Yankee Legend Bernie Williams Has a New Ball Game

As the Hamptons prepped for the MLB All-Star Game—and N.Y. Mets fans lamented the start of some guy named Cain instead of R.A. Dickey—we caught up with five-time All-Star Bernie Williams, who will grace the stage at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday armed not with a bat, but with a guitar.

Currently, Williams is at the 83rd annual All-Star Game in Kansas City in what is a tangible fusion of his two passions, as he performs at pre-game shows and takes in the unique atmosphere of the Midsummer Classic. As a lifelong Yankee, Williams ultimately hopes that the American League wins—home-field advantage is on the line, after all—but he has friends on both sides and is mostly hoping to have a good time.

Williams has punctuated that illustrious career as a New York Yankee ballplayer—“There were so many memories, playing on championship teams—the whole Yankee experience was amazing”—with a burgeoning career as a jazz guitarist. “To me, music was something that I’ve always been able to do,” says Williams. When he stopped playing baseball—his last game with the Yankees was on October 1, 2006—it seemed natural to gravitate to the music scene on a professional level.

“Music and baseball require similar work ethic and discipline,” says Williams. “You need to put in a lot of effort in order to get results.”