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Bern, baby, Bern Williams lives up to lofty expectations in postseason
Updated: Tuesday October 23, 2001 5:07 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bernie Williams has a tough act to follow at Yankee Stadium, playing center field where Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle once played and batting fourth where Lou Gehrig and Mantle once swung. On Monday night, Williams proved again that he is equal to the task, hitting his third home run in as many games as the New York Yankees finished off Seattle 12-3 to clinch the American League pennant. And he passed another Yankee icon in the process. The two-run homer in the third inning was the 16th of his postseason career, moving him past Babe Ruth on the all-time list. He is one behind Cleveland's Jim Thome and two back of co-leaders Mantle and Reggie Jackson. Williams was typically low key about it. "I've been in a good groove at the right time," he said. "I've also been blessed because most of the pitches I hit out I didn't hit that good." They were good enough for manager Joe Torre, who has come to expect that kind of thing from his cleanup hitter.
Torre was particularly impressed with the way Monday night's home run, which doubled the Yankees lead from 2-0 to 4-0, developed. "Bernie has done it for the six years I've been here," Torre said, "but today was such a big home run because two runs and four runs, it's a big difference." What impressed Torre was the way Williams battled back from a two-strike hole against Aaron Sele and got the count to 3-and-2. "I had a pretty good feeling that he was going to put the ball in play and hit it because when you see that many pitches, it means he was seeing the ball good on that at-bat after going 0-2. "It looked like Sele was throwing the ball by him, and to hit the ball as he did to the opposite field, it was huge for us, it really was," Torre said.
Williams tries to shun the spotlight. "When it comes time to perform, I want to be one of the guys to contribute," he said. Besides the homers, Williams also drew two walks in Game 4 and another in Game 5, pushing his career total to 21 and taking the all-time ALCS lead from Rickey Henderson. He came into the playoffs as one of the Yankees' best postseason players, with a career average of .386 in league championship series play. Williams is soft spoken, a classical guitarist who prefers to be part of the Yankees' chorus instead of the lead singer. But his production often forces him to center stage. He hit .307 this season with a career-high 38 doubles, 26 home runs and 94 RBIs despite missing two stretches to be with his ailing father who died May 13.
Williams came back from that personal loss to lead the majors in hitting in June, batting .450 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 25 RBIs, a month that defined his role as the centerpiece of the Yankees' attack.
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