Ted Williams

From BR Bullpen

Theodore Samuel Williams (The Kid, The Thumper, The Splendid Splinter, Tempestuous Ted, or Teddy Ballgame) birth certificate reads Teddy Samuel

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.

• Debut April 20, 1939
• Final Game September 28, 1960
• Born August 30, 1918 in San Diego, CA USA
• Died July 5, 2002 in Inverness, FL USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1966

BR page

[edit] Biographical Information

"One of my best friends on earth and the greatest hitter I ever faced. And I faced a lot of guys, including Lou Gehrig." - Bob Feller

"A man has to have goals . . and that was mine, to have people say 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.'" - Ted Williams

Born Teddy Samuel Williams, named after Theodore Roosevelt, Ted Williams became one of America's most beloved figures for his exploits on the field and off. Many sabermetricians consider him neck and neck with Babe Ruth to be considered the greatest hitter of them all.

As a boy, he and his brother Danny were generally alone much of the time as his mother, known as "Salvation May" worked long hours for the Salvation Army. He bided his time at the playgrounds in San Diego, honing his baseball skills.

After his 11th grade year at Herbert Hoover High School (San Diego), Williams played 42 games for San Diego of the Pacific Coast League. After graduating in 1937, he played the rest of the year for San Diego before signing with the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox assigned the 19-year-old to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. Williams won the Triple Crown of the AA in 1938. He led the league with a .366 average, 43 home runs, and 142 RBIs. He also drove in 130 runs to lead the league. His .701 slugging percentage was 142 points ahead of the #2 player and his OBP was around .481, 53 points better than Roy Cullenbine. The lanky outfielder drew an AA-best 114 walks. A switch to a lighter bat that year improved his game drastically. He ran into conflict with manager Donie Bush. His Triple Crown was the first official one in AA history. His pass to Boston was stamped for 1939.

Great things were expected from the San Diego Kid in Boston. He hit .327 with 31 home runs and 145 RBI. His RBI total set a rookie record that still stands. Had there been a Rookie of the Year Award, Williams would have won it hands down. In addition to his league lead in RBIs, he also led the American League in fielding errors.

In 1940, Williams slumped to 23 home runs but he increased his average. During the season, he was booed by Red Sox fans who believed he was loafing in the outfield. He swore he would never tip his cap to Red Sox fans again. He made his first of 17 All-Star teams and led the league in on base percentage for the first time in 1940.

Williams may have shone brightest during the 1941 season. Sharing headlines with his long time rival Joe DiMaggio, Williams was hitting .39955, which would round up to .400, on the last day of the season. Williams was offered a seat on the bench to protect the first .400 season since 1930 but Williams declined. He torched A's pitchers for six hits in eight at bats finishing the season at .406. No hitter has had a .400 batting average since. He also led the league in runs, home runs, walks, on base percentage, and slugging.

The hits kept on coming for Williams in 1942 when he won the Triple Crown. He had a .356 average, 36 home runs, and 137 RBIs. He lost the MVP to Joe Gordon, who played for the first place Yankees.

From 1943 to 1945, Williams served as a Marine Corps pilot. Using Bill James's favorite toy metric, it can be estimated that Williams lost 561 hits, 103 home runs, and 382 RBIs during his first stint in the service.

Williams returned with a vengeance in 1946. He won the MVP as the Red Sox won their only AL pennant in his 19 seasons with the club. The Sox lost the World Series in seven games to the Cardinals while Williams hit just .200.

In 1947, Ted Williams won another Triple Crown, joining Rogers Hornsby as the only players to win two Triple Crowns. He also lost the MVP in a Triple Crown year to another Yankee, Joe DiMaggio by a single point (202 to 201).

Williams played with distinction in 1948 and 1949. He won another batting title in 1948. He led the AL in home runs and tied for the league lead in RBIs in 1949. In both years he led the circuit in doubles. He was the MVP in 1949.

Williams was having another fine season in 1950, when he fractured his elbow chasing a ball at the All Star Game held at Wrigley Field. Williams played just 19 games after the injury. He hit only .317. He followed with a typical season in 1951 (.318/30/126).

Williams was recalled for active duty with the Marines in April 1952. He was sent to Korea where he served as a fighter pilot with future astronaut John Glenn. Williams played just 43 games in 1952 and 1953, as he was in the service.

When he returned in August 1953, Williams picked up where he left off. He hit .407 in 37 games. His 13 home runs in 91 at bats is a record for home runs by a hitter with less than 100 at bats.

Williams remained a fine hitter through the mid-1950s, although he turned 35 during the 1954 season. His line for 1954 was .345/29/89. In 1955, he hit .356, his best full season average since 1948, with 28 home runs and 83 RBIs. In 1956, he hit .345 with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs.

Defying logic and his birth certificate, Williams had his best season since 1941 in 1957. Although he was 38 at season's end, Williams led the league with a .388 batting average. He also had 38 home runs. He followed up his 1957 campaign with his sixth batting title in 1958. Until Barry Bonds, he was the oldest player to win a batting title.

Father time finally caught up with Williams in 1959 as he failed to hit .300 for the only time in his career. He hit just .254/10/43 on the year.

Williams announced that 1960 would be his final season as an active player. He went out with a bang. At 41, he hit .316 with 29 home runs and 72 RBIs. His 29 home runs were a record for players in their final season until 1986 when it was broken by Dave Kingman. His .451 on-base percentage and .645 slugging percentage in 1960 would each have easily led the league if Ted had had enough plate appearances to qualify.

In a memorable appearance at the Red Sox final home game of the 1960 season, Williams homered in his final at bat off Jack Fisher. Although the Red Sox had a final three game series at Yankee Stadium, Williams did not appear.

At the game, the fans beckoned to see their hero one more time. They chanted his name for a curtain call and a doff of the cap but Williams would not oblige. He recalled the jeers he had heard in 1940. Covering the game for The New Yorker, John Updike wrote "Gods don't answer letters."

Williams retired to Florida. He would take annual fishing trips to Miramichi, New Brunswick to catch salmon. During this time, he married Delores Wettach, with whom he would have two children in addition to a daughter, Barbara, by his first wife.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966. He used the platform to campaign for the recognition of former Negro League players by the Hall of Fame. Five years later, the Hall inducted its first former Negro Leaguers.

The Washington Senators hired Williams to manage their team in 1969. In four seasons, three in Washington and one in Texas, Williams was 273-364. He did lead the Senators to their only winning record in the 1960s, in his first season, when the club went 86-76. For this, he was named Manager of the Year.

Williams wrote The Science of Hitting in 1970. He was a celebrated hitting guru. He would often comment in the media about players and their hitting styles.

After a major stroke in 1994, an aging Williams handed control of his name to his son John Henry Williams. Williams was an absent father to John Henry, who was born in 1968. After their reconcilation, John Henry took control of Williams, most notably his autograph signing habits and public appearances.

At the 1999 All Star Game at Fenway Park, "the best damn hitter that ever lived" was given a final send off from baseball. In a golf cart, wearing a cap bearing the website of one of John Henry's ventures, Williams was heard telling Mark McGwire what joy he brought him. Then Tony Gwynn, the reigning Mr. San Diego, helped the original Mr. San Diego to his feet, where the aging legend threw out the first pitch. After returning to his seat, Williams was surrounded by a generation of ballplayers who had seen him only play in black and white video.

In 2000, Williams was inducted into the National Game Fishing Hall of Fame. Additionally, it is believed he signed an agreement to be cryogenically preserved after his natural death, along with John Henry and his daughter by second wife (Delores Wettach), Claudia.

When Williams died of a heart attack on July 5, 2002, his body was shipped from Florida to Arizona where he was placed in a tank of liquid nitrogen. A 2003 Sports Illustrated said Williams' skull had been cracked in an error at the Alcor Life Extension Facility in Scottsdale. Less than two years later, John Henry would join Ted at Alcor, a victim of leukemia at age 34.

Williams opened a hitters museum in Hernando, Florida. He also had a tunnel under the Charles River named for him in Boston. The Ted Williams Parkway in California connects Poway to San Diego. His #9 has been retired by the Red Sox. He was only the second recipient of the SABR Hero of Baseball Award.

President George H.W. Bush awarded Williams the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his 19 seasons with the Red Sox and the five seasons he missed due to War service.

In 1999, SABR named Williams the third greatest player of the 20th century. The Associated Press named him the 4th greatest baseball player and 13th greatest athlete of the century. ESPN's SportsCentury placed Williams 16th among athletes of the century. He was also named to the All Century Team.

Williams career ledger shows a .344 batting average, the highest of any player who played after 1950. He had 521 home runs and 1839 RBIs. He had 2654 career hits. His on base percentage of .482 remains a major league record.

• First Baseball Card appearance 1939 Playball

[edit] Notable Achievements

• 17-time AL All-Star (1940-1942, 1946-1951 & 1953-1960)
• 2-time AL MVP (1946 & 1949)
• 2-time AL Triple Crown (1942 & 1947)
• 6-time AL Batting Average Leader (1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1957 & 1958)
• 12-time AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1940-1942, 1946-1949, 1951, 1954 & 1956-1958)
• 9-time AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1941, 1942, 1946-1949, 1951, 1954 & 1957)
• 10-time AL OPS Leader (1941, 1942, 1946-1949, 1951, 1954, 1957 & 1958)
• 6-time AL Runs Scored Leader (1940-1941, 1946, 1947 & 1949)
• 6-time AL Total Bases Leader (1939, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949 & 1951)
• 2-time AL Doubles Leader (1948 & 1949)
• 4-time AL Home Runs Leader (1941, 1942, 1947 & 1949)
• 4-time AL RBI Leader (1939, 1942, 1947 & 1949)
• 8-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1941, 1942, 1946-1949, 1951 & 1954)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 16 (1939-1942, 1946-1951, 1954-1958 & 1960)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951 & 1957)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1949)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 9 (1939-1942, 1946-1949 & 1951)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 9 (1939-1942, 1946-1949 & 1951)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1966

AL MVP
1945	1946	1947
Hal Newhouser	Ted Williams	Joe DiMaggio
1948	1949	1950
Lou Boudreau	Ted Williams	Phil Rizzuto

Preceded by Jim Lemon

Washington Senators/Texas Rangers Manager 1969-1972

Succeeded by Whitey Herzog

[edit] Records Held

• On base percentage, career, .482
• On base percentage, left handed batter, career, .482

[edit] Further Reading

• Lawrence Baldassaro, ed.: Ted Williams: Reflections on a Splendid Life, Northeastern University Press, Chicago, IL, 2003
• Thomas Boswell: "Islamorada, Miramichi, Bangor and Winter Haven", in How Life Imitates the World Series, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1982, pp. 56-59.
• Robert Creamer: Baseball in '41, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1991
• David Halberstam: The Teammates, Hyperion, New York, NY, 2003
• Ed Linn: Hitter: The Life and Turmoils of Ted Williams, Harcourt Brace & Co., Orlando, FL, 1993
• John B. Holway: Ted, The Kid, Scorpio Books, Springfield, VA, 2006
• Leigh Montville: Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero, Doubleday, New York, NY, 2004
• Bill Nowlin: The Kid: Ted Williams in San Diego, Rounder Books, Cambridge, 2005
• Jim Prime and Bill Nowlin: Ted Williams: A Tribute, Masters Press, Indianapolis, IN, 1997
• Michael Seidel: Ted Williams: A Baseball Life, Contemporary Books, Chicago, IL, 1991
• John Underwood: It's Only Me: The Ted Williams We Hardly Knew, Triumph Books, Chicago, IL, 2005
• Ted Williams and David Pietrusza: Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures, Total Sports Publishing, Kingston, NY, 2001. (aka Teddy Ballgame)
• Ted Williams and John Underwood: My Turn at Bat, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1969

[edit] Related Sites

This page needs wiki formatting, links and a general cleanup.