- April 26, 2024
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WINTER GARDEN Mason Williams will always be known as the first West Orange Warrior to suit up for a Major League Baseball game.
As of Feb. 12, he’ll now also be known as the first Warrior to have had his number retired at his alma mater.
Head coach Jesse Marlo and the West Orange program invited Williams, who is continuing through a rehabilitation process after a shoulder injury ended his season in 2015, back to his old stomping grounds to celebrate the retiring of his No. 9 jersey before the Warriors’ game Friday night against Jacksonville’s Trinity Christian.
Williams was presented with a plaque and also was present for the unveiling of a banner with his name and number placed along the outfield wall under the field’s scoreboard.
To Marlo, bestowing the honor on Williams, who was a key part of a particularly successful run for the program at West Orange between 2007-2010, was an easy call.
“It was a no-brainer — 40 years the school has been around and he is the first guy to play in the Major Leagues,” Marlo said. “He was a great player when he was here and I’m sure he’s got a lot more good days ahead of him with the Yankees.”
For Williams, who graduated from West Orange in 2010 before being drafted by the Yankees that summer, it was a humbling occasion.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Williams said. “I was just on the field (at West Orange) not too long ago. It’s a tremendous honor.”
Williams was called up to the New York Yankees from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre June 11.
It was the beginning of whirlwind few weeks for the outfielder hailing from Winter Garden — starting with the news that one of his lifelong dreams would be coming true.
“Just telling my family ‘come to Baltimore’ — that’s what really got to me,” Williams said, referring to his first game June 12 on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.
More than just being called up to the big club, Williams played in that first game and — in just his second at-bat — homered.
“I blacked out,” Williams recalled with a laugh. “I remember telling myself ‘try not to sprint around the bases.’”
A native of Pawtucket, R.I., who spent the majority of his youth in Winter Garden, there was a bit of an adjustment for Williams when he arrived in New York City — the country's largest metropolis — once the Yankees returned home from Baltimore.
“When I got to New York, it was kind of my first taste of the big city,” Williams said. “I rode the subway (to Yankee Stadium), played the games and after the games I rode the subway back home. It was neat.”
Williams played well in eight games for the Yankees, batting .286 with three doubles and a home run in addition to some impressive catches in centerfield. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury cut short Williams’ time with the big club — at least for the time being. For now, he is hard at work to get another taste of the big show.
“(It’s a) rollercoaster — that’s all it is,” Williams said. “That’s just like the season is … there’s ups and there’s downs and it’s just about how you take the downs.”
Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].
