Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and current musician.

The Yankees put Williams in a training camp in Connecticut, near the home of scouting director Doug Melvin, who later had González on his Texas Rangers teams.

[3] After playing a few games in the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League on the Katz Sports Shop team, Williams was officially signed by the Yankees on his 17th birthday.

[4][5][6] While playing in Minor League Baseball, Williams took a course on biology at the University of Puerto Rico, and considered undertaking a pre-medical track as an undergraduate student.

[8] Although viewed as a great prospect by Yankee management, his rise to the majors was delayed by the solid outfield — Roberto Kelly, Danny Tartabull, and Jesse Barfield — that the team had developed in the early 1990s.

[8][dead link‍] Williams managed to break into the majors in 1991 to replace the injured Roberto Kelly for the second half of that season.

[4] He was demoted to the minors until Danny Tartabull was injured, and Williams earned his stay at center by putting up solid numbers.

[4] Williams continued his hot hitting into the postseason, leading the Yankees with a .429 batting average in the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Seattle Mariners.

According to The New York Times sportswriter Murray Chass, Williams was nearly dealt to the Tigers for a package of young pitchers including Roberto Durán and first round draft pick Mike Drumright.

[10] During the 1998 season, in which the Yankees went 114–48 to set a then-American League regular-season record, Williams finished with a .339 average, becoming the first player to win a batting title, Gold Glove award, and World Series ring in the same year.

[4] For the length of the contract, the Yankees made the playoffs every single year, and as a result Williams continued to add to his postseason statistics.

He also finished third in the American League in batting average (.342), third in hits (202), fourth in on-base percentage (.435), fifth in bases on balls (100), and seventh in runs scored (116).

In December, Williams was offered arbitration by team general manager Brian Cashman to allow an additional month for negotiation.

[15] In 2006, Williams saw a good amount of playing time in the corner outfield spots with both Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield out with wrist injuries, and did spot duty in center field on days when starting center fielder Johnny Damon was given time off to rest, playing more than was expected when he signed his one-year extension with the Yankees in 2006.

Williams played for Puerto Rico in the 2006 MLB World Baseball Classic, joining Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltrán, Mike Lowell, Javier Vázquez, and José Vidro amongst others representing the U.S. territory in a team managed by St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo.

[16] The Yankees offered Williams an invitation to spring training as a non-roster invitee, giving him a chance to compete for a job.

[18] After two years of inactivity, Williams returned to action in 2008, playing for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

Standing on Yankee all-time lists as of the beginning of the 2021 season:[26] Williams appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2012.

Williams signed with Paul McCartney's publishing company, MPL Communications,[31] and his major label debut, The Journey Within, was released on June 22, 2003.

Tracks like "La Salsa En Mi" and "Desvelado" mix his love of jazz with Latin rhythms.

Other highlights include Williams' heartfelt tribute to his father, "Para Don Berna;" a reworking of the Baden Powell song, "Samba Novo;" and "La Salsa En Mi," featuring background vocals from 2003 Grammy Award winner Rubén Blades and salsa legend Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Also joining Williams was an all-star ensemble of musicians including multiple Grammy-winning banjo player Béla Fleck, keyboardist David Sancious, percussionist Luis Conte, bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Tim Pierce, and drummers Kenny Aronoff and Shawn Pelton, among others.

With the money he helped raise, Williams delivered instruments to a school in the Bronx and gave the students a lesson in music and life.

[38] In August 2015 Williams and sports marketer Brandon Steiner made a surprise visit to Camp Adventure, where they helped revive the music program of KiDS NEED MORE, a charitable organization dedicated to creating camping experiences for children, families, and young adults coping with cancer and life-threatening illnesses.