By Benyamin Davidsons
Former Yankee Bernie Williams, who was part of four World Series championships with the New York team, reflected on how he feels baseball helped the city recover following the 9/11 terror attack.
The baseball champ was at the unveiling of artist Charles Fazzino’s exhibit “A Time of Remembrance” for Carlton Fine Arts on August 23rd. The painting was commissioned by the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum as a tribute to all those affected by the 9-11 attacks including victims, survivors, and heroes. The piece aims to preserve the visual history of the tragic attack, and celebrate the beautiful city’s resilience. “I, like so many others, was permanently scarred by the events of 9/11,” said Fazzino. “I have been equally amazed and inspired by all that has risen from the ashes. My work is meant to celebrate the hope of a people and the promise of the future: Twenty Years Later.” Special guests joined the unveiling including: Bernie Williams, NY Mets All-Star Pete Alonso, Former NY Mets owner Jeff Wilpon, 9/11 Memorial & Museum CEO Alice Greenwald, Former Chief of NYPD Joseph Esposito, and Former Commissioner of NYPD Salvatore Cassano.
As reported by the NY Post, Williams said coming in contact with victims of the tragedy changed his outlook on life, as well as how he viewed his role on the team. “I was in New York during 9/11 and I was questioning a lot of things about my work and the fact that we would just throw a ball, hit a ball and run the bases,” Williams said. “That kind of line of work seemed a little insignificant in light of what was happening.”
He recalled, however, how the team brought alive hope in the people they interacted with. “Everything started turning around when we started visiting the Javits Center, the hospital and the armory,” Williams said. “When they started saying, ‘The Yankees are here! The Yankees are here!,’ and gave people a smile in that moment.” He said the tragic event also changed his outlook during the 2001 World Series, even though they didn’t win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “We were playing for something bigger than myself, bigger than the team, bigger than major league baseball,” he said. “We were playing for the city of New York and the country.”
Williams, now 52, had played center field for the Yankees from 1991-2006, spending his entire 16-year MLB career with the NY team. He now plays guitar in the jazz band named Bernie Williams Collective.
