Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006.
Background
He was born Bernabe Williams in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 13,1968, one of two children of Bernabe Williams, a sailor working with the Merchant Marine, and Rufina Wiliams, a dedicated schoolteacher who sacrificed and eventually became a high school principal. The family lived in the Bronx but moved to Puerto Rico when Williams was one year old.
Education
From an early age, Williams' father used to take him to the gym and to sporting competitions. Bernie Sr. encouraged his son to play baseball with him and often threw him more than a 150 balls in a single practice. His father also used to take him to sport clinics held by famous Puerto Rican baseball stars who taught the sport to Puerto Rican children. Baseball became Williams' sport of choice and he played for the Puerto Rican minor leagues.
Music was also an important activity in the Williams household. Bernie Sr. was an amateur guitar player and Williams started to play on his own at a young age. He developed a love for classical music and for American jazz. His musical skills were so promising that on finishing junior high, he auditioned and gained admission to the elite Escuela Libre de Música in Hato Rey, a specialized music school for Puerto Rican children who intend to pursue professional music careers. Because of his musical talents, his teachers firmly believed that he could have become a professional musician and gone on to receive training at a music conservatory.
By the time that Williams was 15, he was already making his mark as an amateur musician, as a baseball player, and as an athlete. His mother wanted him to pursue an academic career and encouraged Williams to take pre-med classes at the University of Puerto Rico. At the same time, Williams became one of Puerto Rico's best 400-meter runners and won four medals in international track and field events. Williams decided to pursue a sports career and was confident that he was going to be signed by an American baseball team to play in the United States.
Career
The New York Yankees signed Williams in 1985 and the team sent him to the minor leagues, where he had a chance to learn the professional game and polish his skills. Between 1986 and 1992 Williams played with several teams in the mi-nor league system. He played in Sarasota, Florida, in Columbus, Ohio, and in Albany, New York. Although he performed well enough during his seven-year
apprenticeship, it was clear that he needed to perfect his skills. He was seen as a player with speed and potential power but whose shyness and calmness might handicap the development of the competitive edge necessary for success. After the first few years in the minor leagues, Bernie became frustrated waiting to make the transition to the majors. At one point, he told his mother that he wanted to quit and go back to Puerto Rico to study music and go to college. While supportive of him, his mother told him in no uncertain terms that he had to stick to sports and finish what he had begun.
On July 7,1991, Bernie made his major league debut with the Yankees, playing against the Baltimore Orioles. The next year he divided the season between playing with the Triple-A Columbus Team and playing in 62 games with the Yankees. His first full season in the majors was 1993. During this season he improved his batting considerably. In 1994 he tied a major league record by hitting two doubles in the same inning. The next year, he scored his 100th career double, and led the Yankees in games (144), runs (93), hits (173), and total bases. Williams, who had once been called Bambi for his soft playing demeanor, became one of the strongest and most forceful players in the major leagues. In 1996 he was designated Most Valuable Player of the World Series. His role during the season was pivotal in carrying the Yankees to their first title national title since 1978.
Williams has managed to maintain an excellent performance throughout the years. During the 2000 season his batting average was .307, with a career average of .304. The Yankees organization signed him to a seven-year contract in 1998 for $87.5 million.
While Williams has dedicated his professional life to baseball, he is still interested in playing his guitar and has not hesitated to entertain his fellow players. He has appeared and played on Late Night with David Letterman as well as other major television programs. He has also made several amateur performances with well-known musicians, appearing on David Letterman's show and playing with Paul Simon and Ruben Blades in New York. He has said that while he needs to stay focused on his baseball, he plays his music every day and looks forward to the day when he retires and can finally enroll in a music conservatory to expand his music training.
Interests
Music & Bands
A classically trained guitarist, Williams plays and composes music with influences that include jazz, classical, pop, Brazilian, and Latin sounds. Following his career with the New York Yankees, he studied guitar and composition for a year at the State University of New York at Purchase in preparation for his album, Moving Forward.
Williams signed with Paul McCartney's publishing company, MPL Communications, and his major label debut, The Journey Within, was released on June 22, 2003. In addition to playing lead and rhythm guitar, Williams composed seven songs for the album. Tracks like "La Salsa En Mi" and "Desvelado" mix Bernie's love of jazz with the sophisticated Latin rhythms of his Puerto Rican heritage.
The first single was a remix of his "Just Because", featuring David Benoit. Other highlights include Williams' heartfelt tribute to his father, "Para Don Berna", a reworking of the Baden Powell song, "Samba Novo", and "La Salsa En Mi", featuring background vocals from 2003 Grammy Award winner Rubén Blades and salsa legend Gilberto Santa Rosa. Also joining Williams is an all-star ensemble of musicians including multiple Grammy-winning banjo player Béla Fleck, keyboardist David Sancious, percussionist Luis Conte, bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Tim Pierce, and drummers Kenny Aronoff and Shawn Pelton, among others.
Williams' second major album, Moving Forward, was released on April 14, 2009 under the Reform Records label. The album features fourteen tracks and includes some collaborative tracks with other artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Jon Secada, and Dave Koz. Williams was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Moving Forward.
In 2010, Williams participated in the World Rhythms Tour with Basia. On July 18, 2010 he performed at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games opening ceremony
In July 2011, Williams' book, Rhythms of the Game, co-authored by Williams, Dave Gluck and Bob Thompson, with a foreword by Paul Simon, was to be published by Hal Leonard Publishing.
Connections
Bernie married wife Waleska on February 23, 1990. They live in Armonk, New York and have three children: Bernie Jr., Beatriz, and Bianca. One song on Bernie's 2009 release "Moving Forward" is named after Beatriz (Lullaby for Beatriz). This song is performed by Bernie Williams and his brother, Hiram Williams on the cello. This song was recorded in Puerto Rico at the Alpha Recording Studios.