Former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams hasn’t played in the major leagues in four years, but his love of baseball remains strong. Currently, Williams spends his days playing guitar, but baseball strikes a different chord with the five-time All-Star outfielder, the New York Post reports.
Williams visited the Yankees’ spring training clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday and still has strong feelings for the Yankees.
"Seventy percent musician, 30 percent player," Williams told the Post. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have feelings for the organization."
The Yankees and Williams broke up following the 2006 season. Williams declined New York’s minor league contract offer in 2007, and although he has not officially retired, he has not played in the majors since.
"I go through periods of times when I go back and forth and this doesn't help, seeing these guys," Williams told the Post. "Any way I look at it, I can't lose. If I come back, great. If I don't, great."
The former Yankee plays music to fill the baseball void in his life.
"The key is to find something to fill the void, to be the best you can be at something," Williams said. "I think I have found it in music. I have been getting great reviews and have reinvented myself."
Williams recognizes he will never return to baseball as a player, but he has reached a peaceful place with the game he played, one that allows him to march to his own beat.