Despite having one of baseball’s most powerful agents, Scott Boras, New York Yankees legend Bernie Williams recently revealed a hilarious story about how he did the negotiating with George Steinbrenner to finalize the biggest contract of his career.
Bernie Williams was a beloved member of the Yankees roster from 1991 to 2006. While he was certainly overshadowed by greats like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettite and Mariano Rivera, they don’t have a dynasty during the late 1990s without the center fielder.
Yet, there was a point midway through his career when the door was open to taking his talents elsewhere in free agency. During a recent appearance on the “Diggin Deep” podcast, the 56-year-old told a hilarious story about his agent, Scott Boras, and general manager Brian Cashman hitting a negotiating impasse. And how a conversation with legendary New York Yankees boss George Steinbrenner helped bridge the gap and lock him into a new long-term deal.
- Bernie Williams stats (Career): .297 AVG, .381 OBP, .477 SLG, .858 OPS, 287 HR, 1,257 RBI, 1,366 R
Bernie Williams claims he negotiated the terms of his biggest New York Yankees contract
“Scott [Boras] and Brian Cashman hit an impasse. Scott was like, ‘I think my player is worth this,’ and Brian is like, ‘We don’t believe he’s worth that so we’re gonna offer you this,'” Williams recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, Scott, the Yankees are my best option. So what can you do to make this thing happen?’ He said, ‘Well, there’s something that you can do. You can call George yourself and talk to him. This is his phone number. Call him and just plead your case.’ And that’s exactly what I did.
“George comes on to the phone and says, ‘What do you want?’ And I was like, ‘This is Bernie Williams. I know I’ve never asked anything from you, but you know for a fact that I want to be a Yankee. And you know for a fact that you want me to be a Yankee. So let’s cut all this middle man stuff and make this happen,'” Williams remembered. “He said, ‘Okay, so what do you want?’ I said, ‘I want [Mike] Piazza’s money.’ He said, ‘Okay, let me talk to the people here. Give me about an hour. And I’ll call you back.’
“He came back with an offer. Talked to Scott and said, ‘This is what they offered me.’ He said, ‘This is the best offer you’re gonna get. If you want to remain a Yankee you go ahead and take that.’ The negotiation I actually did myself. That decision basically cemented me as a Yankees for the rest of my career.”
Williams played his entire 16-year career in the Bronx. He earned All-Star honors on five occasions and four Gold Gloves.