Making the move from baseball player to jazz musician has been quite a challenge for Bernie Williams.
“It did not matter how many home runs I hit,” the Yankees legend told Cheddar. “What mattered was, can this guy play [music]?...I had to work very hard to get my [music] degree and I’m very proud of it.”
The Latin Grammy nominee says that winning baseball games was easier than his second career. He earned a degree in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2016 and describes the process as “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Williams, a four-time World Series champ and five-time MLB All Star, is prepping for a debut at Café Carlyle on March 6.
And he said maybe surprisingly, the process isn’t much different from what he was used to on the field.
“A lot of the things that I did in baseball, outside of the physical aspect of it, came from the same source,” Williams said. “It’s a commitment to discipline, work ethics, no shortcuts, learning from your mistakes, and taking yourself seriously in both disciplines.
“The only difference is that when playing baseball, I can detach from the fans, I could detach from the audience … As a musician, you have to go on stage and invite everybody into your world.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yankees-great-bernie-williams-is-ready-for-his-cafe-carlyle-debut).
The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility.
NASCAR and IndyCar have postponed their weekend schedules at Atlanta Motor Speedway and St. Petersburg, Florida, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Boston Marathon has been postponed for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The race is sacrificing its customary Patriots Day start in the hopes of preserving the uninterrupted 124-year tradition of the world's most prestigious long-distance run.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, March 13, 2020.
Kate Delaney, author and host of NBC Sports Radio sus
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee discussed how athletes can only focus on what they have control over in terms of the Tokyo games, and that women in sports need to keep pressing for change.
Heather Hardy, pro boxer, has a petition urging the World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council to remove the word 'female' from boxing championship belts.
Rapper Offset talked to Cheddar about providing opportunities and building community through his partnership with esport organization FaZe Clan.
Authorities are investigating whether deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene where Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others were killed, according to a newspaper report.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
