Quote of the day
August 17, 2017
Boston now knows how Britain felt when it lost India.
~sportswriter Ed Linn, on Ted Williams announcing his retirement from the Red Sox
Tag: Ted Williams
Quote of the day
October 9, 2016
Why? Why should the bond between a people and their baseball team be so intense? Fenway Park is a part of it, offering a physical continuum to the bond, not only because Papi can stand in the same batter’s box as Teddy Ballgame, but also because a son might sit in the same wooden-slat seat as his father.
~Tom Verducci
Ted Williams hitting graph
January 27, 2016
I stumbled across this graph this morning depicting Ted Williams’s batting average in various parts of the strike zone. I wish the numbers were bigger, but if you can make them out, it is pretty mind-blowing. No pitch was safe anywhere near the plate. This is how you hit .400 for a season.
Quote of the day
February 20, 2015
A man has to have goals – for a day, for a lifetime – and that was mine, to have people say, “There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.”
~Ted Williams
This day in baseball: All-Star walk-off
July 8, 2014
On July 8, 1941, the American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars 7-5 when Boston’s Ted Williams launched a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The walk-off blast, hit off Claude Passeau, made this the first All-Star Game to be decided in the final inning.
Quote of the day
July 2, 2014
Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.
~Ted Williams
This day in baseball: Ted Williams’s new contract
February 6, 2014
On February 6, 1958, the Boston Red Sox signed Ted Williams to a one-year, $135,000 contract, making him the highest-paid player in Major League history up to that time. In spite of his age (he was 39 years old at the time), Williams reportedly said, “I feel wonderful and feel I can do anything I could do five years ago.” He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1966.
This day in baseball
November 25, 2013
Outfielder Ted Williams of the Red Sox was overwhelmingly voted American League Most Valuable Player following the 1949 season. This occurred shortly after Williams was denied the Triple Crown, losing out to Tigers third baseman George Kell, whose batting average was .0002 better.
Baseball 101: Batting average
October 25, 2013
A player’s batting average is determined by dividing the number of base hits a player has by the total number of at-bats. For example, if a player has 500 at-bats and collects 150 hits in those at-bats, his batting average would be .300 (150/500 = .300). Keep in mind that walks and sacrifice plays (i.e. sacrifice bunts and sacrifice flies) do not count as at-bats, and therefore, do not factor into a player’s batting average.
A batting average of .300 or above is considered an excellent batting average, and an average of .400 for a season is deemed nearly impossible. The last player to hit .400 for a season was Ted Williams, who finished the 1941 seasons with a .406 batting average.
This day in baseball: Brett’s last day at .400
September 19, 2013
In 1980, Royals third baseman George Brett made a strong run at finishing with a batting average above .400 for the season, an accomplishment last achieved by Ted Williams in 1941. The last day of the season in which Brett’s average stayed above .400, however, came on September 19th, when he went 2-for-4 against the A’s in Kansas City. What followed was a 4-for-27 slump, from which Brett could not rebound in time. He finished the season hitting .390 and won the American League MVP award.
