Yankees Waiting on Bernie Williams
Bronx Bombers Invitation to Bernie Still Hasn't Been Accepted
Feb 19, 2007
Not every professional athlete can go out on top. In fact, very few do. But ideally, they would all like to leave their sport with dignity and be treated with respect by their team when they retire.
Now, as the New York Yankees have opened up Spring Training for the 2007 season, they could be getting themselves into a messy situation with one of the most beloved players in team history, Bernie Williams. The 38-year old center fielder (and more recently designated hitter) is not under contract for the upcoming season, however the Yankees have extended a Spring Training invitation to Williams. He has not returned recent phone calls from a number of teammates, as well as hitting coach and former teammate Don Mattingly and manager Joe Torre. Evidently, Williams is holding out for either a guaranteed contract or the assurance of being on the opening day roster.
In strictly a baseball sense, the Yankees owe nothing to Williams. Even before last year, when it was clear his skills were already eroding, the Bombers gave Williams 1.5 million dollars for one year. The Yankees outfield is stacked, with Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Bobby Abreu the clear cut starters and the emerging Melky Cabrera as the next man in line. Williams has not had success as a pinch-hitter and he is a liability in the outfield now. With Jason Giambi expected to be a full-time designated hitter this year, there just is no place for Williams on this roster.
But when it comes to the emotional side, the Yankees have handled the situation poorly. Based on the fact that the Yankees have shown no signs of guaranteeing Williams anything contractually, it is clear that they silently are hoping he calls it a career. For a player that was the heart and soul of the franchise during their championship run in the late 1990s and possibly the classiest and most humble guy you might find in pro sports, the Yankees could at least show him the same class and respect that he has exhibited during his career. As much as it might break Williams' heart, Torre and general manager Brian Cashman need to sit him down and tell him that there no longer is a place for him on the current roster. Ideally, Bernie would retire as a Yankee, have his own historic day at Yankee Stadium where his number 51 would surely be retired, and his plaque would line up alongside Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, etc at Monument Park.
Whether Bernie Williams decides to give it another go with the Yankees (in what essentially would be a try-out), sign on with another team, or retire is obviously his choice. But the Yankees have made the choice much tougher by stringing him along in this way.
