• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Bronx NY May 25th 2015: Bernie Williams was never mentioned as a member of the core four. But Sunday he became a member of an elusive fraternity that can only be located in one place on the planet. He was enshrined perhaps to the second best Hall behind MLB’s hall of fame which is Monument Park in Yankee stadium. The Yankees commemorated Williams’s achievements by dedicating May 24, 2015 to Bernie while unveiling his plaque in the ever so famous Monument Park. It was a day that brought chills through your spine and raised the hair on your arms weather you were a Yankee fan or not. It was an honor to be able to commemorate an athlete like Williams. Not only did Bernie captivate the Yankee fans he also broke the hearts of many others for his postseason dramatics throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. With his flair for the dramatics Bernie Forever etched his name and numbers not only in the heart and memories of the fans but amongst the greatest Yankees to ever don pinstripes.

It was definitely a night to remember as the fans filled in the stadium to pay homage to one of the most famous and historic Yankees of their last dynasty in the 90’s. Every fan in attendance received an autographed 8×10 Bernie Williams card provided by Steiner sports as a token for coming out to share the special night with Bernie. Bernie Williams unveiled his number in pinstripes at Monument Park with his family besides him before working his way to the field. While making his way to the field the Yankees played a very emotional video of his lifetime achievements on the scoreboard. The video displayed key highlights that catapulted him to greatness forever making him a fan favorite and now Yankee Legend.

Probably the highlight of the festivities was when they introduced all of Bernie’s teammates who played a critical role in the 4 championships he won. First up was the General Manager who was responsible for making the decision to bring Williams up in 1991 Gene Michael. Next up was another all-time favorite Joe Torre who was followed by a couple of fan favorites in David Cone and Tino Martinez. As the Fans chanted “Tino” “Tino” repeatedly Michael Kay introduced Pail O’neill another fan favorite. But saving the best for last Michael Kay introduced Andy Pettite followed by Jorge Posada (Both are also being commemorated later this year) the fans chanted with a loud roar “hip-hip-Jorge” multiple times before Mariano “MO” Rivera stole the electricity from the fans. The last person to be introduced was the one and only “EL CAPITAN” number 2 Derek Jeter as the fans chanted the ever so famous “Derek Jeter” chant the stage was finally set for Bernie Williams to unveil his plaque before his family, fans and teammates.

Williams speech thanked everyone who helped him along his path to the Majors with him emphasizing that the most important memories he had was sharing his achievements before the Yankee fans during his career. Being of Puerto Rican decent Williams also thanked the heavily populated Puerto Rican fans in attendance as well. As of 2015 he holds the career postseason record for runs batted in (80). He is also second all-time for postseason home runs (22), doubles (29), total hits (128), total bases (223), and runs scored (83), and third in post-season games played (121). Standing on Yankee all-time lists as of the beginning of the 2008 season. He is 2nd all-time in doubles, 4th all-time in walks, 5th all-time in hits,5th all-time in extra-base hits, 6th all-time in home runs and 6th all-time in RBIs it was about time they retired his number and they did so in excellent fashion

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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