The .406

The Kid

“All I want out of life is that, when I walk down the street folks will say, there goes the greatest hitter who ever lived,” said twenty year old Ted Williams. Considering his success in high school, that dream wasn’t to far fetched.

Teddy Ballgame

Judging by the headlines, when Ted Williams played he was the ball game. He set the rookie record for RBI’s at 145 his first year playing for the Red Sox. His 1941 season was one of the most notorious seasons in baseball. The final day of their 1941 season, the Red Sox were scheduled for a double-header and Williams was sitting on a .39955 average, which rounded to the magic .400 mark. It was a sure thing, but Ted wouldn’t take the easy way out. He played both games that day and went 6 for 8, earning his .406 average that remains untouched to this day.

The Splendid Splinter

Ted Williams ended his 1959 season with a splinter stuck right in his pride. His only season to ever bat under .300 was that year, at age 40 with a .254. There was no telling just how much his career suffered from his absence the five seasons he spent fighting in WWII and the Korean War, but to end on a bad note was simply unacceptable to Ted. The next season he averaged a .316.

Terrible Ted

Williams had a love-hate relationship with his fans. One home game early in his career Ted struck out, and then, in the same inning missed a wind-blown pop fly. The boos from the crowd echoed in his head all the way to the dugout, where he admits, “ I swore never again to tip my hat in Fenway Park.” That bitterness stayed with him for the remainder of his career. On the 50th anniversary of his 1941 season, fans came from far and wide to see the legendary hitter grace the field once again. He voiced his love for Boston and for his true appreciation. The greatest hitter who ever lived finally tipped his hat to Fenway Park.