Following a spell in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he played minor league baseball with the Newark Bears before being called up for 7 games in the major leagues in 1946. The following season he played 86 games for the Yankees, and he would play more than 100 in each of the following 14 years. During his 19-year career as a Yankee, the Bronx Bombers dominated baseball, appearing in 14 World Series and winning ten championships, both of which are records. Berra himself was a 15-time All-Star, and won the league's MVP award in 1951, 1954 and 1955. He caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, the only no-hitter ever thrown in postseason play.

In 1946, he wore uniform number 38 on the Yankees, switching to 35 the next year. In 1948, he changed to number 8, which became well-known as his number for the rest of his career on the Yankees and Mets. The number 8 was retired in 1972 by the Yankees, jointly honoring Berra and Bill Dickey, his predecessor as the Yankees' star catcher. On August 22, 1988, he and Dickey were honored with plaques to be hung in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. Berra's plaque calls him "A legendary Yankee" and cites his most frequent quote, "It ain't over till it's over."

In 1972, while he was manager of the Mets, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1999, he placed number 40 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and a fan balloting elected him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.