Former Yankees Outfielder Gerald Williams Dead At 55

Former Major League Baseball outfielder Gerald Williams died at the age of 55 Tuesday (February 9) after a battle with cancer.

Williams played 14 seasons at the MLB level, which included two stints with the New York Yankees from 1992-96 and 2001-02.

Baseball Hall of Famer and former Yankees captain Derek Jeter announced his friend and former teammate's death through his media company the Players' Tribune.

“Gerald Williams passed away this morning after a battle with cancer,” Jeter said in a statement shared by The Players' Tribune's verified Twitter account. “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, nicknamed "Ice" during his playing career, made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 1992 before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in August 1996.

Fellow former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams, who roomed with Gerald Williams during their shared stint in the minor leagues and spent several seasons together in New York, said he was "deeply saddened" amid the news of his former teammate's death.

“Through thick and thin, we had each other’s backs,” Bernie Williams said in a post shared on his verified Instagram account. “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.

Williams also played for the Atlanta Braves (1998-99); Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays (2000-01); Florida Marlins (2003) and New York Mets (2004-05) before announcing his retirement.