Ex-Yankees star set to play benefit concert
Bernie Williams, the five-time AllStar center fielder and four-time World Series champion, is performing at a concert May 3 in his native Puerto Rico to help raise awareness about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the rare blood disease that took the life of his father, Bernabe Williams.
Williams, a brilliant jazz guitarist and Latin Grammy nominee who has partnered with Tune In To Lung Health, decided that a live concert will bring the awareness to new heights.
“We’ve been raising awareness for a number of years, but it’s really important for me to go there for personal reasons,” Williams tells USA TODAY Sports. “My father’s homeland is my homeland. This is the community I grew up in. I want to do everything I can to help and give this a bigger platform. I’m very proud its going to have a bigger purpose.”
Williams’ daughter, Beatriz, is also helping the campaign with her artistry and solo exhibition that opens in New York this weekend, “Del Patio De Mi Titi.”
“I’m very proud of her work as a painter and artist,” Williams says. “I was a player and now a musician. So it’s come full circle in the family.”
Meanwhile, Williams, who retired in 2006, is becoming more involved with the Yankees. He spent several weeks at their spring training camp and believed there was no way this team would be sitting home in October a second consecutive season.
“I could sense something really special about this team,” Williams says, “with the camaraderie they have. They seem to be very committed to erasing the bad taste from their mouth after not making the playoffs last year. I sensed an urgency with this team. And so far, they’ve been proven to that take that to heart.
“Hopefully, everybody stays healthy and they can make it to the end.”
And, just like everyone else in New York, he’s certainly going to miss beloved Yankee announcer John Sterling, who had his retirement ceremony on Saturday.
“There were a lot of great memories with John and all of us,” Williams said. “He was the voice of our team, our generation. He had a great understanding of the culture of the team and the camaraderie between the players. He was tough, but he was fair.
“And he was part of so many iconic calls.”
Yep, just like his first signature home run call, “Bernie goes boom! Bern Baby Bern.”
“I still hear that all of the time,” Williams says. “’It is high! It is far! It is gone! Bernie goes boom!
“He took that to the next level.”
While the Black population in Major League Baseball has plummeted to 5.7%, its lowest since 1955 – the year after Jackie Robinson retired – Diamond Allegiance, an organization trying to make baseball affordable to everyone, just committed $1 billion to help revolutionize club baseball.
The organization is committed to making baseball accessible to everyone, providing scholarship and financial assistance. They want to make sure the families who aren’t spending $20,000 for their kids to be in showcase games can still be recognized by college and pro recruiters.
“We need to help change the model for these kids,” University of Michigan baseball coach Tracy Smith tells USA TODAY Sports. “We need to help reduce the cost and improve the effectiveness of travel sports in baseball and softball. We have such a huge disconnect right now.”
Sandy Ogg, founder of Diamond Allegiance, says the goal is to simply create a more accessible and affordable travel baseball ecosystem. They want to reduce family costs, and increase youth participation in underrepresented communities. While the Black population in baseball is the lowest in nearly 70 years, there is an even lower percentage of Black players in the college ranks.
● It’s early, but a large number of pitchers and pro scouts are convinced the ball is juiced this season. There are 125 players who have an average exit velocity of at least 100-mph among their top 50% hits, according to Statcast.
“That’s just ridiculous,” one veteran National League pitcher said. “Those things are like golf balls the way they’re flying out.”
MLB officials, of course, insist there is no difference this season in the baseballs.
● You want to know why the San Diego Padres slashed their payroll by $95 million this season?
The Padres will receive only $17 million from the Diamond Sports Group instead of the $360 million they were scheduled to receive from 2024-2032.
● Kudos to the Arizona Diamondbacks for surprising Jim Marshall, 92, with a 2023 National League pennantwinning ring this past week. Marshall is a member of the original ’62 Mets and original front office executive with the Dbacks.
● The Texas Rangers privately believe that three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, who has been recovering from herniated disc surgery, could be back by mid-May, a month ahead of schedule.
● Now that Los Angeles Angels reliever Robert Stephenson is out for the year, the Angels will have a $2.5 million club option on Stephenson in 2027. The Angels made sure to protect themselves with Stephenson’s three-year, $33 million contract in case he missed most of a season.
It was similar to the five-year, $82.5 million deal that John Lackey signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2009 that added a year at the league minimum if he missed a season because of an arm injury.
● The Chicago White Sox knew it would be a rough season, but they never envisioned this nightmare.
They have been shut out seven times this season, the most by any team in the first 19 games since at least 1900.
● The biggest surprise this season has been the Boston Red Sox’s starting rotation. Their starters’ 1.72 ERA is the franchise’s lowest through 21 games since 1920, and the second-lowest by any team since 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.