Bernie still a baseball king

Bernie Williams misses baseball. For the second year in a row, Bernie was at the New York Yankees spring training camp. Last year, he was preparing to play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. This time around, Bernie is a spectator.

Now that his playing career is essentially over and all the bad feelings from his departure from the Yankees have seemingly faded, Bernie has entered that rare space of retired Yankee legends beloved by fans. It's a fine spot for him, one that he deserves.

Young Puerto Rican players such as Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan still idolize Bernie. The admiration Pagan has for Bernie was evident in his voice and the way his face lit up when he told Mike Francesa that Bernie is still his favorite player. "I wanted to be like him," Pagan said. "He's the king."

Once a king, always a king. That's Bernie.

Thanks to Googie man via en.Wikipedia for the photo.