Caption this photo - Ted Williams...

[krodriguesdc]

He was one of baseball's greatest!

[krodriguesdc]

Opening Day - 1947...

[anniegetyourgun]

Rest in peace.

[Pistolshot]

The Greatest Hitter EVER to play the game.

[ozone1]

I'm going to haunt you guys until you win the series

[South Dakota]

Ted should have played for the Yanks

[Orual]

And he did it all without steroids.

[big'ol_freeper]

Can you imagine how many home runs he would have hit with that short porch in right field in Yankee Stadium? Or Briggs Field (Tiger Stadium). Then again....how many would Joe DiMaggio have hit in Fenway Paak?

With the players that went to WWII one also wonders if the Red Sox might have actually won a couple of World Series if they had played those years instead of going to war. We will never know....

[Movemout]

The Yankees offered him a contract while Ted was still living with his mother. His mother apparently did not want him moving too far away so he signed, with Mom's permission, with the newly formed San Diego Padres and was later traded to the BoSox. Of course all of this activity was at the farm club level.

[soccergirl]

With all due respect...

Pete Rose's Major Records

All-time Major League record for most career hits-4,256

All-time Major League record for most games played-3,562

All-time Major League record for most at bats-14,053

All-time Major League record for most singles-3,315

All-time Major League record for most total bases by a switch hitter-5,752

All-time Major League record for most seasons of 200 or more hits-10

All-time Major League record for most consecutive seasons of 100 or more hits-23

All-time Major League record for most seasons with 600 or more at bats-17

All-time Major League record for most seasons with 150 or more games played--17

All-time Major League record for most seasons with 100 or more games played-23

Only player in Major League history to play more than 500 games at five different Positions-1B (939) 2B (628) 3B (634) LF (671) RF (595)

Major League record for playing in the most winning games-1,972

All-time National League record for most years played-24

All-time National League record for most consecutive years played-24

All-time National League record for most career runs-2,165

All-time National League record for most career doubles-746

All-time National League record for most games with 5 or more hits-10

Modern National League record for longest consecutive game hitting streak-44

Modern National League Record for most consecutive game hitting streaks of 20 or more games--7

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

When "Shoeless" Joe Jackson can be rehabilitated then we can talk about your selfish b*st*rd. Charley Hustle never served his country, only himself. Love him in those Maaco ads. He and Burt Reynolds make quite a pair.

[silver fox two]

There you go again---comparing apples and oranges! Are you from Yankee Town by any chance?

[G.Mason]

"And he did it all without steroids."

And losing almost five years of playing while protecting his country voluntarily!

[sobieski]

Another important TW momemnt: when he was inducted to the Hall, he said that it needed to include the men from the Negro Leagues. Until then, he said, he was not among all the greats.

[cschroe]

No way was Pete a better hitter than The Splendid Splinter. Using the 162 Game Average its easy to see the difference, a method by which you get a more typical full-season comparison, without regard to actual number of games in the seasons played etc:

PLAYER:   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
ROSE      639   98  194  34  6   7   60   9  7  71  52  .303  .375  .409  262   3   4   8   5  11
WILLIAMS  545  127  188  37  5  37  130   2  1 143  50  .344  .482  .634  345   0   1   6   3  14

So what do we see: in almost 100 FEWER at bats per 162 games, a difference easily accounted for by Roses typical higher position in the lineup, and the fact that he played with teams of generally higher offensive caliber that Ted, Williams still bested Rose in Runs, Doubles, Homers (by alot), RBI (by alot), strikeout, walks (by alot), average (by alot), OBP by over 100 points, slugging percentage by over 200 points, and total bases. He's only six shy inhits and one shy in triples, a difference only due to the markedly fewer AB.

If Ted hadn't taken 3 years off to serve our country (43-45), as well as missing almost 2 complete seasons (52-53) due to injury, Rose's career numbers wouldn't sniff Ted's, except in singles, doubles, and total hits. Best hitter means more than slapping lots of singles, which is what Rose did. Willimas was the Complete Package at the plate.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

A couple you missed:

How many years served in military?

How many Migs shot down?

How many times re-enlisted?

Please - obviously we are talking about people from two different categories. One was a great man - the other a great baseball player.

Williams was a better hitter. So Rose lasted 24 years. Who would you want at the plate - Williams or Rose? No contest.

Caption: A Great Man

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Thanks.

I love the level of knowledge many freepers have. Some/many are a bit out of control - then one makes an intelligent, informational post like yours, and it makes it worthwhile.

I think I will look at my baseball signed by the 1946 Red Sox team today.

Thanks again.

[undergroundwarrior]

Rose was a good player who got the most out of his talent. Imagine if Bonds, Henderson, Griffey Jr. would play with Rose's tenacity? Pete should be in the H.O.F., no worse a man than Cobb, Mantle, or O.J.

It is foolish to compare Rose with Williams. Ted has a .200 point higher slugging percentage and stil hit for a higher average.

[morjon]

"Cobb, Mantle or O.J."

Ok so Cobb and Mantle had some problems, but why in hell would you mention them in the SAME breath as The Killer?

[cschroe]

Wow, that's a great piece of baseball memorabilia. Best thing about it, is that while its probably worth substantial $$$ on the collectors market, is that it likely has immeasurable value to you personally.