Talk about pressure, in his very first appearance in Pinstripes, the Puerto Rico native was greeted with chants of 'Bern-ie!, Bern-ie!' At age 22, Williams responded by showing the all-around ability that made him a household name before his first at-bat.
The switch-hitter hits for average and has displayed occasional power. He has also demonstrated his ability as a clutch hitter, batting .343 with runners in scoring position and .483 with two men out. He showed speed on the bases collecting 10 steals and his defensive play earned him the starting centerfield position last season. And he's still getting better. The Bernie Williams Show opened to fine reviews and is expected to draw even more applause in 1992."
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"In 1991, Bernie was recalled from Columbus on July 7 and became the Yankee starting center fielder for the remainder of the season.
At the time of his recall he was hitting .294 with 14 doubles, six triples, eight homers, 37 RBIs and nine steals. Hitting left-handed, he was batting .318 (74-for-233) with 14 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 34 RBIs. Hitting right-handed, he was batting .219 (16-for-73) with three RBIs.
Bernie was immediately pressed into service, starting the final game before the break on July 7, against Baltimore, going 1-for-2 with two RBIs- his first hit was a 9th inning single off Gregg Olson. Bernie's first home run came in his fifth game (16th AB) on July 14 at California off Chuck Finley. He then homered in the next at Seattle off Bill Krueger.
He started all of the team's games in July, hitting .254 with two home runs and 11 RBIs and walked 15 times. He hit .355 (11-for-31) with two homers and eight RBIs over his first 10 games, but over his final 10 games in July was 7-for-40 with three RBIs.
Bernie hit .256 with a home run and 14 RBIs in August, starting all 31 of the club's games. He hit in a season best seven straight games from July 31 -August 6 (10-for-31), raising his batting average from.254 to .276. From August 15-18, he hit a double in four straight games.
On August 21 at Kansas City, Bernie struck out all five times he batted. He became the second Yankee to fan five times, joining Johnny Broaca (a pitcher) who did so on June 25, 1934. On August 28 against Texas, Bernie hit his first home run batting left-handed, off Wayne Rosenthal.
Bernie hit .186 (19-for-102) in September. He had a torrid October, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with three RBIs over the final six games, raising his average from .225 to a season-ending .238 mark. Included was his first five-hit performance, in the next-to-last game on October 5 against Cleveland, the second five-hit game by a Yankee in 1991 (after Roberto Kelly). Bernie played winter ball in Puerto Rico.
For the season he hit .343 (23-for-67) with runners in scoring position, including a blistering .483 (14-for-29) with less than two out. He was 3-for-5 with seven RBIs with the bases loaded. He drove in runners from third base with less than two out 10 of 19 times. Bernie reached base safely in his first 13 games, 24 of his first 26 games, and in 69 of 85 games overall (81%). He tied for the team lead in triples (4) with Pat Kelly.
Bernie stole 10 bases in 15 attempts. He was one of four Yankees to steal 10 bases (Steve Sax, Roberto Kelly and Pat Kelly the others), the first Yankee foursome to steal 10 bases each since 1985. Bernie committed five errors for a .979 fielding percentage.
He hit .255 batting left-handed and .205 batting right-handed. He hit .264 at home, .211 on the road and .290 in day games.
At Columbus, Bernie was voted to play in the AAA All-Star Game but did not play due to his promotion. He was voted International League Player of the Week for May 26-June 1, hitting .333 with four home runs and nine RBIs and scoring eight runs.
He signed a contract for the 1992 season.
Bernie posted all-star numbers in 1990, playing all year at AA Albany. He hit .289 with 28 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 54 RBIs while stealing 39 bases over 134 games. He led the Eastern League in stolen bases, runs (91) and walks (98) and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team. Bernie was also named to Baseball America's AA All-Star team and was named in Baseball America's postseason poll as the No. 2 prospect overall in the Eastern League. He led Albany in games (134), at-bats (466), runs (91), hits (131), doubles (28), walks (98) and stolen bases (39).
He had a strong middle of the season- over June and July combined he hit .348 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 34 RBIs over 63 games. He was named Eastern League Player of the Week for July 16-22, hitting .441 (15-for-34) with nine runs and six steals over nine games.
Bernie sparkled in postseason play for Albany when he hit .350 (7-for-20). He played winter league baseball for Arecibo in the Puerto Rican League.
Bernie was signed by the Yankees as a free agent on September 13, 1985. He was signed by Yankee scout Fred Ferreira and recommended by Yankee scout Roberto Rivera. He spent his first professional season at Sarasota in 1986, batting .270 in 61 games with two home runs, 25 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. He led the Gulf Coast League in runs (45) and caught stealing (12) and led GCL outfielders in total chances (123) and putouts (117). Bernie was named as an outfielder on the Gulf Coast League All-Star team.
In 1987 he split time between Ft. Lauderdale and Oneonta. Bernie started the season at Ft. Lauderdale, where he batted .155 (11-for-71) in 25 games with no home runs, four RBIs and nine stolen bases. He separated his shoulder on May 17, missing a month of the season. Upon his return he was assigned to Oneonta, where in 25 games he hit .344 (32-for-93) with no homers, 15 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He missed additional games later in the year with a groin pull.
Bernie played 91 games for 'A' Prince William in 1988 and batted .338 with 72 runs, 16 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, 45 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. His season ended on July 14 when he ran into an outfield wall at Hagerstown chasing a fly ball, suffering a right navicular (wrist) fracture. He was placed on the disabled list, where he remained for the rest of the season. Despite his curtailed season Williams led the Carolina League in hitting and finished tied for third in triples. Bernie was added to the Yankee 40-man roster in November of 1988.
In 1989, Bernie split a full season of playing time between Albany and Columbus. He started the season with the Clippers, where he hit .216 with eight doubles, a triple, two home runs and 16 RBIs over 50 games. He joined Albany where he hit for both power and a better average. Over 91 games, Bernie hit .252 with 11 doubles, eight triples, 11 home runs and 42 RBIs; his eight triples ranked third in the Eastern League. 30 of his 79 hits went for extra bases and he posted a .443 slugging percentage.
Bernie attends college in Puerto Rico whenever he can, working toward a degree in biology. He enjoys playing classical guitar."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
Led Gulf Coast League in runs (45), 1986.
Tied for Gulf Coast League in caught stealing (12), 1986.
Led Gulf Coast League outfielders in total chances (123), 1986.
Led Gulf Coast League outfielders in putouts (117), 1986.
Named as an outfielder on Gulf Coast League All-Star team, 1986.
Named Eastern League Player of the Week, July 16-22, 1990.
Led Eastern League in bases on balls (98), 1990.
Led Eastern League in stolen bases (39), 1990.
Led Eastern League in caught stealing (18), 1990.
Led Eastern League outfielders in total chances (307), 1990.
Tied for lead among Eastern League outfielders in double plays, 1990.
Named to Eastern League All-Star team, 1990.
Named to Baseball America's All-Star team, 1990.
Named in Baseball America's postseason poll as No. 2 prospect overall in Eastern League, 1990
Named to International League All-Star team, 1991.
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
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