of real substance.

[Lenny Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a Yankees fan, but how can you not like Yogi Berra. He’s a great story teller. They don’t make them like him any more. I finished this book quickly and wished there were more chapters because I could listen to him forever.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book. very interesting for anyone interested in sports and sports history. enjoyable.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#134 of 150 books pledged to read during 2019

[Robert Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice synopsis of a humble Yankee and his ten Championship seasons. Not exactly detailed, more like an old ballplayer sitting in the Home dugout telling you about the best seasons of his life.

[Dillon Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that Yogi Berra's reason for writing this book is to inform the reader about his young childhood, his life growing up, and his time playing baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is in first person because he tells us about his life. He also takes us into detail about him playing in games. Like what his batting average was, his total amount of homeruns and RBI’s in single seasons and during the playoffs. He also briefly talks about his time storming Omaha beach in Normandy during World War Two. The style of the book is biography because it’s about Yogi, and he wrote it himself.

The theme of this book is that no matter where you come from, or how bad your childhood is, you should never give up on your dream. It’s up to you to make your dream happen. Ever since he was a boy, all he wanted to do was play baseball. He and his friends started out playing baseball in the street. Then they moved their field to the junkyard where they spent most of their hot summer days. Yogi joined his first organized team when he was 12 that belonged to a YMCA club. His team also played other organized teams from the area. Then as he got older he starting playing for farm leagues and then one lucky day he got a call from the Yankees owner, asking him if he would like to join the team with only ten games left in the season. He accepted.

The style of this book is an exposition because it has information about the events that had happened in his life. This style was very affective because before I read this book I didn’t know that much about Yogi Berra. It was cool to know all these things about someone that played baseball on one of the best Yankee teams of all time. I didn’t know that he was Italian, or that he had three older brothers.

My opinion of this book is that it was very interesting, and I very fun read. I am not usually a very big reader, but this book kept me interested throughout the whole book. What I liked most about this book is that Yogi Berra made something out of nothing; I’m talking about his life growing up. He went from playing in a junkyard using a flipped car for a dugout, to playing at Yankee Stadium. I also can easily relate to Yogi because like me he was a catcher. So this made it very interesting to me. I also liked that this book was an easy read. The print wasn’t too small and the spacing between sentences was bigger than what is in most books. What I disliked most about this book is that the chapters sometimes seemed to get repetitive. Almost like the chapter copied the last one. If I could change one thing about this book, it would be to include more about his involvement in World War Two. Like if he was just involved in the storming of the beach, or was he also assigned to other places. This book is kind of similar to Heat, which is about a pitcher that throws really hard. These books are similar because pitching and catching are not that different. The pitcher throws what the catcher calls.

[Cooper Tullis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cooper Tullis A3

I think the purpose for Yogi Berra writing this book is to explain about how life is not easy and that you have to work hard to achieve something. Yogi was very poor and worked hard for what he achieved. This book was written by Yogi Berra and Dave Kaplan. Yogi Berra had an amazing career. Yogi accomplished 10 world series rings over a 18 year career, along with lots of other achievements. The point of view in this book is first person. With this, Yogi can describe everything, just as if he was playing that exact game, or receiving a specific award.

The theme of this book is to never give up. If you want something, work hard for it. In my opinion, working hard for something is way better than having something being handed to you. What’s the fun in that? As a child, Yogi did not have much. He was not raised from a wealthy family. He left school at a young age to get a job and earn money for his family. But this didn’t stop Yogi. Yogi was not a very good baseball player to start from. But his determination to work hard to be good at this sport is amazing. He believed that anything is possible, as long as you work hard. An example of Yogi’s determination is on page 53(It’s not too far; it just seems like it is). What Yogi is saying is that you can reach anything, you just have to take that step to it.

The style of the book is a narration. It is a narration because Yogi describes his life from growing up in St. Louis to playing for the New York Yankees in the major leagues. By Yogi telling his story like this, I learned a lot about his life before baseball, his trying out for different teams and his outstanding player career as a catcher and left handed hitter. Before reading this book, I did not know that he grew up on “The Hill” in St. Louis or that the press often made fun of him with his Yogi-isms.

Overall, I really liked this book. I would highly recommend reading this book if you are a baseball fan. At times, I actually thought that I was in the book because of how much information Yogi was giving the readers. I also like that I got to learn more information about an older baseball player who won 10 World Series rings. The book also taught me to never give up on my dreams. I would not change anything about this book. The book was similar to a book I read about Satchel Paige.

[Mitch Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe Yogi Berra wrote this book to tell readers about his time in the MLB, his childhood, his struggles in life, and getting to achieve the level of baseball that he played. The story was written by Yogi Berra himself, and Dave Kaplan. The story was mostly in first person point of view which Yogi was telling his story. I think these two wrote this story for any baseball fans, and young people who are interested with Yogi Berra and what he has accomplished. These accomplishments include ten World Series championships, fifteen time all star team, and several MVP awards.

The theme of this story is to never give up no matter how bad things are in life. In the story, Yogi Berra described how he struggled in life and in his childhood. Yogi did not have much as a child. His family was really poor, but Yogi had a love for the game of baseball, fought through it, and reached his goal of playing major league baseball. Yogi started playing baseball in the streets and junkyards, but when he was twelve he started playing in organized leagues. Years went by and one day, Yogi received a call from the New York Yankees to come play for them. Yogi was pleased, and said yes to the offer.

The style of this story was a narrative. The story was a narrative, because Yogi wrote the story from when he started in life, all the way until the end of his career. Yogi explained how he reached his goals, fought through tough times, and even gave stats on the seasons and World Series that he was in. The book is set up in chapters for his beginning, to the ten World Series that he played in. Each World Series, was its own chapter.

I rally enjoyed reading this excellent book. The book taught me to never give up on my dreams because you can do anything if you put the right amount of effort in. I liked hearing how Yogi started from truly nothing, and became an MLB all star. There was nothing in the book that I did not really like. I would not change much in the book, because it was pretty well set up. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes the game of baseball, or enjoys any athletic stories. I would rate this book a five out five. I liked this book a lot!

[Scott Vondebur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that Yogi Berra wrote this book to tell readers about his time in the MLB, his childhood, his struggles in life, and getting to achieve the level of baseball that he played. The story was written by Yogi Berra himself, and Dave Kaplan. The story was mostly in first person point of view which Yogi was telling his story. I think these two wrote this story for any baseball fans, and young people who are interested with Yogi Berra and what he has accomplished. These accomplishments include ten World Series championships, fifteen time all star team, and several MVP awards.

The theme of this story is to never give up no matter how bad things are in life. In the story, Yogi Berra described how he struggled in life and in his childhood. Yogi did not have much as a child. His family was really poor, but Yogi had a love for the game of baseball, fought through it, and reached his goal of playing major league baseball. Yogi started playing baseball in the streets and junkyards, but when he was twelve he started playing in organized leagues. Years went by and one day, Yogi received a call from the New York Yankees to come play for them. Yogi was pleased, and said yes to the offer.

The style of this story was a narrative. The story was a narrative, because Yogi wrote the story from when he started in life, all the way until the end of his career. Yogi explained how he reached his goals, fought through tough times, and even gave stats on the seasons and World Series that he was in. The book is set up in chapters for his beginning, to the ten World Series that he played in. Each World Series, was its own chapter.

I really enjoyed reading this excellent book. The book taught me to never give up on my dreams because you can do anything if you put the right amount of effort in. I liked hearing how Yogi started from truly nothing, and became an MLB all star. There was nothing in the book that I did not really like. I would not change much in the book, because it was pretty well set up. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes the game of baseball, or enjoys any athletic stories. I would rate this book a five out five. I liked this book a lot!

[Robert Ballinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe Yogi Berra wrote this book to tell readers about his time in the MLB, his childhood, his struggles in life, and getting to achieve the level of baseball that he played. The story was written by Yogi Berra himself, and Dave Kaplan. The story was mostly in first person point of view which Yogi was telling his story. I think these two wrote this story for any baseball fans, and young people who are interested with Yogi Berra and what he has accomplished. These accomplishments include ten World Series championships, fifteen time all star team, and several MVP awards.

The theme of this story is to never give up no matter how bad things are in life. In the story, Yogi Berra described how he struggled in life and in his childhood. Yogi did not have much as a child. His family was really poor, but Yogi had a love for the game of baseball, fought through it, and reached his goal of playing major league baseball. Yogi started playing baseball in the streets and junkyards, but when he was twelve he started playing in organized leagues. Years went by and one day, Yogi received a call from the New York Yankees to come play for them. Yogi was pleased, and said yes to the offer.

The style of this story was a narrative. The story was a narrative, because Yogi wrote the story from when he started in life, all the way until the end of his career. Yogi explained how he reached his goals, fought through tough times, and even gave stats on the seasons and World Series that he was in. The book is set up in chapters for his beginning, to the ten World Series that he played in. Each World Series, was its own chapter.

I rally enjoyed reading this excellent book. The book taught me to never give up on my dreams because you can do anything if you put the right amount of effort in. I liked hearing how Yogi started from truly nothing, and became an MLB all star. There was nothing in the book that I did not really like. I would not change much in the book, because it was pretty well set up. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes the game of baseball, or enjoys any athletic stories. I would rate this book a five out five. I liked this book a lot!

[Cole Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the best books I have read. This book is written in first person so you can hear about the events from Yogi Berra's perspective. The author wrote this to show the struggles he went through as a kid and then what he turned out to be. He was very poor and ended up winning 10 world series. The purpose was to show you that you can do anything in this world no matter how much money you have or what you're going through.

The theme of this book is to never give up and that you can be anything you put your mind to. Yogi was very poor and end up in the Majors. That shows that hard work and never giving up can help you do anything you want. He was poor and still ended up to be what he wanted to be in life.

This story was written in first person by Yogi Berra. He gave stories about his rough childhood and how it led to him winning 10 world series. It made this book really good. If it was a just another author writing about his life it wouldn't be very good because they wouldn't be able to describe like Yogi did in this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me information on a kid with no money growing up being able to reach his dream. It shows that you really can do anything you put your mind too. Its just a great American story. I didn't dislike anything in this book because it was all interesting. I recommend this book to everybody.

[Cole Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that Yogi Bera's reason to write this book was to tell the world about he great career as a Major League Baseball Player. He had a great story to tell because he won 10 championships. He also had 15 All Star appearances and a couple of MVP awards.
The theme of the book is to never give up on your dream. Even if everything in life doesn't go the way you want it to do not give up. If you had a rough childhood use that for fuel to accomplish your dreams, anything is possible. There is nothing you cant achieve if you believe in yourself. Yogi was a great example of that, and he tells you in this book.
The style this book was written in was exposition, because it was told in first person and Yogi was the one telling the story about his career. This style was very effective because it explained his life and I learned a lot about Yogi Bera the great professional baseball player.
I really like this book! I like how it was written and how Yogi himself narrated it. I am also a big sports fan so that made it even better for me to read. I liked learning about one of the greatest baseball players career. I thought it was an overall good book.

[fleegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know what you are thinking. "Another Yogi book? Is he paying you?" No, silly. I love reading biographies of baseball players. It's a pretty good book. Yogi was in 14 World Series in his 17 seasons as a Yankee. The Yankees won 10 of those 14 Series. He talks about each of those World Series, and it's kind of neat because he was the catcher so he was right in the middle of everything during the games. He also has 14 World Series records. 14! This really blew my mind. I mean, I knew he must've been a decent player, but I had no idea that he played in so many games. So if you're ever on a game show and the question starts out, "Who holds the World Series record for...?" I'd just guess Yogi.
Unless the question ends with, "... pitching a perfect game?" Then the answer is Don Larsen (in 1956). And also, Yogi caught that game.

[Joey]

I thought that the book "Ten Rings" was great. I felt that the author's purpose for writing this book was to inspire young athletes to achieve their goals, and also to encourage them to reach further while at the same time teaching people about a legendary baseball player. The theme of the book is having ambition. As you read, you will realize that the struggles the main character had did not set him away from acheiving his goal. The book was written in a narrative way. It was effective because it made you feel like you were there experiencing it too, with Yogi being the narrator. Like i said earlier, I thought this book was spectacular. I loved how it was narrated, and how the story was told. There was nothing about this book that I would change or that I disliked. It is not similar to other books I have read, because I usually don't read books like this.

[Matt]

The authors purpose of the book is to have fun when you are doing something don't give up on it cause then you wont have fun doing what your doing.

The theme of the book is about getting the championship rings. He wanted to get the rings because, he liked winning them to show and wear when they go to games. the author was trying to say to not give up and win as much as you can.


This book was written in first person the effective of the book is it tells the readers how to play right. This book was an description.


My opinion of this book was good I liked it. The book was interesting. I liked the whole book I would read it again. I don't dislike anything from the book. I wouldn't change anything about the book. It is not similar to any of the books I have read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one in the history of Major League Baseball has won more World Series than Yogi. This is a nice look behind the scenes from those ten world series winning seasons and more. Baseball was so different back in Yogi's era and it makes for fascinating reading!

[Jim Schwitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very easy and very entertaining book. Yogi is hilarious. This book is about winning multiple World Series & playing with some of the biggest names in baseball history.

[Rose]

B Ber

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christmas gift from Lyle, this autobiographical book was fun to read. It was interesting to see what it took to become a major league player in Yogi's day.

[Emil · Rating 3 out of 5]

basically a season by season account. interesting to read about the off season life of one of the best yankees ever.

[Adam Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't know much about this era of the Yankees before reading this book. Although not a Yankee fan, this helps me appreciate the accomplishments of these teams and of Yogi himself.