Ted Williams

Ted Williams
Outfielder
Born: August 30, 1918(1918-08-30) San Diego, California
Died: July 5, 2002 (aged 83) Inverness, Florida
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 1939 for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1960 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Batting average	.344
Home runs	521
Runs batted in	1,839
Teams
As Player Boston Red Sox (1939–1942, 1946–1952, 1953–1960) As Manager Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1969–1971)
Career highlights and awards
17x All-Star selection (1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960) 2x AL MVP (1946, 1949) Boston Red Sox #9 retired MLB record .482 career On base percentage
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted	1966
Vote	93.38% (first ballot)

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams (August 30, 1918–July 5, 2002) also nicknamed The Kid, the Splendid Splinter, Teddy Ballgame and The Thumper, was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. He played 19 seasons, twice interrupted by military service as a Marine Corps pilot, with the Boston Red Sox. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball.^[1][2]

Williams was a two-time American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) winner, led the league in batting six times, and won the Triple Crown twice. He had a career batting average of .344, with 521 home runs, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. He is the last player in Major League Baseball to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941). Williams holds the highest career batting average of anyone with 500 or more home runs. His career year was 1941, when he hit .406 with 37 HR, 120 RBI, and 135 runs scored. His .551 on base percentage set a record that stood for 61 years. An avid sport fisherman, he hosted a television show about fishing and was inducted into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame.^[3]

Early life

Ted Williams was born in San Diego as Teddy Samuel Williams, named after his father, Samuel Stuart Williams, and Teddy Roosevelt. At some point, the name on his birth certificate was changed to Theodore, but his mother and his closest friends always called him Teddy. His father was a soldier, sheriff, and photographer from New York and greatly admired the former president. Samuel's family was a mix of Welsh and Irish. His mother, May Venzor, was a Salvation Army worker from El Paso, Texas. May's parents were of Mexican descent with Basque roots on her father's side.^[4][5][6][7]

Williams lived in San Diego's North Park neighborhood (4121 Utah Street) and graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego, where he played baseball. Though he soon had offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees, his mother thought him too young to leave home so he signed with the local San Diego Padres (at that time, a minor league organization) while still in high school. He had minor league stints for his hometown San Diego Padres and the Minneapolis Millers.

He had a younger brother Danny who was wayward. When Ted started making some money in 1941, he had the house on Utah Street enlarged and completely renovated. Danny promptly backed a truck up to the house, moved out all the new furniture, including a washing machine and a sewing machine, and sold these items.

May who had been able to get Danny out of his previous scrapes, gave up this time and had him arrested. He spent some time in jail.

Early in his career, Ted stated that he wished to be known as "greatest hitter who ever lived," an honor that he achieved in the eyes of many by the end of his career. Williams once stated his goal was to have a father walk down the street with his son, point to Williams and remark, "Son, there goes the greatest hitter who ever lived." Carl Yastrzemski said of Williams, "He studied hitting the way a broker studies the stock market."

Major league career

Williams moved up to the major-league Red Sox in 1939, immediately making an impact as he led the American League in RBIs and finishing 4th in MVP balloting. Williams quickly became known as one of the most potent left-handed hitters in the MLB. In 1941, he entered the last day of the season with a batting average of .39955. This would have been rounded up to .400, making him the first man to hit .400 since Bill Terry in 1930. Manager Joe Cronin left the decision whether to play up to him. Williams opted to play in both games of the day's doubleheader and risk losing his record. He got 6 hits in 8 at bats, raising his season average to .406. Williams also hit .400 in 1952 (although he only played in 6 games) and .407 in 1953 (37 Games), both partial seasons; nobody has hit over .400 in a season since Williams.

In his book, Williams acknowledges "There was some great batting done that year" and mentions Joe D (as below) and Cecil Travis who hit .359. Ted went on "I think, surely, to hit .400 you have to be an outstanding hitter having everything go just right, and in my case the hitter was a guy who lived to hit, who worked at it so hard he matured at the bat at a time when he was near his peak physically. The peaks met"^[8].

At the time, this achievement was overshadowed by Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in the same season. Their rivalry was played up by the press; Williams always felt himself slightly better as a hitter, but acknowledged that DiMaggio was the better all-around player. Also in 1941, Williams set a major-league record for on-base percentage in a season at .551. That record would last until 2002, when Barry Bonds upped this mark to .582. A lesser-known accomplishment is Williams' 1949 record feat of reaching base for the most consecutive games, 84. In addition, Williams holds the third longest such streak of 69 in 1941. In 1957, Williams reached base in 16 consecutive plate appearances, also a major-league record.

Ted Williams pitched once during his career on Aug. 24, 1940. He pitched the last two innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit allowing one earned run, three hits, and striking out one batter, Rudy York. His ERA was 4.50 in his lone pitching appearance. ^[9]

One of Williams' other memorable accomplishments was his home run off Rip Sewell's notorious eephus pitch during the 1946 All-Star Game in Fenway Park. He challenged Sewell to throw the pitch. The first time he threw it, it was a strike. Williams challenged Sewell again and this time hit a home run. In that game, he went 4 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs, as the AL beat the NL, 12-0.

Among the few blemishes on Williams's playing record was his performance in his lone post-season appearance, the 1946 World Series. Williams managed just 5 singles in 25 at-bats, with just 1 RBI, as the Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Much of Williams' lack of production was due to his stubborn insistence into hitting into the Cardinals' defensive shift, which frequently involved five or six of the Cardinals' fielders positioned to the right of second base. This shift was a version of the Boudreau Shift, popularized by Cleveland Indians manager Lou Boudreau in an attempt to reduce Williams's effectiveness.

Williams was also playing with a sore elbow that he injured during a pre-World Series exhibition game, while the Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers were playing a best-of-three series to determine the National League champion. However, Williams refused to use the injury as an excuse for his sub-par play.

Williams was an obsessive student of batting, famously using a lighter bat than most sluggers because it generated more speed and stepping out of the batter's box when a cloud would pass over the stadium to ensure he could see the ball properly. David Halberstam's Summer of '49 recalls him warning teammates not to leave their bats on the ground as they would absorb moisture and become heavier. His devotion allowed him to hit for power and average while maintaining extraordinary plate discipline. In 1970 he wrote a book on the subject, The Science of Hitting (revised 1986), which is still read by many baseball players, and he was known to enthusiastically discuss hitting with active players up until the time of his death. He lacked foot speed, as attested by his 16-year career total of only 24 stolen bases, one inside-the-park home run, and one occasion of hitting for the cycle. (Ironically, despite his slowness on the basepaths, he is one of only three players in history - along with noted speedsters Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson - to have stolen a base in four different decades.) He felt that with more speed he could have raised his average considerably and hit .400 over at least one more season.

Despite Williams's lack of interest in fielding, he was considered a sure fielder with a good throwing arm, although he occasionally expressed regret that he had not worked harder on his fielding.

When Pumpsie Green became the first black player on the Boston Red Sox in 1959, it was Williams who made Green feel welcome on the team.

In a climactic ending to his career, he hit a home run in his very last at bat on September 28, 1960. The classic John Updike essay "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" chronicles this event and is usually mentioned among the greatest pieces of sports writing in American journalism.^[10]

Military service

Williams being sworn into the military on May 22, 1942.

Williams served as a United States Marine Corps pilot during World War II and the Korean War. He served as a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Pensacola teaching young pilots to fly the F4U Corsair. He was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders to join the China fleet when the war ended. He finished the war in Hawaii and was released from active duty in January 1946; however he did remain in the reserves.^[11]

Press photo of Williams signing autographs in Kokomo, Indiana 1944.

In 1952, at the age of 34, he was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He hadn't flown for some eight years but turned away all offers to sit out the war in comfort as a member of a service baseball team.

At Amherst College, in Massachusetts, the 'students' went through crash courses in such subjects as algebra, trigonometry, and navigation, and Williams, the kid who had been content with passing grades at Hoover High in San Diego came through with an overall grade of 3.85 out of a possible 4.00.

Fellow Red Sox player Johnny Pesky who went into the same training program said about Ted “He mastered intricate problems in fifteen minutes which took the average cadet an hour and half of the other cadets there were college grads”.

Pesky again described Williams' acumen in the advance training for which Pesky personally did not qualify: “I heard Ted literally tore the `sleeve target' to shreds with his angle dives. He'd shoot from wingovers, zooms, and barrel rolls, and after a few passes the sleeve was ribbons. At any rate, I know he broke the all-time record for hits." Ted went to Jacksonville for a course in air gunnery, the combat pilot's payoff test, and broke all the records in reflexes, coordination, and visual-reaction time. "From what I heard. Ted could make a plane and its six 'pianos' (machine guns) play like a symphony orchestra," Pesky says. "From what they said, his re­flexes, coordination, and visual reaction made him a built-in part of the machine."^[12]

In other words, he was too good. The top graduates in every class were made instructors, and Ted was one of the best they had ever seen. He was sent to Bronson Field to put the Marine cadets there through their final qualifying stages.

After getting checked out on the new F9F Panther at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, he was assigned to VMF-311, Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33) in Korea.^[11]

On February 16, 1953, Williams was part of a 35-plane strike package against a tank and infantry training school just south of Pyongyang, North Korea. During the mission a piece of flak knocked out his hydraulics and electrical systems, causing Williams to have to "limp" his plane back to US Air Force base K-13, also called Suwon Air Base. K-13 was the closest to the front lines, where he was.

For bringing the plane back he was also awarded the Air Medal.

Williams stayed on K-13 for several days while his plane was repaired. Because he was so popular, GI's from all around the base came to see him and his plane. After it was repaired, Williams flew his plane back to his Marine station.

Williams eventually flew 38 combat missions before being pulled from flight status in June 1953 after an old ear infection acted up.^[13]. During the war he also served in the same unit as John Glenn and in the last half of his missions, he was serving as Glenn's wingman. While these absences, which took almost five years out of the heart of a great career, significantly limited his career totals, he never publicly complained about the time devoted to military service. Biographer Leigh Montville argues that Williams was not happy about being pressed into service in Korea, but he did what he felt was his patriotic duty.

Williams had a strong respect for General Douglas MacArthur, referring to him as his "idol".^[14] For Williams' fortieth birthday, MacArthur sent him an oil painting of himself with the inscription "To Ted Williams - not only America's greatest baseball player, but a great American who served his country. Your friend, Douglas MacArthur. General U.S. Army."^[15]

Summary of career

Williams's two MVP Awards and two Triple Crowns came in four different years. Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Chuck Klein are the only players since the establishment of the MVP award to win the Triple Crown and not be named league MVP in that season.

Ted Williams won the Triple Crown not once, but twice - in 1942, and again in 1947 after missing three years to WWII. In 1949, Williams led the league in home runs (with 43) and RBI (with 159, tied with Red Sox shortstop Vern Stephens), but lost the batting race to Detroit third-baseman George Kell. Kell had 179 hits in 522 at-bats, for a batting average of .3429, while Williams went 194-566, for an average of .3428. A single hit either way would have changed the outcome.

Because Williams's hitting was so feared, and it was known that he was a dead pull hitter, opponents frequently employed the radical, defensive "Williams Shift" against him, leaving only one fielder on the third-base half of the field. Rather than bunting the ball into the open space, the proud Williams batted as usual against the defense. The defensive tactic was later used against left-handed sluggers such as Willie McCovey and Barry Bonds, and is still used to this day against players such as Jason Giambi, Carlos Delgado, and David Ortiz who are also considered dead-pull hitters, and is appropriately called the infield shift.

Ted Williams retired from the game in 1960 and hit a home run in his final at-bat, on September 28, 1960, in front of only 10,454 fans at Fenway Park. This home run, a solo shot hit off Baltimore pitcher Jack Fisher in the 8th inning that reduced the Orioles' lead to 4-3—was immortalized in The New Yorker essay "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu", by John Updike.^[16]

Renowned NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, reflecting on Williams unparalleled success as ball player, wingman, and fisherman, once asked Williams if he realized he was in real life the type of American hero John Wayne sought to portray in his movies. Replied Williams, "Yeah, I know."

Relationship with Boston media and fans

Ted Williams was on uncomfortable terms with the Boston newspapers for nearly twenty years, as he felt they liked to discuss his personal life as much as his baseball performance. He maintained a career-long feud with SPORT magazine due to a 1948 feature article in which the SPORT reporter included a quote from Williams' mother. Insecure about his upbringing, stubborn because of the immense confidence in his talents, Williams made up his mind that the "knights of the typewriter" were against him and treated most of them accordingly, as he describes in his memoir, My Turn at Bat. However, Ed Linn in his book listed hereunder in 'Further Reading' states that Ted's memoir is 'replete with factual errors' (Linn, p. 57). Intriguingly both Ted and Linn spell Ted's mother's maiden name as Venzer but per the 'Ancestry of Ted Williams' in the Notes here, the family name in various census entries is cited as Venzor.

He also had an uneasy relationship with the Boston fans, though he could be very cordial one-on-one. Williams felt at times a good deal of gratitude for their passion and their knowledge of the game. On the other hand, Williams was temperamental, high-strung, and at times tactless. He gave generously to those in need, and demanded loyalty from those around him. He could not forgive the fickle nature of the fans—booing a player for booting a ground ball, then turning around and roaring approval of the same player for hitting a home run. Despite the cheers and adulation of most of his fans, the occasional boos directed at him in Fenway Park led Williams to refuse to ever tip his cap after a home run, including his swan song in 1960.

Sculpture of Ted Williams outside Fenway Park.

A Red Smith profile from 1956 describes one Boston writer trying to convince Ted Williams that first cheering and then booing a ballplayer was no different from a moviegoer applauding a "western" movie actor one day and saying the next "He stinks! Whatever gave me the idea he could act?" But Williams rejected this; when he liked a western actor like Hoot Gibson, he liked him in every picture, and would not think of booing him.

After his famous home run in his last at-bat, Williams characteristically refused either to tip his cap as he circled the bases or to respond to prolonged cheers of "We want Ted!" from the crowd. Williams also refused to tip his cap as he was replaced in left field by Carroll Hardy to start the 9th inning, although he continued to receive warm cheers.

Williams's aloof attitude led Updike to wryly observe that "gods do not answer letters." Williams's final home run did not take place during the final game of the 1960 season, but rather the Red Sox' last home game that year. The Red Sox played three more games, but they were on the road in New York and Williams did not appear in any of them, and it became clear that Williams's final home at-bat would be the last of his career.

In 1991 on Ted Williams Day at Fenway Park, after a brief speech, Williams pulled a Red Sox cap from out of his jacket and tipped it to the crowd; it was the first time he had ever done so.

Hall of Fame induction speech

In his induction speech in 1966, Williams included a statement calling for the recognition of the great Negro Leagues players: "I've been a very lucky guy to have worn a baseball uniform, and I hope some day the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way can be added as a symbol of the great Negro players who are not here only because they weren't given a chance." (Montville, p.262).

Williams was referring to two of the most famous names in the Negro Leagues, who were not given the opportunity to play in the Major Leagues before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Gibson died early in 1947 and thus never played in the majors; and Paige's brief major league stint came long past his prime as a player. This powerful and unprecedented statement from the Hall of Fame podium was "a first crack in the door that ultimately would open and include Paige and Gibson and other Negro League stars in the shrine." (Montville, p.262) Paige was the first inducted, in 1971. Gibson and others followed, starting in 1972 and continuing off and on into the 21st Century.

Career ranking

At the time of his retirement, Williams ranked third all-time in home runs (behind Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx), seventh in RBIs (after Ruth, Cap Anson, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Foxx, and Mel Ott; Stan Musial would pass Williams in 1962), and seventh in batting average (behind Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Lefty O'Doul, Ed Delahanty and Tris Speaker). His career batting average is the highest of any player who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era.

Williams was also second to Ruth in career slugging percentage, where he remains today, and first in on-base percentage. He was also second to Ruth in career walks, but has since dropped to fourth place behind Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson. Williams remains the career leader in walks per plate appearance.

Most modern statistical analyses place Williams, along with Ruth and Bonds, among the three most potent hitters to have played the game. Williams' 1941 season is often considered favorably with the greatest seasons of Ruth and Bonds in terms of various offensive statistical measures such as slugging, on-base and "offensive winning percentage." As a further indication, of the ten best seasons for OPS, short for On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage, a popular modern measure of offensive productivity, four each were achieved by Ruth and Bonds, and two by Williams.

In 1999, Williams was ranked as Number 8 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, where he was the highest-ranking left fielder.

Family life

Williams married three times, all of which ended in divorce. On May 4, 1944 he married Doris Soule the daughter of his hunting guide in western Minnesota. This lasted 11 years, and a daughter, Barbara Joyce (Bobby-Jo) was born in 1948. She went on to have two daughters, Williams' first grandchildren.

The second marriage was to socialite model Lee Howard from Chicago in 1961.

Williams married for a third time in 1968 to Dolores (sometimes written as Delores) Wettach, a former Miss Vermont - also a trained nurse. Their children were John Henry (b. 1968) and Claudia, three years younger. This marriage lasted for five years.^[17]

Following his retirement from baseball, Williams met Louise (Lou) Kaufman, with whom he eventually lived. In his short book, Cramer describes Lou as 'the love of Ted's life'.^[18] While together, she died in 1993 of heart trouble.

Williams' brother Danny died from leukaemia in 1960, the year Ted retired from the Red Sox.

Retirement

Ted Williams's number 9 was retired by the Boston Red Sox in 1984

After retirement from play, Williams had one more duty in Boston, as he helped new left fielder Carl Yastrzemski in hitting. Williams then served as manager of the Washington Senators, continuing with the team when they became the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season. Williams's best season as a manager was 1969 when he led the expansion Senators to an 86–76 record in their only winning season in Washington. He was chosen "Manager of the Year" after that season. Like many great players, Williams became impatient with ordinary athletes' abilities and attitudes, particularly those of pitchers, whom he admitted he never respected, and his managerial career was short and largely unsuccessful. Before and after leaving Texas (which would be his only manager job), he occasionally appeared at Red Sox spring training as a guest hitting instructor. Williams would also go into a partnership with friend Al Cassidy to form the Ted Williams Baseball Camp in Lakeville, Massachusetts. It was not uncommon to find Williams fishing in the pond at the camp. The area now is owned by the town and a few of the buildings still stand. In the main lodge one can still see memorabilia from Williams' playing days.

He was much more successful in fishing. An avid and expert fly fisherman and deep-sea fisherman, he spent many summers after baseball fishing the Miramichi River, in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Williams was named to the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2000. Some opined that Williams was a rare individual who might have been the best in the world in three different disciplines: baseball hitter, fighter jet pilot, and fly fisherman. Shortly after Williams's death, conservative pundit Steve Sailer said the following about him:

Williams reached an extensive deal with Sears, lending his name and talent toward marketing, developing, and endorsing a line of in-house sports equipment - specifically fishing, hunting and baseball equipment. He was also extensively involved in the Jimmy Fund, later losing a brother to leukemia, and spent much of his spare time, effort, and money in support of the cancer organization.

In his later years, Williams became a fixture at autograph shows and card shows after his son (by his third wife), John Henry Williams, took control of his career, becoming his de facto manager. The younger Williams provided structure to his father's business affairs, and rationed his father's public appearances and memorabilia signings to maximize their earnings.

One of Ted Williams's final, and most memorable, public appearances was at the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston. Able to walk only a short distance, Williams was brought to the pitcher's mound in a golf cart. He proudly waved his cap to the crowd—a gesture he had never done as a player. Fans responded with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. At the pitcher's mound he was surrounded by players from both teams, including fellow Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra and fellow San Diegan Tony Gwynn. Later in the year, he was among the members of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team introduced to the crowd at Turner Field in Atlanta prior to Game 2 of the World Series.

The Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston (December 1995), and Ted Williams Parkway in San Diego (1992) were named in his honor while he was still alive.

Death

In his last years, Williams suffered from numerous cardiac problems. He had a pacemaker installed in November 2000 and underwent open-heart surgery in January 2001. After suffering a series of strokes and congestive heart failures, he died of cardiac arrest at the age of 83 in Crystal River, Florida, on July 5, 2002.

A public dispute over the disposition of Williams's body was waged after his death. Announcing there would be no funeral, his son John-Henry Williams had Ted's body flown to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the head was separated from the body for Neuropreservation and both placed individually into cryonic suspension.^[20] Barbara Joyce Ferrell, Ted's daughter by his first wife, Doris Soule, sued, contending that Williams' will stated that he wanted to be cremated. Ferrell, who was in contact with her father but had only met her siblings a few times, had been disinherited by Williams.^[21]

John-Henry's lawyer then produced an informal "family pact" signed by Ted, John-Henry, and Ted's daughter Claudia, in which they agreed "to be put into biostasis after we die" to "be able to be together in the future, even if it is only a chance."^[20] Ferrell's attorney, and former attorney of Ted Williams, Richard S. "Spike" Fitzpatrick, contended that the family pact, which was scribbled on an ink-stained napkin, was forged by John-Henry and/or Claudia.^[22] Fitzpatrick and Ferrell believed that the signature was not obtained legally.^[23] Laboratory analysis proved that the signature was genuine and was written in the same ink as the rest of the note.^[23] John-Henry said that his father was a believer in science and was willing to try cryonics if it held the possibility of reuniting the family.^[21]

Though the family pact upset some friends and fans, a public plea for financial support of the lawsuit by Ferrell produced little result.^[21] Ferrell dropped her lawsuit when it was agreed that a $645,000 trust fund left by Williams would immediately pay the sum out equally to the three children.^[21] Inquiries to cryonics organizations increased after the publicity from the case.^[22]

In Ted Williams: The Biography of An American Hero, author Leigh Montville claims that the family cryonics pact was a practice Ted Williams autograph on a plain piece of paper, around which the agreement had later been hand-printed. The pact document was signed "Ted Williams", the same as his autographs, whereas he would always sign his legal documents "Theodore Williams", according to Montville. However, Claudia testified to the authenticity of the document in a sworn affidavit.^[24]

Following John-Henry's unexpected illness and death from acute myelogenous leukemia on March 6, 2004, John-Henry's body was also transported to Alcor, in fulfillment of the family agreement.^[25]

The Tampa Bay Rays home field, Tropicana Field, has installed the Ted Williams Museum (formerly in Hernando, Florida) behind the right field fence. From the Tampa Bay Rays website: "The Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame brings a special element to the Tropicana Field. Fans can view an array of different artifacts and pictures of the 'Greatest hitter that ever lived.' These memorable displays range from Ted Williams' days in the military through his professional playing career. This museum is dedicated to some of the greatest players to ever 'lace 'em up,' including Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Sadaharu Oh."

Quotes on Ted Williams

"One of my best friends on earth and the greatest hitter I ever faced. And I faced a lot of guys, including Lou Gehrig. He was also a great friend to my wife Anne and me. He was a great American." - Bob Feller

"The way those clubs shift against Ted Williams, I can't understand how he can be so stupid not to accept the challenge to him and hit to left field." - Ty Cobb

"They can talk about Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby and Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial and all the rest, but I'm sure not one of them could hold cards and spades to (Ted) Williams in his sheer knowledge of hitting. He studied hitting the way a broker studies the stock market, and could spot at a glance mistakes that others couldn't see in a week." - Carl Yastrzemski

"Ted Williams was the greatest hitter of our era. He won six batting titles and served his country for five years, so he would have won more. He loved talking about hitting and was a great student of hitting and pitchers." - Stan Musial

Quotes by Ted Williams

"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."

"Baseball's future? Bigger and bigger, better and better! No question about it, it's the greatest game there is!"

"I hope somebody hits .400 soon. Then people can start pestering that guy with questions about the last guy to hit .400."

"If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me."

"Hitting is fifty percent above the shoulders."

"If I was being paid thirty-thousand dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400."

Career batting statistics

Ted Williams' season-by-season statistics can be found at several sites, including baseball-reference.com. His career summary statistics:

See also

• Red Sox Hall of Fame
• List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
• 500 home run club
• DHL Hometown Heroes
• List of MLB individual streaks
• List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• Hitting for the cycle
• Triple Crown
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• Major League Baseball titles leaders

Notes

References

Further reading

• Baldasarro, Lawrence (ed.). The Ted Williams Reader. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0671735365.
• Halberstam, David. The Teammates. New York: Hyperion, 2003. ISBN 140130057X.
• Montville, Leigh. Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero. New York: Doubleday, 2004. ISBN 0385507488.
• Williams, Ted, and John Underwood. Ted Williams' Fishing the Big Three: Tarpon, Bonefish, Atlantic Salmon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982. ISBN 0671244000.
• Williams, Ted, and John Underwood. My Turn at Bat: My Story of My Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1969.
• Williams, Ted, and John Underwood. The Science of Hitting. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970.
• Williams, Ted, and David Pietrusza. Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures (also published as Teddy Ballgame). Kingston, N.Y.: Total/Sports Illustrated, 2002. ISBN 1930844077.
• Williams, Ted, and Jim Prime. Ted Williams' Hit List: The Best of the Best Ranks the Best of the Rest. Indianapolis: Masters Press, 1996. ISBN 1570280789.
• Linn, Ed. Hitter: The Life And Turmoils of Ted Williams. Harcourt Brace and Company, 1993 then as a Harvest paperback 1994. ISBN 0156000911.
• Cramer, Richard Ben. "What Do You Think Of Ted Williams Now? - A Remembrance". Simon & Schuster, 2002. ISBN 0743246489.

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame – Member biography
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Library
• Ted Williams: A life remembered - article at Boston Globe
• Ted Williams Tribute - article at Sports Illustrated
• Website belonging to Cryonics Whistleblower Larry Johnson
• Videos of Ted Williams Cryonics Debate
• Ted Williams Hits .406
• Ted Williams Museum
• Photo of Ted Williams with Joe and Dom DiMaggio
• Ted Williams at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-07-11