Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Bernie Williams – Melky Cabrera? That doesn’t sound so farfetched to Williams.
But Williams, the former Yankees center fielder, also has a suggestion for the position’s present caretaker in The Bronx: Don’t take anything for granted.
“There is always going to be rumors, always going to be people talking about the fact that [Cabrera] may or may not be on the team,” the 39-year-old Williams said yesterday during an appearance with Joe Torre in Union City, N.J., for the manager’s “Safe at Home” foundation.
“But as long as he takes care of what he needs to on the field, he’ll dissipate all that talk,” Williams said.
Cabrera, who claimed the starting center-field duties in June when Johnny Damon was hurting, had a solid second full season for the Yanks, batting .273 with eight homers and 73 RBIs. He also shined defensively, leading major league center fielders with 14 assists.
That kind of production helped silence the cry from fans for a Williams return engagement. Williams declined a non-guaranteed contract from the Yankees to attend spring training.
Along the way, Williams seems to have become a Cabrera fan.
“We always knew he had a very strong arm, and coming from the minor leagues the thing about him was he was a good hitter,” said Williams, who was Cabrera’s teammate last season.
“Over time he’s going to develop into an even better hitter, given the experience that a couple of years in the major leagues can give you. The rest is up to him. The sky is the limit for him.
“He has a great opportunity in his hands right now, as well as what I had in 1991 and ’92 when they gave me that position. It’s up to him to keep it, and I don’t think they are looking to get anybody else to fill that position.”
If there’s a difference from when Williams arrived as the Yankees center fielder in 1991 to the situation Cabrera, 23, faces now, it’s the organizational climate. Williams says he had the benefit of a long leash.
“[Cabrera] is playing in a period in the Yankees organization where they expect a lot more, a lot sooner from their young players,” Williams said. “Some of my advantages when I was coming up in ’91 and ’92 was the team wasn’t in the pennant race; we were kind of in a rebuilding period.
“Now every young player that arrives, they expect big things from him very soon. They tend to be a little bit less patient, but over the last couple of years that [Cabrera] has been on the team he has proven that he can hit major league pitching, he has proven that he can be a major league outfielder.”
Nevertheless, if Cabrera needs a mentor in 2008, Williams might be available if the Yankees ask.
“I’m having a good time doing what I’m doing right now – spending a lot of time with family, just reloading,” Williams said. “But the kid in me is always trying to poke at me saying, ‘Maybe you should be playing a little bit more.’ But right now it’s a good time in my life and I’m enjoying it.”
mpuma@nypost.com