Former star center fielder Bernie Williams is in San Diego to showcase his new jazz guitar album at a show at the Hotel Del.
Williams was a superstar with the New York Yankees with a hot bat. The bat's not totally gone, but it is taking a back seat to an acoustic jazz guitar and a second career as a jazz musician.
Now, Williams is "Moving Forward" -- the name of his new CD. Still, playing the guitar is not new to him.
"I've been [playing guitar and baseball] since I was a little kid -- since I was 8 years old, I started playing in Little League and started taking guitar lessons," Williams said.
Baseball called first.
"I couldn't pass it up," Williams said. "It was a great opportunity."
The former ballplayer said the transition from outfielder to guitarist was not as difficult as some may think.
"Music is something I've been doing my whole life, and it has been a very important part of my life.... The change is just doing it publicly," Williams said.
He's not alone, though -- there are some heavy hitters on his CD, including Bruce Springsteen and Jon Secada.
"I had a great opportunity to have them work on this CD, where they did such a great job," Williams said. "I'm just so happy to have them play on my album as well."
