Bernie Williams | BaseballLibrary.com

What's New?
Current Totals
Free Newsletter

Report An Error
Fixed Bugs

Browser Button
Jump from anywhere!
Link Your Site

Get Published!
Reader Submissions

Team Pages
All Teams
Greatest Teams

The Ballplayers
Historical Matchups
Negro Leaguers
Hall of Famers
MVPs

Bookshelf
New Excerpts
Photo Collections

The Chronology
Flashbacks
Baseball Eras
Today in BB History
Anyday in BB History
Rules: 1845-1899
Rules: 1900-present

FAQ
Authors

BaseballLibrary.com
Copyright Š 2002
by The Idea Logical
Company, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Bernie Williams
Born: 1968

OF 1991- Yankees

Gold Glove Award in 1997-2000
All-Star in 1997-2001
Batting Title in 1998

	Games	Average	HR	RBI
Career	`1237`	`.304`	`181`	`802`
League DS	`25`	`.284`	`6`	`18`
League CS	`22`	`.386`	`4`	`16`
World Series	`19`	`.141`	`3`	`8`

Stats through the 2000 season

Books and articles about Bernie Williams

RELATED LINKS

ť 1998: McGwire 70, Sosa 66

Greatest Teams
ť 1998 Yankees

A quiet and introspective anomaly within the bright lights and clamor of New York City, Bernie Williams rose from inconsistency and the burden of lofty expectations to be become one of the most complete ballplayers of the late 1990s. Heir to the centerfield throne of pinstripe legends Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, Williams was a model of excellence and dignity both on and off the baseball field who would become one of the Yankees' most popular latter-day stars.

RELATED LINKS

ť 1998: McGwire 70, Sosa 66

Greatest Teams
ť 1998 Yankees

In his youth, Williams played baseball in Puerto Rico's Mickey Mantle League, and as a teenager batted just ahead of future Texas Ranger slugger Juan Gonzalez. A graduate of Escuela Libre de Musica High in San Juan, Williams was a talented classical guitarist who considered forgoing a baseball career in favor of studying music at a conservatory. Deciding that his musical gifts would survive his youth but his baseball skills would not, Williams entertained offers from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before signing with the Yankees on September 13th, 1985, his seventeenth birthday.

Williams quickly developed a reputation as the jewel of the Yankees farm system, a multi-talented player who was destined for stardom. In 1990, however, he almost quit baseball to return to music after the Yankees asked him to spend another year at Double-A Albany. To Williams the chance of him reaching Yankee Stadium anytime soon seemed slim. "We had an All-Star outfield out there," Williams later recalled. "Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Claudell Washington, just to name a few. In Triple-A, we had Jay Buhner and Roberto Kelly. I thought I had no chance."

Instead of packing it in, Williams concentrated on developing his skills as a switch-hitter, a decision that would reap huge dividends in the years to come. In the second half of 1991 Williams reached the major leagues for the first time, replacing an injured Roberto Kelly as the Yankees' regular centerfielder over the last three months of the season.

Williams hit just .238 in his 320 at-bats that year, and spent most of the following season at Triple-A Columbus. In late July an injury to Danny Tartabull opened up a roster spot, and Williams started the Yankees' final 62 games that year. His .280 average was enough to convince manager Buck Showalter that Williams was ready to leave the minor leagues for good.

Over the next two years, Williams became a fixture in center field and a productive if unspectacular hitter. His reserved and phlegmatic demeanor often led people to believe that he didn't care about his successes or failures on the baseball diamond. He so rarely gave in to overt expressions of emotions that the Yankees and their fans questioned whether he had the passion to become a great ballplayer. As teammate Tim Raines noted, Williams often napped between batting practice and the start of the game. "No joke," said Raines. "He wakes up at 7:15 for a 7:30 game."

Part of Williams' problem in the early years was that the Yankees didn't know exactly how to use him. Although he had good speed, he rarely stole more than fifteen bases in a season and didn't make an ideal leadoff man. At the same time, his power numbers weren't strong enough to justify consistently batting him in the heart of the order. As the Yankees tried to find the proper fit for Williams, owner George Steinbrenner became impatient with his development and openly sought to trade him. Only the adamant support of manager Buck Showalter and general manager Gene Michael kept Williams in pinstripes.

In 1995 Williams would begin to reward the faith Showalter and Michaels had shown in him. As the Yankees clawed their way to their first post-season berth since 1981, Williams posted the first .300 season of his career while blasting eighteen home runs. He led the club in runs, hits, total bases, triples, walks and stolen bases. Immediately following an off-day trip to Puerto Rico to see his newborn daughter Bianca in September, Williams reached base fifteen times in seventeen plate appearances over four games.

Getting his first taste of post-season baseball in the Yankees' five-game Divisional Series loss to Seattle, Williams rose to the occasion. For the series he batted .429 with five runs batted in, and in Game Three he became the first player in major-league history to homer from both sides of the plate in a post-season game.

The following year saw Williams again top .300 while shattering his previous bests with 29 home runs and 102 RBIs. In the post-season he would deliver two more superlative performances while finally shaking the label of a dispassionate underachiever. While his old friend Juan Gonzalez tied a playoff record with five home runs in a single playoff series, it was Williams who stole the show, playing with more fire than his teammates or fans had known he possessed. Yankee starter David Cone said, "There was unbelievable intensity in Bernie's eyes. I saw something I hadn't seen before ... Just the look on his face in the dugout."

In the final game of the series at The Ballpark in Arlington, Williams matched his own record by again going deep from both sides of the plate. The first blast tied the game in the fifth inning, and the second extended the Yankees' lead to two in the ninth. Former Yankee Reggie Jackson, who knew more than most about performing under the pressure of the postseason, said that "this was about Bernie battling to be accepted as a great player. He wants people to hold him in that regard."

If there was still any doubt, Williams put it to rest by all but personally escorting the Yankees into the World Series. In the League Championship Series vs. Baltimore, Williams won Game One with a monstrous eleventh-inning home run off Randy Myers, tied the pivotal Game Three with a two out eighth-inning hit off Mike Mussina, and gave the Yankees the lead in Game Four with a two-run first inning homer off Rocky Coppinger. After the Yankees wrapped up the pennant the next day with a 6-4 win at Camden Yards, Williams, who batted .474 in the five games, was named MVP of the Series.

Although he recorded just four hits in 24 at-bats during the Yankees' six-game World Series triumph, Williams made each of them count. After the Braves had taken the first two games in New York, Williams broke open a tight Game Three by launching a two-run eighth-inning home run. Despite his low hit total, Williams led the Yankees with four RBIs.

Now a certifiable hero, Williams was embraced by New York as a renaissance man and an intellectual in the often Philistine world of baseball. Visitors to the Yankees' clubhouse would often hear Williams picking at his Fender Stratocaster in the hours before gametime (he once displayed his musical talents at The Bottom Line, a Greenwich Village music club) and his bespectacled eyes suggested the academic world more than the sports world.

Even at the plate Williams seemed more student than athlete. Few great hitters have looked so inelegant with a bat in their hands. Lacking the gorgeous natural swing of a Griffey or the raw power of a McGwire, Williams instead went about the business of hitting as if he were solving a physics problem, using an approach more reasoned than reactive.

Whatever method he employed, the results were indisputable. Following his post-season heroics in 1996 Williams raised his batting average to .328 in 1997, showing remarkable consistency by batting .329 from the left side and .326 as a right hander. Despite a hamstring injury that limited him to 129 games, he drove in 33 runs in his final 34 games to finish with an even 100 RBIs for the season. He also won his first Gold Glove for his defensive excellence in centerfield. The season ended sadly for Williams, though, as he registered just two hits in seventeen at bats during the Yankees' five-game loss to the underdog Cleveland Indians in the Division Series. With two outs in the ninth inning of the final game, Williams ended the Series by flying out to left field with the tying run on second base, a failure which lingered with him throughout the offseason.

Driven by the disappointing end to the 1997 season, both Williams and the Yankees were determined to make amends in 1998. While New York ran away from the rest of the American League with a league-record 114 wins, Williams beat out Boston's Mo Vaughn on the final day of the season to win the AL batting title with a .339 mark. Although Williams continued to reverse his early post-season success with three subpar series (his lone hit in sixteen World Series at bats was a two-run homer in Game Two) the Yankees went 11-2 in the post-season, including a four-game World Series sweep of San Diego to win their 24th Championship.

After the Series, speculation grew that Williams was no longer happy playing in New York, and that he might seek greener financial pastures elsewhere. Pushed to explore the free-agent market by agent Scott Boras, Williams was hotly pursued by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox -- among others -- but a seven-year, $85 million contract helped him decide to stay in New York. (AGL)

Contribute your recollections of Bernie Williams by clicking here.

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY

ť June 25, 1934: Johnny Broaca, Yankee P, fans five times in a row while beating the White Sox 132. Not until Bernie Williams, on August 21, 1991, will another Yankee fan five times (by Bret Saberhagen). Gehrig hits for the cycle for the first time in his career, and the Yankees regain first place from the Tigers, losers 1311 in Philadelphia.

ť August 21, 1991: Yankees OF Bernie Williams fans five consecutive times in a 7-4 loss to the Royals to tie the major league mark for a 9-inning game. He's consoled by Yankee hitting coach Frank Howard, one of the 28 batters who share the mark.

ť April 26, 1995: Despite just 6,300 fans at the Yanks pre-opening workout, 50,245 show up for the opener, the smallest opening crowd at the Stadium since 1990. The Yankees start with a win, 86, over the Rangers, as Jimmy Key goes five innings to pick up the win. It is his 3rd straight opener and his Opening Day record is 60. Kenny Rogers is the loser, giving up four runs in three innings, including a homer to Danny Tartabull. Bernie Williams also homers.

ť May 1, 1996: The Yanks and Orioles continue their marathon play, this one going five hours and 43 minutes before ending at one a.m. Tino Martinez, whose homer snapped yesterday's tie, slugs a grand slam in the 15th to give reliever Andy Pettitte the win. Bernie Williams has five hits while Gerald Williams collects 6just the 2nd Yankee to get six in a game; Myril Hoag in 1934, is the other. The O's and Yankees strand 15 runners in extra innings, as both teams squander scoring opportunities, and New York survives four errors by two second basemen. Jim Mecir strikes out Brady Anderson with the bases loaded in the 10th after going to a 30 count. Cal Ripken is lifted for a pinch runner in the 8thwho is promptly picked offand sits for the last seven innings, the longest stretch he's rested in 2,180 games.

ť May 27, 1996: The Yankees pound the Angels, 165, to remain in first place by a game over the Orioles. Bernie Williams, making his first start in 14 games because of injuries, has his 2nd 5-hit game of the year, The Yankees, down 54 after four innings, jump on former teammate Jim Abbott (18) and two relievers to score eight runs in the 5th inning. Abbott will lose another five before winning.

ť September 12, 1996: Yankees' OF Bernie Williams drives home eight runs in New York's 12-3 win over the Tigers. Williams hits two round-trippers and a single.

ť September 28, 1996: The Yankees Andy Pettitte and four relievers clip the Red Sox, 42, pinning the loss on Roger Clemens (1013) in his last appearance in a Boston uniform. Clemens strikes out 10 and allows homers to Mike Aldrete and Bernie Williams. The Sox are reluctant to grant the Rocket's request for a 4-year contract.

ť October 5, 1996: The Yankees win their series against the Rangers, taking Game four by a score of 6-4. Bernie Williams homers twice for NY, while Juan Gonzalez hits a record-tying 5th home run for Texas.

ť October 9, 1996: Bernie Williams' 11th-inning home run gives the Yankees a 5-4 win over Baltimore in the opening game of the ALCS. Williams' home run was made possible when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reaches over the left field fence in the 8th inning, interfering with a ball hit by Derek Jeter. It is ruled a home run which ties the game, 4-4.

ť October 12, 1996: The Yankees' 8-4 win over the Orioles gives them a 3-games-to-1 lead in the ALCS. Darryl Strawberry homers twice for NY, while Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill add 4-baggers.

ť October 22, 1996: The Yankees take Game 3, 5-2, behind the pitching of David Cone. John Wetteland gets the save as Bernie Williams drives in three runs for the winners.

ť May 13, 1997: Tino Martinez continues his hot hitting with a home run in the Yankees' 7-run 6th inning, as New York beats the Twins, 112. Bernie Williams belts a solo homer in the 5th to snap a 22 tie. Martinez homer, his 15th, leaves him one behind Griffey and puts him in select Yankee company: only Mantle and Ruth (4 times) have hit 15 homers in the first 40 games of a season. The defending World Series champions have won 17 of their last 23, while the Twins lost for the 16th time in 20 games.

ť August 12, 1997: Dean Palmer homers and drives in four runs as the Kansas City Royals end the New York Yankees' three-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory. Palmer, who is 10-for-21 with runners in scoring position and has 16 RBIs in 18 games since coming over in a trade with Texas, singles home a run in the fourth, opens the 6th with his 17th homer, and hits a go-ahead, two-run double in the 7th. Mike Perez (2-0), the second of five Royals' pitchers, is the winner. Jeff Montgomery pitches the 9th for his eighth save, the 250th of his career. He retires 32 consecutive batters, one shy of the club record, before Bernie Williams singles with two outs in the ninth.

ť February 18, 1998: Yankees sign OF Bernie Williams to a $8.5 million, 1-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

ť May 17, 1998: Yankees pitcher David Wells hurls the 13th perfect game in modern major league history with a 40 win over Minnesota. Wells fans 11 batters in his masterpiece. OF Bernie Williams strokes three hits for New York, including a home run.

ť May 19, 1998: The Yankees defeat the Orioles, 95, in a game marked by a brawl which results in five ejections. Players involved will be suspended for a total of 18 games. The melee begins when Baltimore relief P Armando Benitez hits Tino Martinez in the back with a pitch following an 8thinning home run by Bernie Williams.

ť June 10, 1998: Yankee OF Tim Raines steals the 800th base of his career in NY's 62 win over the Expos. He is the 5th player in history to reach that milestone. The Yanks lose Bernie Williams to the DL list when he injures his knee sliding.

ť September 4, 1998: The Yankees (10038) win their 100th game of the season, defeating the White Sox, 116. It is the earliest any American League team has ever reached the 100win mark. The 1906 Cubs needed 132 games to reach the 100-win mark. Bernie Williams leads NY with a pair of homers and four RBIs.

ť October 18, 1998: New York strikes early, scoring three runs in each of the 1st two innings. They go on to cruise to a 93 win in Game two behind Orlando Hernandez. Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada connect for homers.

ť August 9, 1999: A total of five grand slams are hit on the day, marking the first time it has happened in 129 years of major league baseball. The bases loaded pokes are hit by Fernando Tatis of St. Louis (against the Phillies), Jose Vidro of Montreal (against the Padres), Mike Lowell of Florida (against the Giants), Bernie Williams of the Yankees (against the Athletics), and Jay Buhner of Seattle (against the White Sox).

ť September 14, 1999: The Yankees rally with a pair of grand slams, just the 3rd time in club history, to beat the Blue Jays, 106. Bernie Williams ties the game with a slam in the 8th inning, and Paul O'Neill wins it in the 9th with another slam.

ť October 2, 1999: In a 32 Yankee win by David Cone over Tampa Bay, Bernie Williams draws his 100th walk of the year. He is the first player since Stan Musial (1948, 1953) to reach 200 hits, 100 runs, 100 RBI, and 100 walks in a season. Bernie finishes with 202: 116: 115: 100 respectively.

ť October 5, 1999: The Yankees whitewash the Rangers, 8-0, in the opener of their American League division series. Orlando Hernandez hurls a 2-hitter for NY, while OF Bernie Williams gets a single, double, and home run, and drives home six runs.

ť October 13, 1999: The Yankees defeat the Red Sox in the opener of the ALCS, 4-3, in 10 innings. Boston blows a 3-0 lead, as Bernie Williams' home run off Rod Beck leading off the bottom of the 10th is the game-winner.

ť October 24, 1999: The Yankees defeat Braves, 7-2, to take a 2-games-to-0 lead in the Series. David Cone holds Atlanta to one hit and no runs in seven innings. Bernie Williams gets three hits for NY, while five of his teammates get two apiece. Braves' starter Kevin Millwood gets battered for eight hits and five runs (4 earned) in two innings of work.

ť April 23, 2000: The Yankees score seven runs in the 4th inning on their way to a 10-7 win over the Blue Jays. NY OF Bernie Williams and C Jorge Posada each hit home runs from both sides of the plate, marking the 1st time in major league history that a pair of teammates accomplish the feat in the same game.

ť June 17, 2000: The White Sox edge the Yankees, 10-9, despite seven runs driven in by NY's Bernie Williams. Williams strokes a single, a pair of doubles, and a home run in the losing effort.

ť June 30, 2000: The New York Yankees tie a major-league record when three players (Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Jose Vizcaino) each hit sacrifice flies in the 4th inning against the Tigers. The record was set by the Chicago White Sox on July 1, 1962, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians.

ť October 11, 2000: The Yankees score seven runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Mariners, 7-1, and tie the ALCS at one game apiece. Bernie Williams' hit breaks NY's 21-inning scoreless streak. Jorge Posada hits a home run later in the inning. Orlando Hernandez' record improves to 7-0 in postseason play.

ť October 13, 2000: The Yankees batter the Mariners, 8-2, to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in the ALCS. Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning for NY, while David Justice drives home three runs. Mariano Rivera breaks Whitey Ford's record for consecutive scoreless innings in postseason play with 33 1/3 scoreless frames.

ť October 26, 2000: The Yankees defeat the Mets, 4-2, to win their 26th World Series, 4-games-to-1. Luis Sojo's single in the top of the 9th drives home the winning run for NY. Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter homer for the Yankees, and Jeter is named the Series MVP.

ť May 12, 2001: The Yankees extend their mouthful major-league record of 15 straight wins since the start of a season over teams with a below .500 record. They beat the Orioles, 85, on Derek Jeter's 3-run home run in the 8th. David Justice and Bernie Williams also homer for NY.

ť October 14, 2001: Yankee bats finally come alive as New York defeats Oakland, 9-2, to even their series at two games apiece. Orlando Hernandez gets the victory as he improves his postseason mark to 9-1. OF Bernie Williams drives home five runs to lead the Yankees. Oakland OF Jermaine Dye fractures his leg when he fouls a ball off his left shin. He will miss the rest of the postseason and the strt of spring training next year.

ť October 21, 2001: The Yankees take a 3-1 lead in their ALCS matchup with Seattle, defeating the Mariners by a score of 3-1. Bret Boone's 8th inning home run broke a scoreless tie, but Bernie Williams hits a home run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score. NY wins on Alfonso Soriano's 2-run dinger in the 9th. Mariano Rivera gets the victory in relief.

ť August 14, 2002: Two contests in the American League go 14 innings. Geronimo Gil hits a 2-out 14th inning homer to give Baltimore a 65 victory over Minnesota, while the Yankees overcome a straight steal of home by Mike Sweeney to beat the Royals, 32. Bernie Williams hits an RBI single to give Ramiro Mendoza (8-3) the win.

ť August 15, 2002: The Yankees top the Royals, 75, as Bernie Williams gets five hits, including a double.

ť August 17, 2002: The Yankees defeat the Mariners, 83, as Alfonso Soriano homers to become the first 2B ever to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season. NY OF Bernie Williams singles in his 1st at bat to give him 11 consecutive hits. He makes out his next time up to fall one short of the ML record.

ť September 17, 2002: Alfonso Soriano gets five hits, including a 2B and home run, as the Yankees fall to the Devil Rays, 97. Bernie Williams scores his 100th run in the loss to reach that mark for the 7th straight year. He is the 4th Yankee to score 100 this year, the first Yankee team to do so since 1941. Williams and Derek Jeter combine to tie the major-league record for consecutive years for teammates both having 100+ runs.

ť October 1, 2002: The Yankees score four runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to come from behind and defeat the Angels, 85, in the 1st game of their division series. Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams, and Rondell White all homer for NY while Troy Glaus hits a pair of home runs for Anaheim. Steve Karsay gets the win in relief. This is the Angels first time in the playoffs since 1986, but hey face the same starting pitcher today as they did in their last playoff appearance: Roger Clemens.