Sports
Bernie Williams and his unique road from the World Series to New York Philharmonic
For Bernie Williams, grabbing a bat was easy. He would pull out the same trusty 34 1/2-inch, 33-ounce Rawlings model for all occasions during his New York Yankees career, whether that was in spring training or the playoffs, whether he was facing a flamethrower or a knuckleballer.
Music, however, is different.
“Choosing a guitar is about the gig,’’ Williams said. “It’s about the sound that you want to create, and it’s about the music that you’re going to play. You need the right instrument with the right gig, and that varies with time.”
Such is what vexes the former outfielder as he prepares for a second big-league debut — this time in the arts. Williams for the first time will play guitar with the New York Philharmonic, at the Spring Gala on Wednesday, an epic milestone for a five-time All-Star and four-time World Series champion now deep into life’s second act.
So, which guitar? The acoustic steel string? The archtop? Williams said a few weeks ago that he might even choose to go electric “for that sort of Santana-like sound,” though he added it “might just be too over the top for that environment.”
Williams, who spent his entire career with the Yankees from 1991 to 2006, has rebranded himself as an accomplished musician, ordained with a Latin Grammy nomination and critical acclaim. Still, at age 55, the thought of stepping into the spotlight at another hallowed New York venue — think Yankee Stadium, but with better acoustics — gives Williams butterflies.
On Wednesday, he will play one selection, his 2009 piece “Moving Forward,” as newly arranged by jazz artist Jeff Tyzik. Famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel will be at the helm.
“I expect to be as nervous as I’ve ever been on any kind of stage,’’ Williams said “But I think it’s gonna be no different from playing a seventh game of the World Series, you know?”
To answer that last question: No, Mr. Williams, we don’t know. There is no one else in baseball history poised to compare 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 in the concert hall Leonard Bernstein christened by conducting on opening night in 1962.
Williams’ distinction means much gnashing of teeth for the president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic. Gary Ginstling is an ardent Mets fan.
“This is a deeply difficult decision for me, I have to say,’’ Ginstling cracked during a phone interview. “I did scour the landscape for any retired Mets. But no one could hold a candle to Bernie Williams.”
Bernie Williams has performed the national anthem before baseball games since retiring. Here he is in 2021 at an Oakland Athletics-Minnesota Twins game. (Darren Yamashita / USA Today)
This experience is enough to give Williams flashbacks to his first big-league at-bat. The switch hitter was 22 years old when he stepped to the plate in the third inning at Yankee Stadium against left-handed junkballer Jeff Ballard on July 7, 1991. It was hardly a soaring opening note. The Baseball-Reference box score immortalized the moment this way: Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak 3B).
The outing got better. Williams drove in a run with the sacrifice fly in the fifth and brought home another run with an infield single in the ninth.
“I remember being really nervous,’’ Williams said of that debut. “I remember being in this place where 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 to get an opportunity to be able to show people what I can do.’’
A 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. He kept rolling from there: a .297 batting average with 287 home runs and 147 stolen bases over 16 seasons.
July 14, 1991
Bernie Williams hits his first career home run pic.twitter.com/nYIteNuXlL— NY Yankees Throwbacks (@yankeethrowback) February 19, 2022
Williams helped the Yankees win four World Series titles, including three in a row from 1998 to 2000. His 22 career postseason homers rank third all-time behind Manny Ramírez (29) and José Altuve (27).
That summation has applied, at times, to his musical career, partly because it would be easy to dismiss Williams as just another retired jock with an expensive new hobby. But his lifelong musical journey is part of what appeals to the New York Philharmonic. The Spring Gala, to be performed at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, is a fundraiser for musical education. Ginstling wants the younger crowd to be inspired by Williams’ scholarly dedication to his craft.
Williams’ first instructor was his father. Bernabé Williams, an able seaman with the Merchant Marine, returned from Spain with a gift for his 7-year-old son. It was a guitar that his son never put down. The family then found a guitar teacher in its neighborhood in Puerto Rico, and by the time Bernie was 9 years old, he had performed on a local radio station with other star pupils.
“The guitar teacher had all the little kids that were taking lessons with him, the ones that were kind of like standouts,’’ Williams recalled. “He would give them an opportunity to play a song or two on that radio show. … It was such a great experience and kind of set the stage for everything that came after.”
Williams kept playing throughout his baseball career, especially so while grieving the loss of his father, who died of lung disease in 2001. The former batting champion then studied guitar and composition for a year at the State University of New York at Purchase in preparation for his first album, “Moving Forward.” That release strengthened his bona fides thanks to 14 solid tracks including collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Secada and Dave Koz.
Bernie Williams and musician Jon Secada performing during the Grammy SoundCheck on April 17, 2009, in New York City. (Joe Kohen / WireImage)
But eventually, Williams formalized his expertise. He enrolled in the prestigious Manhattan School of Music en route to a bachelor’s degree.
“I tell you what, none of the home runs that I hit in the postseason helped me there,” Williams said. “I had to really reinvent myself. And in a very strange way, I had to earn the admiration of the kids that I was playing with, because they were all virtuosos in their own instruments by the time they got to the Manhattan School of Music.
“I was the old guy in the back of the room. I was asking all the questions and asking that no one erase the blackboard until I was finished writing all the notes.”
Williams wasn’t chasing a diploma for the sake of the paper. The experience signified his graduation from ballplayer to artist.
“I think the school gave me a great perspective on the reasons why I wanted to be a musician and the responsibility that we have as music makers to make sure that we make this world a better place,” he said. “The joy and the power of music is just incredible thing to use for the good of the world.”
Therein lies the message of the Spring Gala and underscores why even a Mets fan like Ginstling embraces a Yankee in the house. The eclectic bill on Wednesday is designed to introduce new audiences to the philharmonic. Selections range from a suite from Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” to two pieces from 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 gonna get a ton of Bernie Williams fans in the house that night who probably will be hearing the New York Philharmonic for the first time. It’ll 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’re hoping that they’ll get hooked not just by Bernie, but by all of this repertoire, and they’ll come back.”
Until then, Williams sometimes wakes up unexpectedly at 2:30 a.m. and reaches for his guitar. Still half-awake, he’ll strum until the notes sound just as they should before allowing himself to drift back to sleep.
“That’s the level of preparation you need for an event like this,” he said. “Because when the nerves come in, you want to still be in control and not freeze when the situation arises. The only antidote to that is being well-prepared.
“That’s true of doing anything that requires the spotlight and great expectations and great pressures.”
Williams hardly is the first ballplayer to make news with his music. As far back as 1964, a Yankees bus ride turned tense when Yogi Berra grew tired of hearing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as 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 whole different ballgame.
“If anything,” Williams said, “baseball taught me to be able to perform under pressure, and this is definitely going put that to the test.”
(Top photo: Mychal Watts / Getty Images)
Sports
Transgender track runner wins 2 women's events in which race times would've been last place among men
Transgender college runner Sadie Schreiner won three women’s events at the Liberty League championship meet (Division III) on Saturday.
Schreiner of the Rochester Institute of Technology won the 400 meters with a time of 55.07 and the 200 meters at 24.14.
Both times would have been last in the men’s races at the meet, but they were school records in the women’s category, according to the site that lists the results of the meet.
(C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images/File)
The 200-meter time is now a Liberty League conference women’s record (beating Schreiner’s own previous record of 24.50 set earlier this season).
Schreiner was also the anchor leg of the 4×400 that won by nearly three seconds – they were in fourth place when Schreiner received the baton, but she ran the fastest anchor leg of the race.
Schreiner’s leg was clocked at 54.91 seconds, by far the fastest anchor leg of the race.
Schreiner, who was born a male named Camden and attended Hillsborough High School in New Jersey, has the 20th-best 100-meter time (11.72) for boys in school history (it would be the fastest for girls).
Earlier this season, Schreiner also set a women’s school record in the 300 meters at the Nazareth Alumni Opener Invitational, running a 41.80.
Schreiner’s 4×100 team finished in fourth.
(John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images/File)
MYSTIK DAN WINS 150TH KENTUCKY DERBY IN PHOTO FINISH
Schreiner recently posted on Instagram that she feels she does not have an “automatic advantage” as a biological male.
“Out of all the hate that’s been shared of me ‘cheater’ is the most common word used… In my eyes, the discussion of trans inclusion in athletics shouldn’t even be a debate…” Schreiner wrote. “As more research is done the more evident this becomes. There’s a reason I’m only as fast as I was in middle school, and the only variable that’s changed over my 9 years of running is my medication…”
“Even as Olympic studies prove the disadvantages of trans athletes it’s not enough. Policies are being changed before research is done and the only way to stay educated in this process is to talk to the few trans athletes that are competing and hear their stories, bring them in to the conversation. The only way to make an educated decision on a small handful of athletes is to hear their voice, not speak for them.”
(C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images/File)
Six states sued the Department of Education last week over the overhaul of Title IX, which is intended to give transgender athletes more protection.
In April, five middle school students forfeited a shot put event due to the inclusion of a trans athlete and were suspended for another meet because of it.
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CITY SECTION
SOFTBALL
Tuesday
(All games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Division III
First Round
#17 USC-MAE at #16 Jefferson
#20 Alliance Bloomfield at #13 Animo Venice
#19 Huntington Park at #14 Maywood CES
#18 Central City Value at #15 Middle College
Division IV
First Round
#17 Animo Robinson at #16 LA Jordan
#20 Van Nuys at #13 Animo De La Hoya
#19 Westchester at #14 ESAT
#18 Animo Bunche at #15 Belmont
Wednesday, May 8
(All games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
OPEN DIVISION
Quarterfinals
#8 Venice at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Chavez at #3 Carson
#7 Wilmington Banning at #2 Birmingham
Division II
First Round
#17 Lincoln at #16 Bernstein
#20 SOCES at #13 Orthopaedic
#19 Triumph Charter at #14 Roybal
#18 LA Hamilton at #15 Canoga Park
Thursday, May 9
(All games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Division I
First Round
#16 Gardena at #1 Garfield
#9 Bravo at #8 Port of LA
#12 LA Roosevelt at #5 Verdugo Hills
#13 South Gate at #4 San Fernando
#14 Sun Valley Poly at #3 Granada Hills Kennedy
#11 Arleta at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 LA Marshall at #7 Cleveland
#15 Palisades at #2 Legacy
Division III
Second Round
USC-MAE/Jefferson at #1 Torres
#9 VAAS at #8 University Prep Value
#12 Angelou at #5 Rancho Dominguez
Alliance Bloomfield/Animo Venice at #4 Bell
Huntington Park/Maywood CES at #3 Fremont
#11 Sotomayor at #6 Hollywood
#10 Sun Valley Magnet at #7 Maywood Academy
Central City Value/Middle College at #2 Narbonne
Division IV
Second Round
Animo Robinson/LA Jordan at #1 Community Charter
#9 LA Academy of Arts & Sciences at #8 Washington Prep
#12 Crenshaw at #5 LA University
Van Nuys/Animo De La Hoya at #4 Dymally
Westchester/ESAT at #3 LA Leadership Academy
#11 Fulton at #6 Diego Rivera
#10 LACES vs. #7 Animo Watts at Enterprise Park
Animo Bunche/Belmont at #2 CALS Early College
May 10
(All games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Division II
Second Round
Jordan/Animo Robinson at #1 Chatsworth
#9 Santee at #8 Franklin
#12 Sylmar at #5 Northridge Academy
SOCES/Orthopaedic at #4 Taft
Triumph Charter/Roybal at #3 LA Wilson
#11 North Hollywood at #6 Harbor Teacher
#10 Mendez vs. #7 King/Drew at Gonzales Park
Hamilton/Canoga Park at #2 Marquez
SOUTHERN SECTION
BASEBALL
Tuesday
(All games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
Division 1
Second Round
Corona at Mater Dei
Aquinas at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
Huntington Beach at Villa Park
Gahr at Santa Margarita
Orange Lutheran at Vista Murrieta
La Mirada at Santa Ana Foothill
Cypress at San Dimas
Harvard-Westlake at Bonita
Division 2
Second Round
Westlake at West Torrance
Arcadia at Yorba Linda
Hart at Newport Harbor
Arlington at Palos Verdes
Maranatha at Ayala
Anaheim Canyon at Quartz Hill
Moorpark at Valencia
Citrus Valley at Crown Lutheran
Division 3
Second Round
Corona Centennial at Arrowhead Christian
El Modena at South Torrance
Fountain Valley at El Segundo
Corona del Mar at St. John Bosco
Chaminade at Mission Viejo
Los Alamitos at La Salle
Beckman at La Habra
Summit at Newbury Park
Division 4
Second Round
Camarillo at Murrieta Valley
Los Osos at Cerritos
San Marino at Oak Hills
Culver City at Eastvale Roosevelt
Tustin at Palm Desert
Rio Mesa at Ontario Christian
La Quinta at Paraclete
San Juan Hills at St. Francis
Division 5
Second Round
Ganesha at Santa Monica
Adelanto at Trinity Classical Academy
Segerstrom at Riverside Prep
Oxnard Pacifica at Whittier Christian
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel at Monrovia
Lakeside at Chino
Montebello at Liberty
Bloomington at Chino Hills
Division 6
Second Round
Costa Mesa at West Covina
Village Christian at Brentwood
St. Paul at Diamond Bar
Alhambra at Grand Terrace
Salesian at Schurr
Rancho Mirage at St. Bonaventure
Santa Fe at Viewpoint
Colony at Rialto
Division 7
Second Round
Buena Park at Hueneme
Banning at Rancho Christian
South El Monte at Artesia
Oakwood at Mary Star
Wildomar Cornerstone Christian at Santa Ana
Leuzinger at Lancaster Desert Christian
Jurupa Valley at Chaffey
Silverado at Oxford Academy
Division 8
Second Round
Orange County Pacifica Christian at United Christian Academy
New Roads at San Jacinto Valley
Coachella Valley at Don Bosco Tech
Rancho Alamitos at San Bernardino
Santa Maria Valley Christian at Arroyo Valley
Edgewood at Beverly Hills
Cal Lutheran at Santa Clarita Christian
Academy of Careers & Exploration at Azusa
SOFTBALL
Tuesday
(All games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
Division 1
First Round
Capistrano Valley at Orange Lutheran
Camarillo at Anaheim Canyon
Huntington Beach at Riverside Poly
Chino Hills at Murrieta Mesa
Great Oak at Norco
JSerra at La Mirada
Oaks Christian at Los Alamitos
South Hills at Garden Grove Pacifica
Division 2
Second Round
El Modena at Mater Dei
Beaumont at Ayala
Tesoro at Gahr
Rio Mesa at Temple City
Rosary Academy at California
Whittier Christian at Cypress
Valley View at Aliso Niguel
La Serna at Valencia
Division 3
Second Round
West Torrance at Arlington
Woodbridge at Fullerton
Redondo Union at Sierra Canyon
Etiwanda at La Canada
Santa Fe at Aquinas
Bishop Amat at King
Royal at Charter Oak
Agoura at Upland
Division 4
Second Round
Norwalk at JW North
Oaks Hills at Jurupa Hills
Downey at Chaminade
Schurr at Mira Costa
Paraclete at San Marcos
La Quinta at Santa Monica
Sultana at Diamond Bar
Crescenta Valley at Orange Vista
Division 5
Second Round
Palos Verdes at West Ranch
Quartz Hill at Carter
Liberty at Keppel
Grace Brethren at Garden Grove
Burbank Providence at South El Monte
Cerritos Valley Christian at Shadow Hills
Paloma Valley at Linfield Christian
Fillmore at St. Bonaventure
Division 6
Second Round
Harvard-Westlake at Ganesha
Granite Hills at Lancaster
Indio at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Garden Grove Santiago at Lakewood St. Joseph
Viewpoint at Pioneer
University Prep at Mayfield
Canyon Springs at Capistrano Valley Christian
Paramount at Tahquitz
Division 7
Second Round
Hawthorne MSA at Oxford Academy
Miller at Los Amigos
Faith Baptist at Yucca Valley
Pasadena Poly at Riverside Prep
Lennox Academy at Eastside
Vista Del Lago at Cathedral City
Academy of Careers & Exploration at Leuzinger
Orangewood Academy at Muir
Division 8
Quarterfinals
Wildomar Cornerstone Christian at Hesperia Christian
Temecula Prep at Orange
United Christian Academy at Excelsior Charter
Jurupa Valley at Archer
Sports
Tom Brady appears angry with Jeff Ross' Robert Kraft joke during Netflix roast: 'Don't say that s— again'
Tom Brady knew that everything was on the table for his live Netflix roast on Sunday night, including the ending of his marriage to Gisele Bündchen.
But when “roast master” Jeff Ross said a joke about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Brady seemed quick to shut it down.
During Ross’s joke presentation, he mentioned Brady being taken 199th overall in the NFL Draft, and he said he walked into Kraft’s office to tell him something.
Robert Kraft and Tom Brady attend Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Feb. 10, 2024. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fanatics)
“’I’m the best decision your organization has ever made,’” Ross said.
But Ross wasn’t done.
“’Would you like a massage?’” he said.
PATRIOTS’ JEROD MAYO DOUBTS TOM BRADY WANTS TO PLAY QUARTERBACK FOR HIS OLD TEAM
WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
The Los Angeles Forum was a mixture of laughs and groans as Ross poked fun at a serious charge that Kraft had faced in early 2019.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports)
In February 2019, Kraft was charged in a multicounty investigation of massage parlors that included a secret video recording in the spas’ lobbies and rooms. Police said the recordings showed Kraft and other men engaging in sex acts with women and paying them.
Kraft would plead not guilty to the charge, issued a public apology in March 2019 and would be cleared of a soliciting sex charge in 2020.
Brady turned toward Ross once the joke was said, and as Ross looked over at Kraft in the crowd, Brady came into frame and tried to whisper something to Ross. But it was caught by a microphone.
“Don’t say that s— again,” he said quickly to Ross, who acknowledged it with a laugh.
Tom Brady attends the Netflix Is A Joke Festival’s “The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady” at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on May 5, 2024. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Brady likely knew there were going to be some things said that he might not like, but he seemed to want the subject of the jokes to stay with him, not his former owner.
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