Giving Up the Game of a Lifetime

To any of the Fan's generation, Pee Wee Leagues led to Little League (or P.A.L.) and then to Babe Ruth to High School ball, and then for the fortunate few, on to college ball or a selection to a minor league team. For the rest of us, we had to graduate to league softball and once our wobbly legs and overfed bellies got in the way, we "retired" from our childhood game.

Imagine how hard it must be for a major leaguer, especially one with a long career, to give up the game of a lifetime. Besides being all the player has done since youth, there is the loss of the crowds, the camaraderie and, of course, the money. It's no wonder so many MLB coaches are former players.

All this comes to mind from the story that Bernabe Figueroa Williams has begun playing winter ball for Puerto Rico in anticipation for playing for that country in the WBC.

Bernie Williams had a distinguished career with the New York Yankess that did not end on Williams' terms. As is the case in baseball as a business, the Yankees were finished with him before he was finished with baseball. It's a reality that is hard on a player and on the fans who root for them.

Williams was not just an ordinary player. He was a fixture on a team of champions, playing centerfield and batting .297 for his career with 2336 hits and a lifetime On Base Percentage of .381. He drove in over a hundred runs five times. He scored over a hundred eight times. He won two gold gloves. Williams hit 22 post season home runs.

But suddenly, he didn't fit in. No longer agile enough for centerfield, he wasn't valued enough for other positions and when he declined to accept a minor league offer from the only team he ever played for, he sat out. But he never officially retired.

And now he is 40 years old and still has the desire to play. And so in his native Puerto Rico, he went 1 for 3 in his first winter league game as a DH. Only Williams knows whether he is simply doing this for the love of Puerto Rico or for the fun of it, or whether he still hopes to catch the glory for one more season.

Either way, Williams at least provides one solitary reason for watching the entire WBC. The Fan would love to see him in uniform one more time. He is missed.