Gerald Williams, former Yankee and Met, dies at 55

Gerald Williams, who played 14 years in the big leagues – including two stints with the Yankees where one memorable spring training in the early 1990's he would stand up for an up-and-coming teenaged prospect named Derek Jeter, engendering an enduring friendship – died Tuesday morning at the age of 55.

Jeter made the announcement on Twitter.

"Gerald Williams passed away this morning after a battle with cancer," Jeter, the Hall of Fame shortstop who currently is a part-owner and the CEO of the Miami Marlins, wrote. "To my teammate and one of my best friends in the world, rest in peace, my brother. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Liliana, and their whole family."

Williams, an at-times standout defender in the outfield – especially in center – played in the majors from 1992-2005, amassing a career batting average of .255 with 85 homers and 365 RBIs in 1,168 games.

"Gerald Williams made his mark as a steady contributor and popular teammate over 14 seasons with six teams," the Major League Baseball Players Association said in a statement. "The Players Association sends its condolences to Gerald’s family and his many friends and fans in the game."

Former Yankee Bernie Williams issued the following statement:

"I am deeply saddened about the passing of my good friend Gerald Williams. I remember our time in the minors when we were roommates…through thick and thin, we had each other’s backs. We used to talk and dream about how it would be like to play in the big leagues. He had more power, he was faster, and definitely had an exponentially better throwing arm than me, so we used to joke around about him being called up by the Yankees first. We played side-by-side in the big leagues for a little while, so our dream did come true. He was a stand up individual with great character and integrity throughout his whole life. Even though our lives went in separate ways, I always considered him a true friend and a mentor. I will miss him a lot."

A 14th-round pick of the Yankees in the 1987 draft out of Grambling State University, Williams played for the Bombers from 1992-96.

Among Williams’ noteworthy accomplishments during that period was becoming just the second Yankee to collect six hits in one game, doing so May 1, 1996 against the Orioles (Myril Hoag was the first, on June 6, 1934, and Johnny Damon became the third in 2008), and helping Dwight Gooden earn a no-hitter less than two weeks later against the Mariners at the Stadium. On May 14, 1996 Williams, starting that night in centerfield for Bernie Williams, chased down a scorched first-inning drive to center off the bat of 20-year-old Alex Rodriguez with a back-handed catch as he ran full speed. Gerald Williams spun, then fired the ball back in, doubling Darren Bragg, who walked to lead off the game, off first. There were few hard-hit balls the rest of the way off Gooden in a 2-0 Yankees’ victory.

Williams would be dealt to the Brewers later in 1996 and the outfielder went on to also play for Atlanta, the Devil Rays, Marlins and Mets, with whom he played his final two big-league seasons in 2004-05. Williams, nicknamed "Ice," had a second stint with the Yankees from 2001-02, reuniting with Jeter.

In his 2000 book, "The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams," written with YES analyst Jack Curry, then a baseball writer for the New York Times, Jeter described the origin of his relationship with Williams.

It was spring training of 1993 in Fort Lauderdale, where the Yankees trained from 1962-1995.

"There was an older infielder in the organization who decided he was going to haze me," Jeter wrote of his first big-league camp at the age of 18, the year after he was drafted by the Yankees sixth overall in the 1992 draft.

Jeter wrote that the veteran infielder, whom he did not identify then and still has not publicly outed, instructed teammates not to help the teenager pick up the baseballs spread about the plate and mound area after batting practice, despite the sport’s age-old etiquette all but requiring every player in a participating BP group doing so.

"Let him do it," Jeter recalled the unnamed teammate saying.

Williams, then 26, approached the quiet and reserved Jeter and asked him to dinner.

"Gerald Williams saved me," Jeter wrote, later saying the hazing "ceased soon after" that first meal, which would be one of hundreds shared between the two in the ensuing years and decades.

"He is a person who thrives on life," Jeter wrote of Williams in the book. "If I had to make a model out of the type of person to have as a friend, a person you can lean on or joke with, it would be Gerald. He is a wise man, a candid man, a positive man. If you have friends with those traits, consider yourself lucky."