Bernie Williams on a “nervous” trip from the World Series to the New York Philharmonic

Grabbing a bat was easy for Bernie Williams. During his profession with the New York Yankees, he pulled out the identical trusty 34 1/2-inch, 33-ounce Rawlings model on all occasions, whether in spring training or the playoffs, whether facing a flamethrower or a knuckleballer.

However, music is different.

“When choosing a guitar, performance matters,” Williams said. “It's about the sound you want to create and the music you're going to play. You need the right instrument for the right performance, and that varies over time.”

That's what's vexing the previous outfielder as he prepares for his second big league debut – this time in the humanities. Williams will play guitar with the New York Philharmonic for the primary time on the spring gala on Wednesday, an epic milestone for a five-time All-Star and four-time World Series champion now within the midst of the second act of his life.

So, which guitar? The acoustic steel string? The archtop? Williams said just a few weeks ago that he might even opt to go electric “for that Santana-like sound,” although he added that that is likely to be “just too over the top for this environment.”

Williams, who spent his entire profession with the Yankees from 1991 to 2006, has established himself as an achieved musician, earning a Latin Grammy nomination and important acclaim. Still, the considered entering into the highlight at age 55 in one other hallowed New York venue — think Yankee Stadium, but with higher acoustics — gives Williams butterflies.

On Wednesday he’ll play a range, his 2009 piece “Moving Forward,” re-arranged by jazz artist Jeff Tyzik. The famous conductor Gustavo Dudamel will take over the leadership.

“I expect to be as nervous as I've ever been on any stage,” Williams said. “But I think it won’t be any different than playing a Game 7 of the World Series, you know?”

To answer the last query: No, Mr. Williams, we all know. There is not any one within the history of baseball who can be willing to check the experience of baseball's Fall Classic and the Philharmonic's Spring Gala. No one else has played in The House That Ruth Built and within the concert hall that Leonard Bernstein christened as conductor on opening night in 1962.

Williams' award means much gnashing of teeth for the president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic. Gary Ginstling is an avid Mets fan.

“This is a deeply difficult decision for me, I have to say,” Ginstling said during a telephone interview. “I searched the area for retired Mets. But no one could hold a candle to Bernie Williams.”

That experience is sufficient to remind Williams of his first big league at-bat. The switch-hitter was 22 years old when he stepped to the plate against left-handed junkballer Jeff Ballard within the third inning at Yankee Stadium on July 7, 1991. It was hardly a stellar opening note. The Baseball Reference Box Score immortalized the moment in this manner: .

The trip got higher. Williams drove in a run on the Sacrifice Fly within the fifth and brought home one other run with one Infield single within the ninth.

“I remember being really nervous,” Williams said of that debut. “I remember a time when there was a lot of uncertainty about my career and my own ability to stay in the big leagues. “All I wanted to do was get the opportunity to show people what I could do.”

Every week later, Williams hit his first home run at Anaheim Stadium against the California Angels. He hit a fastball thrown by Chuck Finley over the left-center field wall. It went from there: a .297 batting average with 287 home runs and 147 stolen bases in 16 seasons.

July 14, 1991
Bernie Williams hits his first profession home run pic.twitter.com/nYIteNuXlL

– NY Yankees Throwbacks (@yankeethrowback) February 19, 2022

Williams helped the Yankees win 4 World Series titles, including three in a row from 1998 to 2000. His 22 profession postseason home runs rank third all-time behind Manny Ramírez (29) and José Altuve (27).

This summary has sometimes applied to his musical profession, partly because it will be easy to dismiss Williams as just one other retired athlete with an expensive latest hobby. But his lifelong musical journey is an element of what appeals to the New York Philharmonic. The spring gala, which can be held in David Geffen Hall on the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, is a fundraiser for music education. Ginstling wants younger audiences to be inspired by Williams' scientific commitment to his craft.

William's first teacher was his father. Bernabé Williams, an achieved merchant mariner, returned from Spain with a present for his 7-year-old son. It was a guitar that his son never put down. The family then found a guitar teacher of their neighborhood in Puerto Rico, and when Bernie was nine years old, he appeared on an area radio station with other star students.

“The guitar teacher had all these little kids who took lessons from him who were kind of outstanding,” Williams recalled. “He would give them the opportunity to play a song or two on that radio show. … It was a great experience and kind of set the stage for everything that came after.”

Williams continued playing throughout his baseball profession, especially while grieving the lack of his father. who died of lung disease in 2001. The former drummer then studied guitar and composition on the State University of New York in Purchase for a yr to organize for his first album, “Moving Forward.” This release solidified his loyalty because of 14 solid tracks, including collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Secada and Dave Koz.

But eventually Williams formalized his expertise. On his strategy to a bachelor's degree, he enrolled at the distinguished Manhattan School of Music.

“I’ll tell you what, none of the home runs I hit in the postseason helped me,” Williams said. “I really had to reinvent myself. And in a very strange way, I had to earn the admiration of the kids I played with, because when they came to the Manhattan School of Music, they were all virtuosos on their own instruments.

“I was the old man in the back of the room. I asked all the questions and asked that no one erase the board until I finished writing all the notes.”

Williams didn't pursue a level for the sake of labor. This experience marked his rise from ballplayer to artist.

“I think the school gave me great insight into the reasons why I wanted to be a musician and the responsibility we have as music makers to ensure we make this world a better place,” he said. “It is simply incredible to use the joy and power of music for the good of the world.”

Therein lies the message of the spring gala, underscoring why even a Mets fan like Ginstling hugs a Yankee in the home. The versatile bill on Wednesday is meant to introduce latest goal groups to the Philharmonic. The selection ranges from a collection from Richard Strauss' “Der Rosenkavalier” to 2 pieces by the rapper Common to an aria called “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5”, sung by the South Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park.

“I think that’s what I’m so excited about,” Ginstling said. “We're going to have a lot of Bernie Williams fans in the house that night, who will probably be hearing the New York Philharmonic for the first time. It would be great for them to hear Bernie, but we want them to hear the orchestra play Strauss. And we want them to hear the orchestra play Nina Shekhar, this up-and-coming composer whose piece we're playing.

“We hope they love not just Bernie but this entire repertoire and come back.”

Until then, Williams sometimes wakes up unexpectedly at 2:30 a.m. and picks up the guitar. Still half awake, he strums until the notes sound exactly as they need to before he can go to sleep again.

“That’s the level of preparation you need for an event like this,” he said. “Because when the nerves come up, you want to stay in control and not freeze up when the situation arises. The only antidote to this is good preparation.

“This applies to anything that is in the spotlight and requires great expectations and great pressure.”

Williams is hardly the primary ballplayer to make headlines together with his music. Back in 1964, a Yankees bus ride became tense when Yogi Berra grew bored with hearing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” played on the harmonica by a utility infielder named Phil Linz.

But that was the “New York Phil harmonica.” The New York Philharmonic is a complete different ballgame.

“If anything,” Williams said, “baseball has taught me how to perform under pressure, and this will definitely put that to the test.”