Bernie Williams stepped into the batter's box at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Friday and started whacking line drives to the gaps. On his last swing, Williams hit a shot that cleared the wall in right, drawing applause from the crowd.
"Stop it!" said former teammate Derek Jeter. "You're making us look bad."
Williams, 40, has been out of baseball for two years. But he is getting ready to play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, which he hopes to use as a springboard for a comeback to the majors.
He is also an accomplished classical guitarist and debuts his second CD, "Moving Forward," on April 14. Right now, he says, music and baseball are running neck and neck on his passion chart, but Williams is committed to playing ball again.
"I feel really awesome right now," he said. "The important thing for me is to try and get through this and to stay healthy. At this stage of my life, I can't afford to have any setbacks or injuries.
"All that said, the most important thing for me is to have fun. I'm like this guy who has gotten a second chance. If you had a second chance to do it over again, what would you do different? I'm that guy right now."
He made an attempt to play winter ball but came up with a quadriceps injury, exactly what he was hoping to avoid. He has been able to use the Yankee trainer's room and exercise machines for conditioning, an indication of how the relationship between him and the team has been repaired. Williams departed bitterly after the 2006 season when his five-year, $72 million deal was up.
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