Minor leagues In 1985, Roberto Rivera, a
scout for the
New York Yankees of
Major League Baseball (MLB), discovered Williams and Williams' friend,
Juan González. Though Rivera was not interested in González, who he perceived as not taking the game seriously, he wanted to sign Williams. However, Williams was a few months shy of his 17th birthday, when he would become eligible to sign with an MLB team. 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. 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. Playing for
Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees, he continued to develop his athletic skills – particularly as a switch hitter. Michael discussed trading Williams for
Larry Walker with the
Montreal Expos, but did not make the trade. In his first full season with the Yankees, Williams had a .268
batting average. Throughout the early 1990s, Williams hit in the middle of the order as management tried to figure out where his best fit was.
1995–1998 Manager
Buck Showalter helped keep Williams with the Yankees through 1995, when Steinbrenner became frustrated by the team's difficulty in placing Williams in any of the traditional baseball player molds. He had good speed, but rarely stole bases. In center, he was highly capable at tracking down fly balls and line drives, but had a weak throwing arm. He was a consistent hitter but only had mild home run power. In 1995, Steinbrenner again considered trading Williams, this time to the
San Francisco Giants for
Darren Lewis. The Yankees kept Williams, who went on to have a breakout season. He hit 18 home runs and led the team in runs, hits, total bases and stolen bases. Watson also discussed Williams with the
Chicago Cubs in a potential trade involving
Lance Johnson. In 1999, Williams recorded 200+ hits for the first time in his career and won his third straight Gold Glove Award. 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). The following year, he once again won a Gold Glove Award and set career highs with 30 home runs and 121 runs batted in. In 2002, Williams won the only
Silver Slugger Award of his career, as he hit .333 and recorded a career-high 204 base hits.
2005 The last year covered by Williams’ contract, 2005, proved to be a difficult one. He started just 99 games in center field and 22 games as designated hitter, and his already weak arm was more noticeable as his fielding and batting abilities deteriorated. He had a career-worst .321 OBP and
batting average on balls in play (.274). As expected, the Yankees announced on August 2, 2005, that they would not pick up the $15 million option on Williams' contract for the 2006 season, opting to pay a $3.5 million buyout instead. In December, Williams was offered arbitration by team general manager
Brian Cashman to allow an additional month for negotiation. On December 22, the Yankees re-signed Williams to a 1-year, $1.5 million contract.
2006 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. Williams hit two home runs in the 2006 WBC. On July 26, 2006, Williams got his 2,300th career hit, becoming the 11th active player in the Majors with 2,300 or more career hits. Williams continued to climb the Yankees record books by hitting his 443rd career double on August 16, 2006, surpassing then-bench coach
Don Mattingly for second-most as a Yankee. For the year, he walked only 7.3% of the time, a career-worst.
Out of contract Williams' contract expired at the end of the 2006 season. He had hoped to return to the Yankees in 2007 and was willing to accept a role as a back-up outfielder and pinch hitter. The Yankees offered Williams an invitation to spring training as a
non-roster invitee, giving him a chance to compete for a job. Williams, however, wanted a guaranteed roster spot and declined the invitation. On September 21, 2008, Williams made his first return to Yankee Stadium since 2006 for the ceremonies preceding the final game at the stadium. He was the last former player to be introduced and received a standing ovation that lasted a minute and 42 seconds.
2009 World Baseball Classic in 2008 After two years of inactivity, Williams returned to action in 2008, playing for the
Gigantes de Carolina in the
Puerto Rico Baseball League. He was interested in gauging his condition prior to possibly participating in the
2009 World Baseball Classic. MLB.com reported on December 30, 2008, that Williams had injured his quad while playing for Carolina and may not be able to play in the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico. On February 19, 2009, Williams worked out with the Yankees at the team's spring training complex. Williams hinted that if he performed well in the World Baseball Classic he might consider returning to the Yankees. In March 2009 he played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, going 0-for-5 with two walks; after the series concluded, he expressed interest in playing in the Major Leagues again.
Retirement Though he did not appear in a Major League Baseball game after 2006, Williams did not officially retire until 2015. At the February 2011 retirement press conference for
Andy Pettitte, Williams acknowledged that his career was over and stated that he would officially announce his retirement soon thereafter. Williams officially retired on April 24, 2015, with the Yankees. ==MLB statistics==