As the hours ticked away on December 7, 2005, I eagerly had an eye on Major League news - hoping that Bernie Williams would not be cast aside by the Yankees.
Just before midnight, I was rewarded. A report indicated that the New York Yankees had offered salary arbitration, thus ensuring that there was still time for the team and Bernie’s representative to work things out. Brian Cashman even made reference to “all that Bernie had done for the franchise,” hinting that Bernie would be back, albeit as a part time player.
Bernie Williams may well remain a Yankee, and why not? The thought that Bernie had reached the end affected me more than any other baseball memory since the Brooklyn Dodgers left town. I am not ready for the end of Bernie’s career, which will come in due course.
Bernie’s years as a Yankee invoke many memories for me. That, coupled with the gentleman he is, endears him to me and countless other Yankee fans.
This will sound like a eulogy, but it obviously isn’t since Bernie is young (except for baseball, of course) and will enjoy many more years of productive life – perhaps as the gifted classical guitarist which he is.
Despite the fact that I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the Yankees have been my team since the glory days of 1941, through lean years and banner years. While I did admire the Brooklyn Dodgers for the excitement they generated, the team took a back seat to the Yankees (especially at World Series time for several years).
My early Yankee favorites were Nick Etten (a first baseman of the World War II era), Clarence “Cuddles” Marshall, Walt “Monk” Dubiel (two righthanded pitchers who had rather brief careers in the 1940s), Arthur “Bud” Metheney (a World War II-era outfielder), and Joe Page (a left-handed relief pitcher of the 1940s).
Naturally, Joe DiMaggio was a player to appreciate for the great skill and attitude he brought to the game, but he never evoked the kind of loyalty from me that Bernie did. To be sure, there were others, usually firstbasemen since this was the position I would have liked to play if I had the talent.
Mickey Mantle, of course, was a Yankee to enjoy, as I did. I extolled his virtues and was so much a fan that his run for the Triple Crown in 1956 was a source of intense daily watching to see what he had done. My associates in the accounting firm I was with took to calling me “Mantle.”
The Mantle era was one in which New York City could boast of three outstanding center fielders – all destined for the Hall of Fame. My late brother Stan was a violent Dodger fan, and we had many arguments
(occasionally bordering on physical violence) as to whether Mantle or Duke Snider was the best of the trio. Needless to say, we were both wrong; the best of all was Willie Mays, as we came to realize.
In my line of favorites, between Mantle and Bernie there was Don Mattingly, an outstanding player whose march to the Hall of Fame ended with a back injury. Donny was a first baseman, which virtually guaranteed he would be a favorite of mine (see above), but he would have earned my respect for the way he played the game, the way he worked at it, and the attitude he brought. We all know him as a fan favorite, and currently, he occupies that vaunted role in Yankee history previously held by such players as Joe DiMaggio. Just gauge the ovations on “Old-timers Days” when “Donny Baseball” is introduced.
When Bernie arrived, and as he matured, he was my “man,” and I took great delight in the greatness he achieved. Unlike Mattingly before him, he never had the instincts of a natural baseball player. Indeed, in high school, Bernie was a sprinter of accomplishment, and baseball came to him relatively late and only with hard work.
Blessed with great speed, he never was much of a base stealer – an effort requiring natural instinct, which he lacked. However, many will argue that in going from first to third, few who played the game ever did it with more excitement or with greater speed. Watching his sprinter’s arms pumping was a treat.
Bernie’s career statistics need not be elaborated on; they are outstanding and known to all fans and baseball people. By the same token, his standing on statistical lists of all-time Yankees is likewise well-known. He ranks up there with Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, and Matttingly in accomplishments as a Yankee.
My memories of Bernie and his times are many; some are worth recalling. Was it yesterday that Yankee announcer John Sterling began “Bern, Baby, Bern” as an accolade? I vividly recall one day early in the 2005 season when Bernie received an ovation that led Suzyn Waldman to comment, “I have a feeling that there will be a lot of ovations for Bernie this year,” and indeed there were – right up to the end of the season when many fans sensed the end was near.
Recall that late in the 2005 season, with the days dwindling down, a loud ovation greeted Bernie from his Yankee fans, who were expecting a “curtain call.” It is said that before Bernie emerged from the dugout to acknowledge the love, he asked Joe Torre if it would be alright, since he “didn’t want to upset things.”
In time, there will be a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park honoring Bernie Williams. Fittingly, the plaque should read, “Bernie Williams, The Humble Yankee. Center Fielder in the Long Pinstriped Line of Great Yankee Center Fielders.”
» Sam Person is a retired CPA and university professor of accounting who enjoys writing on baseball memories.
Also by Sam Person
» Spring Training Is About To Begin
» Reflections on Don Mattingly: It Wasn't Just The Stats
» Yankee Stadium: July 21, 2002
» Pete Gray Dies
» Memories of Jackie Robinson
» The Search For Dean Chance
» Baseball Returns to Brooklyn, New York: You Can't Go Home Again
» On The John Rocker Trade
» DiMaggio for Williams: The Trade That Never Happened
» My Favorite Events at Each Position
» Some More Jewish Baseball Players
» My Brother’s Baseball Cards
» Strange Endings to Baseball Careers
» The Pitching Change
» More submissions
Copyright © 2005 by Sam Person. Posted December 15, 2005.
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