Bernie Williams: From Legendary Baseball Player, to Latin Grammy-Nominated Musician

Puerto Rico-native Bernie Williams, 46, played centerfield for the New York Yankees for 16 seasons (1991-2006), retiring with five All-Star appearances, four Gold Glove awards, four World Series championships, and over 2,300 career hits. His No. 51 jersey was officially…

Puerto Rico-native Bernie Williams, 46, played centerfield for the New York Yankees for 16 seasons (1991-2006), retiring with five All-Star appearances, four Gold Glove awards, four World Series championships, and over 2,300 career hits. His No. 51 jersey was officially retired by the Yankees’ organization last month.

But his talent far exceeds the baseball diamond.

The career .297 hitter grew up playing classical guitar, in addition to baseball and running track.

Though his baseball career didn’t end until the end of the 2006 season, his professional music career got underway when his first of two studio albums, The Journey Within, was released in 2003. The album peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s U.S. Jazz chart.

His next album, Moving Forward, was released in 2009, which peaked at No. 2 on the Jazz chart and had Williams nominated for a Latin Grammy Award.

To keep up with Bernie’s music career, be sure to check out his official website or follow him on Twitter (@bw51official).

Also, if you just so happen to find yourself in New York this weekend, Bernie Williams & his All Star Band will be playing at the Bethel Woods Center in Bethel Woods, NY on Sunday June 28th. The doors open at 3 P.M. (eastern time) and the show starts at 4. You can get additional info about the show here.

Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images