Center fielder Bernie Williams patrolled the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium from 1991 to 2006 – and he’s now on the 2012 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. I’m not a sports writer, but if I were I would definitely vote for Bernie.
Bernie was a great player in the clutch and holds the record for the most postseason RBI with 80. His 51 extra base hits are also a postseason record. In 1998, Bernie Williams hit .339 to win the batting crown and he became the first player to be proclaimed the best hitter, the best fielder (a Gold glove Award) and a World Series champion all in the same year. In fact, Bernie would earn four World Series rings with the Yankees before hanging up his spikes. He finished with 449 doubles, the third most in Yankee history, behind only Lou Gehrig and Derek Jeter.
Bernie has a new career now as a jazz guitarist and his album Moving Forward is terrific.
But if you gave Bernie the choice between performing in Yankee Stadium as a musical artist of a baseball player, there would be no contest. “I would have to say playing baseball,” he told me when I interviewed him in Sacramento two years ago.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of things that can beat playing center field for the New York Yankees for 16 years,” he gushed with enthusiasm. For Williams, the magic of baseball is “just the thrill and the rush of the competition. To go out there in some sort of psychological battle. Me against the pitcher. From one at-bat to the other, you can strike out three times or you can hit two homers in a game and be the hero of the game. You never know what’s going to happen!” he explained.
“To me, it’s living at about 100 miles an hour every day, for 6 months, or 162 games. Very high intensity. They expect you to produce and you expect the best out of yourself. It was a very thrilling thing for me.”
And no doubt a thrill for the millions of fans he entertained while on the diamond. Now Bernie is one of 13 newcomers on the 2012 Hall of Fame ballot.
The five-time All-Star had a .297 lifetime batting average, with 287 homers (12 more than Roger Maris). He also won 4 Golden Glove Awards and as you can see here:
Bernie Williams is definitely worthy of being a Hall of Famer. As a Yankee fan, I’d love to see him voted in, but on a more personal note, Bernie also gave me a great endorsement for Baseball Between Us
– and for that I will always be grateful for getting to know the Great #51.
