Bernie Williams Quotations

Very exciting. But I think this team has been very good on putting personal goals aside for the benefit of the team, and I think this should be no different. I think my goal right now is just to play as good as I can so we can win the series. This is a nice note, but still, we're looking at the big picture here.

With this club, it doesn't matter where you hit. You're going to have people on base, one through nine.

There are some things that you notice, and some things that you really need to be presented with to really notice them. Like maybe hitting a ground ball to third base, a chopper or something like that, something that you might beat out when you were younger. Maybe it takes you a little bit longer to get to first base. That half-step might not be there. I think there is a period of time when you get frustrated because your body doesn't react the way you want it to for a while.

When the time comes to perform, I want to be there and be one of the key guys contributing to the success of the team.

My future is going to be determined in a great way on how we finish this year. So I've got to take care of the present now, and hopefully the future will take care of itself.

My fault. Obviously a brain cramp. I had nowhere to go. It was just a mental mistake.

One thing I've got going for me is I'm a baseball player playing a guitar. I'm not a renowned jazz guitarist. There should be people who are just happy to see me up there playing.

I was feeling loose and relaxed, took some good jumps on balls. I was able to make a catch and throw somebody out, which I was very pumped about.

I would get a late jump on a ball and be able to overcome that by running, ... Now I can't get to it.

I didn't want to retire until I had no doubt in my mind it was what I wanted to do. I feel good enough to still play.

I'd love to play those guys. I was just having some fun with Alex, but, yeah, let's go. If we play these guys, I've got a good scouting report on them.

He has been one of our great players this season, ... Flashes of greatness and then doing things that are not as good. But I think his attitude is exemplary. He made a mistake. He didn't get down on himself. He got back up.

He has been with other teams, too, so it's not like he was the face of the Red Sox. He had a couple good years with them and he's our teammate now. He's going to help us a lot.

When he needs a break, I'm going to go out there and try to do the best that I can. Hopefully it won't be too much of a downgrade. I'll be ready to play.

Today is a day to reflect upon our season. The day will come when I will have to make a decision, but that isn't today.

I already have the frame for it all ready at home.

Joe is the kind of person that will not show his emotions. He probably could have been the greatest poker player alive if he had chosen to do that. He's the epitome of that phrase: 'Never let them see you sweat.

Joe is the kind of person that will not show his emotions,

I went straight to the bottom and it circled around and came back and it kept going around in circles.

I was trying to make sure I was within protocol within the team, and trying not to disturb anybody. They were not going to stop, so I sort of looked at Joe and said, 'Can I do this?' and he said, 'Yes.' It was a great moment, and I appreciate it a lot.

I was trying to make sure I was within protocol.

I was hoping that I could do something to redeem myself.

I think I had a good jump on that one. Not a bad first day. Hopefully I was able to raise some eyes and show a little of what I'm able to do in the outfield.

It felt like I was playing in the World Series in March. It's a great feeling. There's something very special about playing for my country, in my hometown, with people saying my name.

It doesn't show that I have anything torn, by the test that the trainer did to my shoulder. He doesn't seem to think I have anything to worry about. It's just a deep bruise, I guess. We'll see what happens tomorrow. We're going to keep packing it in ice and getting therapy and try to get it going.

I still think I can play out there (in center field) every day. But you have to take what they give you and run with it and make the best out of it. That's the magic of this game. People can write you off, say whatever they want to say about you, but it's really up to you to go out there and perform and prove people wrong. I've been proving people wrong forever.

When my Yankee career is over I'll play anywhere, but I'm positive that I'll never find a team quite like the Yankees.

Don't be afraid to take risks. Make the most of your journey. Make it fun and exciting.

I had a good run here, fifteen years. That's a great run. I'm not saying that I'm done in center field - if I could play there forever, I would. But I know that's not reality, so I'm happy.

My job is to make myself available to play to the best of my ability. Mentally, I've got to stay ready to play every day.

I have played professional baseball for over half my life. From the time I picked up a baseball glove, I did not want to put it down.

I know the good Lord wouldn't give me any more than I can handle, but I sure wish he wouldn't have so much confidence in me.

My experience over 17 years playing with the Yankees, these are a few of the things that I've learned. You've got to have a plan of action, You have to stay focused on the things you can control, and don't get discouraged or distracted by the things you cannot control.

That's what I have to live with, man.

You can feel the fans almost breathing down your neck when you're in the on-deck circle. And whatever they have to say, they will say it to you. They won't hold back.

We had to win the first game. This was the ice breaker.

This reminds me of '98, ... Hopefully (today) will not be my last game here. I don't take any day I come here for granted, and I never have. But I don't want to treat this game like it's my last, and I don't want the fans to act any differently.

You have to have speed, but you also have to have good reaction to what the pitcher is doing,'' Raines said.

This year might be more of a challenge, every day, with different roles. I think I have enough experience with this team that I can help.

We went out there trying hard. Unfortunately, we're not in the business of trying. We're in the business of doing.

Every year, we go through challenges. With my dad, it was what I was going through. As a professional player, you have to rise above, you can't use it as an excuse. It was definitely on my mind, but I wouldn't put it as a reason. I just didn't hit.

I used to get angry at my body when I was younger, when it was supposed to respond to every command, but now I don't,

Right now, we have more important things to worry about than my personal future, ... My future will be determined, in a great way, by how we finish the season.

As long as we've got his presence there, that's the most important thing, because being the D.H. doesn't bother him,

You're always surprised. You never know what's gonna happen at Yankee Stadium.

The year is full of surprises. I might be on the bench all year, or play more than I ever expected, or it could be somewhere in between. But mentally and physically, I'm ready.

They have stepped up. Make no mistake about it, Robby and Wang have carried us at times, ... Without them, we are not in this position.

It's too early to say that. The year is full of surprises. I could be on the bench all year, I might play more than I ever anticipated or somewhere in the middle. I have to keep my mind open.

It is weird. You know going in, that this isn't going to last. In a little while, we'll return to our teams and it'll be back to normal.

It's going to be a great experience playing with all of these guys. I've played with or against these players most of my career. But it's been a while with some. I haven't played with Delgado since 1995.

It's not a casual thing for the fans here anymore. Before, people came halfway through the game and left by the seventh inning, no matter the score. It's a credit to the front office that they have put a winning team on the field, and the people are interested in what happens.

The ball was in my court. It was just a question of whether I would accept the role they had for me. ... To play for another team, it would have been a very difficult situation. I'd like to be in a position to retire as a Yankee.

It was like he got in some sort of zone and everything seemed to flow for him. I remember hitting something hard off him my first time up and then I couldn't hit anything.

It was more whether or not I was going to retire or not as opposed to playing for another team. I didn't want to have any doubts. I really wanted to give myself a chance to retire as a Yankee.

It's very hard to always expect to do the things we're supposed to do as a team,

It will probably be a more complicated role than being an everyday player at a set position. If I look at it that way, I think it will be more of a challenge for me.

It will probably be a more complicated role than an everyday player.

The World Series and the postseason is a thing you've got to go with the flow. In the World Series, you let it all out.

They were not going to stop, ... It was a great moment, and I appreciate it a lot.

I'm not retiring, ... I'm not done here.

I'm going to play as long as my physical abilities allow me to. I still feel very good physically.

I remember just being attracted to the music. When I had the opportunity to pick up a guitar, it was like it was inside of me. It was a challenge to learn how to play it. I didn't want to stop.

I really wanted to retire as a Yankee.

I'll have to use a lot of caution. Hopefully, the situation will not come.

I just felt like I'd been hit by a truck on the side and there was a very large shark head hanging off my arm, trying to chew it.

Being human, yeah, it has to cross my mind. But, as a team, we have a lot more things to worry about.

Being human, it has crossed my mind, but as a team, we have a lot more things to worry about than my personal future. We have a lot of very important games to go, and that's where our focus should be right now.

Hopefully I was able to raise some eyes, show a little bit of what I can do out there in the outfield.

I'd hate to think where we'd be without those two, ... They play the way rookies do, with flashes of greatness one minute, and then maybe a mistake the next. They're learning as they go along.

He always had a flair for the dramatic. I would be surprised if he doesn't do anything.

He always had a flair for the dramatic.

All in all, the career has been great, a great ride. I'm enjoying every moment of it. The older I get, the more I'm enjoying it.

You've got to keep an everyday player's attitude to play this game. It's just going to be a matter of dealing with the disappointment of not being able to play every day.

The concept is like a dream for me. However, the timing of the tournament is questionable at best.