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Red Sox legend Ted Williams dead at 83
Associated Press ^ | July 5, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

Posted on 07/05/2002 10:22:29 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP


Red Sox legend Ted Williams dead at 83

07/05/2002

Associated Press

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - Ted Williams, the Boston Red Sox revered and sometimes reviled "Splendid Splinter" and baseball's last .400 hitter, has died at age 83.

Williams, who suffered a series of strokes and congestive heart failure in recent years, was taken Friday to Citrus County Memorial Hospital "where he was pronounced deceased," said sheriff's department spokesman Lt. Joe Eckstein.

He underwent open-heart surgery in January 2001 and had a pacemaker inserted in November 2000.

*
AP

The Hall of Famer, who managed the Texas Rangers when the team moved to Arlington, always wanted to be known as the greatest hitter ever, and his stats backed up the claim.

A two-time MVP who twice won the Triple Crown, Williams hit .344 lifetime with 521 home runs -- despite twice interrupting his career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

He had 145 RBIs as a Red Sox rookie in 1939 and closed out his career -- fittingly -- by hitting a home run at Fenway Park in his final major league at-bat in 1960.

Williams' greatest achievement came in 1941 when he batted .406, getting six hits in a doubleheader on the final day of the season.

Williams contended his eyesight was so keen he could pick up individual stitches on a pitched ball and could see the exact moment his bat connected with it.

He also asserted he could smell the burning wood of his bat when he fouled a ball straight back, just missing solid contact.

Williams was a perfectionist who worked tirelessly at his craft and had no tolerance for those less dedicated. He was single-minded and stubborn, a player who reduced the game to its simplest elements: batter vs. pitcher, one trying to outsmart the other. In those instances, he usually won.

Tall and thin, gaunt almost, Williams hardly possessed the traditional profile of a slugger. Yet he was probably the best hitter of his time -- and one with a chip on his shoulder.

Often involved in feuds both public and private during his career, Williams mellowed later in life.

The best example came in his reaction to an emotional ovation from the crowd at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park, Williams' longtime playground.

After a roster of Hall of Famers was introduced, Williams rode a golf cart to the pitcher's mound, where he threw out the first ball. Suddenly, he was surrounded by a panorama of stars, past and present, who reacted like a bunch of youngsters crowding their idol for an autograph.

For a long time, they just hovered around him, many with tears in their eyes.

Then, San Diego's Tony Gwynn gently helped a misty-eyed Williams to his feet and steadied him as Williams threw to Carlton Fisk, another Boston star.

The crowd roared.

"Wasn't it great!" Williams said. "I can only describe it as great. It didn't surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston's lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans. They're the best."

It wasn't always that way for Williams. Revered as a slugger, he also was remembered for snubbing Fenway fans, refusing to tip his hat when he hit the ultimate walk-off home run in his final at-bat at age 42.

"Gods do not answer letters," John Updike once wrote in a profile of Williams, who sealed that image in 1941 with an 11th-hour show of courage.

Going into the final day of the season, Williams was batting .3996. Rounded off, that would be .400, and Red Sox manager Joe Cronin suggested he sit out the day's doubleheader to clinch that golden number.

Williams refused. Instead, he played both games, went 6-for-8 and lifted his season average to .406. No one has approached .400 since.

"He killed the ball, just killed it," said Pete Suder, who played shortstop for the Philadelphia Athletics that day. "He hit one into the loudspeaker horns. He hit another one over the fence."

That year, Williams also led the league with 37 homers, 145 bases on balls and a .735 slugging percentage. Despite all those gaudy statistics, the American League MVP award went to Joe DiMaggio, who had a record 56-game hitting streak.

The next year, Williams won the Triple Crown, leading the league with 36 home runs, 137 RBIs and a .356 average. But the MVP award went to Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon (.322, 18, 103).

The same thing happened in 1947, when Williams won his second Triple Crown by hitting .343 with 32 homers and 114 RBIs, but lost the MVP vote again to DiMaggio (.315, 20, 97).

By then, Williams' relationship with the writers, particularly in Boston, had deteriorated badly. One writer left him off the MVP ballot entirely in 1947, costing him the award.

Williams and DiMaggio were fierce competitors. Once in the fog of a cocktail party, they were nearly traded for each other so that the lefty-swinging Williams could benefit from the cozy right-field stands at Yankee Stadium and the right-handed DiMaggio could target the Green Monster at Fenway Park. The next morning, clearer heads prevailed and the deal was called off.

"He was the best pure hitter I ever saw. He was feared," DiMaggio said in 1991, the 50th anniversary of Williams' .406 season and DiMaggio's hitting streak.

When DiMaggio died, in March 1999, Williams said there was no one he "admired, respected and envied more than Joe DiMaggio."

Williams led the league in hitting six times, the last in 1958, when, at age 40, he became the oldest batting champ in major league history.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966, his first year of eligibility.

Although considered a born hitter by many, Williams worked countless hours to improve throughout his career. He often said hitting a baseball was "the hardest thing to do in sports."

"A round ball, a round bat, curves, sliders, knuckleballs, upside down and a ball coming in at 90 to 100 miles an hour, it's a pretty lethal thing," he said.

He once ordered postal scales for the Boston clubhouse so he could be sure of the weight of his bats. In the on-deck circle, he would massage the handle of his bat with olive oil and resin, producing a squeal that disconcerted many pitchers.

"In order to hit a baseball properly," he once explained, "a man has got to devote every ounce of his concentration to it."

Williams was only 20 when he joined the Red Sox in 1939, beginning a tempestuous, colorful career. He had several nicknames: Thumpin' Ted, Teddy Ballgame and The Kid. But none stuck like "The Splendid Splinter," a reference to his skinny, 6-foot-3 physique.

He was brash and outspoken from the start. In 1940, Williams made headlines when he told a writer: "That's the life, being a fireman. It sure beats being a ballplayer. I'd rather be a fireman."

A few years after retiring, he was quoted as saying: "I'm so grateful for baseball -- and so grateful I'm the hell out of it."

But he didn't really stay away. He managed the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers in 1969-72 and maintained lifetime connections with the Red Sox. In 1984, the team retired his number 9.

Theodore Samuel Williams was born Aug. 30, 1918, in San Diego. Out of high school, he signed a Pacific Coast League contract with his hometown team.

He played 11/2 seasons with San Diego, then was obtained by the Red Sox in 1937 for the then-outrageous sum of $25,000 and five players. After a year in Minneapolis, he came to the majors in 1939.

With a dependent mother, Williams received a military deferment from his draft board in 1942. When that season ended, though, he enlisted, becoming a Marine flier. In 1946, he returned to lead the Red Sox to the pennant and his first MVP award.

As a member of the Marine Reserves, was called up as a jet pilot in 1952. After combat service as a fighter pilot in Korea, he rejoined the Red Sox late in the 1953 season.

After his 1960 retirement, Williams became an avid fisherman and outdoorsman. But he returned to baseball in 1969 as manager of the Washington Senators.

He managed three years in Washington and one more when the club moved to Texas as the Rangers in 1972. Although he was respected by his peers, Williams' teams went 273-364, a .429 mark.

Williams returned to the Red Sox as a vice president, then was a consultant and spring training hitting instructor. But the strokes, especially a particularly severe one in February 1994, limited his vision and mobility.

He still did occasional public appearances in his wheelchair, and remained quick-witted and an avid fan. Commenting on the 1998 home run duel between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, he said: "The McGwire-Sosa thing was so super-great. McGwire is the closest thing to gargantuan at the plate."

In 1995, Boston dedicated a $2.3 billion harbor tunnel bearing Williams' name. At the ceremony, he made it clear he didn't consider it a memorial.

"Every place I go, they're waving at me, sending out a cheer, sending letters and notes," he said. "And I thought, I've only seen it happen to somebody who looks like they're going to die. ... I'm a long ways from that."

Married twice, he had two children, Bobbie Jo and John Henry Williams.


Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/070402dnspoobitwilliams.32115.html


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Florida; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: baseball; baseballgreat; bostonredsox; rip; tedwilliams; texasrangers; washingtonsenators
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1 posted on 07/05/2002 10:22:29 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: All
This is the way to go out!:

He had 145 RBIs as a Red Sox rookie in 1939 and closed out his career -- fittingly -- by hitting a home run at Fenway Park in his final major league at-bat in 1960.

2 posted on 07/05/2002 10:25:13 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
Yeah, Williams was an OK player, I'd think a lot more highly of him if he had been more generous with his time in granting television interviews, had he not taken amdro, or worn all that body armor at the plate. /sarcasm
3 posted on 07/05/2002 10:31:38 AM PDT by jra
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To: MeeknMing
When I was growing up Ted Williams was my idol. As a kid I had no idea he was so hostile to the press. I would have not have cared any way. If he had not missed the 3-4 years of playing time when he serviced in WWII and Korea it is very possible he would have broken Babe Ruth's home run record. I have seen statistics where if they assumed he would have hit his average in HR's for the the years he missed because of service and added them on to his actual total he would have beat the Babe in homers. But we will never know. I will miss him
4 posted on 07/05/2002 10:39:53 AM PDT by Uncle Hal
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To: MeeknMing
Really pi$$ed me off at a card show in Atlantic City about 10 years ago . Had a Sports Illustrated with him and Carew on the cover . He signed his name over Carew .. Now I have to have Carew someday sign his name over Williams ...
Really was a grumby old man, even in front of my 12 year old son I took to the show .
5 posted on 07/05/2002 10:46:21 AM PDT by Renegade
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To: Uncle Hal
One of my softball highlights was playing a game on a diamond where Ted had played a game in San Diego. I just could not help but think, "Wow, Ted Williams played here." Ted could be the best pure hitter ever, he did not get a lot of infield hits.
6 posted on 07/05/2002 10:49:13 AM PDT by Andyman
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To: MeeknMing
Every young player should read his book on the proper basebal swing. He will be missed. Sempre Fi Ted!
7 posted on 07/05/2002 11:01:30 AM PDT by Mat_Helm
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To: Renegade
What a shame. Sorry to hear that, FRiend......
8 posted on 07/05/2002 11:17:29 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
As a member of the Marine Reserves, was called up as a jet pilot in 1952.

John Glenn's wing man.
9 posted on 07/05/2002 11:19:49 AM PDT by Mike Fieschko
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To: MeeknMing
If any of you want to read the definitive book on Ted Williams, read my father's book, "HITTER, THE LIFE AND TURMOILS OF TED WILLIAMS. It was the definite book about Ted Williams. He actually wrote one earlier on in Williams' career, but HITTEr is considered the best.
10 posted on 07/05/2002 4:03:34 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: Mat_Helm
Every young player should read his book on the proper baseball swing.

I did. Helped me a lot. It's called, The Science of Hitting.

11 posted on 07/05/2002 4:13:20 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
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To: Hildy; maxwell
Your Dad wrote a book on Ted Williams? Cool!
12 posted on 07/05/2002 4:30:34 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: Hildy
Was that your dad, the freeper?
13 posted on 07/05/2002 4:39:30 PM PDT by AppyPappy
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To: MeeknMing
Ted Williams is #2 all-time in slugging percentage at .634, second to Babe Ruth's .692. Williams is #1 all-time in on-base percentage at .481 (Ruth is second at .469).

14 posted on 07/05/2002 5:22:51 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
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To: MeeknMing
...twice interrupting his career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War.
15 posted on 07/05/2002 7:39:51 PM PDT by FreeReign
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To: FreeReign
...twice interrupting his career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

I believe he lost three full seasons when he served in WW II and most of two seasons when he served in the Korean War.

16 posted on 07/05/2002 7:43:20 PM PDT by FreeReign
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To: MeeknMing
I remember him for being a spokesman for Sear hunting and fishing products. They were good and he was a man you trusted.

A legend has indeed passed. We won't see his kind again...more the pity.

17 posted on 07/05/2002 7:46:06 PM PDT by Redleg Duke
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To: AppyPappy
Yup. Click here
18 posted on 07/05/2002 8:50:59 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: MeeknMing
In 1941, when he was 22-23, Ted Williams hit .406 with 37 home runs, a .551 on-base percentage, and a .735 slugging percentage. He led the majjor leagues in all those categories. And he struck out 27 times in 456 at-bats.

In 1957, when he was 38-39, Williams hit .388 with 38 home runs, a .526 on-base percentage, and a .731 slugging percentage. He led the major leagues in all those categories, except home runs. And he struck out 43 times in 420 at-bats.

He did not play at all in 1943, 1944, and 1945, when he was 24-27. He played only a little bit in 1952 and 1953, when he was 33-35. So he missed almost five full seasons in the prime of his career, when his numbers would have been at their highest.

What a hitter.

19 posted on 07/05/2002 9:38:54 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
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To: Charles Henrickson
That bears repeating:

What a hitter.

20 posted on 07/06/2002 4:09:49 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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