MLB WORLD SERIES: PADRES v YANKEES

October 21, 1998

Bernie Williams

BERNIE WILLIAMS: Well, I always knew that he had the capabilities of being a great hitter. Two years ago when he was in Oakland, I always had a lot of respect for him. I really don't know what happened the year that he hit .203, but that's out of character. I always knew that he could hit.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: To me it's an honor, basically it's an honor for me. I think the first couple of years that I came into the Big Leagues, I was just so excited to be there that probably any team would have done. But down through my third to fourth year, I started to be aware of all the tradition and all of the things that came up just for being a Yankee. And the type of sort of responsibilities, if you will, were to me, to play in the same position that all those great players in the past played in Yankee Stadium, and to me it's an honor, and I don't take any day that I play there for granted.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: No, not yet. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I don't think it's true. I think in the past three years now I've been approaching the game the same way that I have in the past two postseasons, I was the same way, I was very reserved, just trying to stay focused on playing the game. I think the circumstances surrounding my situation right now with my contract negotiations and all the distractions that I've had during the year, has maybe somewhat made people assume that I'm trying to distance myself from the team, and doing all kinds of stuff, but I haven't changed. And that thing hasn't distracted me during the regular season, and it's not going to distract me in the postseason.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I'm not really thinking about that right now. I'll be a fool not to enjoy the time that I have right now, being in the postseason, three out of my last four years, having an opportunity to win the World Series this year, and having won it in '96, it's been a great time for me. And it doesn't make any sense for me to worry about what's going to happen in the future. When that time comes, I'm going to have all the things in front of me to make -- hopefully make a wise decision, but right now I'm focusing on having a good series and enjoying the time that I have right now.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: Well, I found that every year that I've played here I've always played under a different challenge. And every year it's different. And this year the challenge was all the distractions because of the contract negotiations. And I've taken a lot of pride in playing through all the distractions and playing through all the challenges, and trying to overcome all the adversity that has happened, whether it's good or bad, I've always been able to focus and trying to keep my head straight and play hard, trying to separate the aspect of the -- the business aspect of the game from the aspect that I like doing the most, which is playing.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I think it's the same. Sometimes I let it slip a little bit and in the back of my mind it's all that uncertainty feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next year, but then I start thinking about the things that are happening to me right now and I feel very blessed and I'm just going to worry about that when the time comes.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I feel great. Joe has been -- he just has been a great manager for us, a great leader for us. I think he really has taken the trouble to know what makes everybody tick and how he can get the best out of everybody, to play up to the best of their ability. And he's very aware of the player as an individual and as a person, and I have a lot to thank him for, in my personal life. So I'm just very happy for him.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: No, not until you brought it up. But I'm just not going to let myself think about that possibility right now. I have a lot more things to think about, within the next three or four hours, and then after that. So it's just going to be a matter of staying focused on the things that I need to do, and think very short-term, very, very short-term right now.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I'll say it's probably about as good as any other team right now. I think -- I have a lot of memories here and playing here, I don't know anything else. I wouldn't know what it is to play for another team. And is that going to weigh into my decision, yeah, it is, but right now we have had a lot of history of past things that have happened between both parties and it's just a thing that I wouldn't want to get into right now. I think my focus should be on other things right now.

BERNIE WILLIAMS: I don't know. To me it would be, because I'm part of this team. And I'm very proud of what we have accomplished this year. The fact that we won 114 games and have an opportunity to win the World Series, when I look back at it 10, 15 years from now, I'm going to say that I played with probably one of the best teams that have ever played in the American League.