Williams, Ted (1918—)

Ted Williams, "The Splendid Splinter," was one of the best hitters of all time and is the last baseball player to hit over.400. His scientific view of hitting changed the dynamics of the game forever. But he was also probably the least celebrated modern-day baseball hero. While he had the makings of stardom, he was unable to cultivate the followings enjoyed by less talented but more amiable players, such as his contemporary Joe DiMaggio.

On August 30, 1918, Theodore Samuel Williams was born in San Diego, California, into a lower-middle class family. His parents worked constantly, leaving him plenty of time to play baseball. When he was seventeen he signed with the hometown San Diego Padres. But after only one year, he was sold to the Boston Red Sox.

Ted Williams proved himself immediately when he started for the Red Sox in 1939. He led the league with 143 RBIs, the first rookie to do so. In 1941, his batting average topped.400. Going into the last day of the season, Williams' average had been.39955, which in baseball terms is a.400 batting average. Manager Joe Cronin gave his star the option to sit out of the doubleheader, but he decided to play and went six-for-eight, raising his batting average to an incredible. 406. His 1942 campaign earned him his first Triple Crown by hitting.356, 137 RBIs, and 36 home runs. But even though he won the Triple Crown, Williams did not win the MVP.

Williams interrupted his baseball career in 1943 to join World War II, and he spent the next three years stateside as a pilot. When he returned to baseball in 1946, the Red Sox had a talented postwar team and Williams had another outstanding season, winning his first MVP.

Baseball also encountered "The Williams Shift" in 1946. Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau pushed the infielders to the right side of the field, trying to force the left-handed Williams to hit the ball the opposite way, which he refused to do. That year Williams also led Boston to their only World Series during his career, but the Red Sox lost and Williams' hitting was criticized by the media.

Williams' relationship with the media, always tumultuous, turned ugly after the 1946 season. The Boston press and many fans often felt disenchanted with the temperamental superstar. Williams often went public with his anger, liked to spit, never tipped his cap to the fans or came out for curtain calls after home runs, and was candid about his dislike of the Boston sports writers, who in turn criticized him in print.

Williams rebounded after the World Series, and in 1947 he won his second Triple Crown but lost the MVP to Joe DiMaggio. He closed the decade by winning the batting title in 1948 and winning his second MVP in 1949, while leading the league in runs, walks, RBIs, and hitting.

The 1950s were less kind to Williams. In 1950, he missed half the season with a broken arm. In 1952 Williams was recalled to fight in the Korean War, in which he survived a fiery plane crash. He came back to baseball in 1954 and received two more batting titles in 1957 and in 1958, making him the oldest player in baseball history to do so. A pinched nerve in his neck caused Williams to hit a career low.254 in 1959 and made fans and Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey push for his retirement. But Williams came back to finish his career in 1960, hitting.316 with 29 home runs, including one in his final at-bat.

Williams finished his baseball career with a.344 lifetime batting average, the highest on-base percentage in history at.483, 521 home runs, and the second highest slugging average at.634. The SportingNews named Ted Williams its "Player of the Decade" for the 1950s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

Ted Williams had the stuff heroes were made of, even though his contemporaries believed otherwise. He served his country in two wars and was the most prolific hitter of his era. Williams changed the face of baseball with his scientific approach to hitting and forcing opposing managers to move their fielders. And today when any player chases.400, Williams is the man to beat. In his autobiography, My Turn at Bat, Williams states that when he walked down the street he dreamed people would say, "There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived." While a case could be made for such a claim, Williams is less remembered than other more charismatic players. But he did receive some belated recognition when the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame opened in Hernando, Florida, in 1994.

—Nathan R. Meyer