# Ted Williams has passed away **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 5, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509 "2002-07-05T17:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/1 "2002-07-05T17:30:08Z")
Arguably the greatest hitter in MLB history. RIP, Ted. [http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/williams\_ted\_obit.html](http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/williams_ted_obit.html) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/2 "2002-07-05T17:30:09Z")
[Ted Williams has just passed away.](http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/williams_ted_obit.html) > [@](#): > > Williams was the second-youngest player to ever lead the majors in runs batted in (only Ty Cobb was younger) and the oldest to win a batting title. He drove in 145 runs as a 21-year-old rookie in 1939 and was 40 in 1958 when he hit .328 for the last of his six American League batting championships. In a playing career that spanned four decades with the Red Sox and was interrupted by two military tours of duty that cost him nearly five full seasons, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Splendid Splinter hit .344 with 521 home runs, 1,839 RBIs, 2,019 walks, a slugging percentage of .634 that remains second to only Babe Ruth’s .690, and an on-base percentage of .483 that is second to no one. ☹ ☹ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/3 "2002-07-05T17:37:19Z")
Ted Williams died today. ☹ Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/4 "2002-07-05T17:48:03Z")
Talk about sequential thread titles! Ted would be honored. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mooney252](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mooney252](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooney252)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/5 "2002-07-05T17:58:23Z")
“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 8/30/1918-7/5/2002 I’d say he met his goals. ---
**Author:** ![ijustdontcare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c57346/32.png) [@ijustdontcare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ijustdontcare)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/6 "2002-07-05T18:00:15Z")
All I can say is: There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived. R.I.P. Ted ---
**Author:** ![Jorel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jorel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/7 "2002-07-05T18:06:29Z")
Greatest hitter that ever lived, and a class act IMHO ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/8 "2002-07-05T19:22:31Z")
As great as he was, just imagine what his stats would have looked like if he hadn’t spent nearly 5 seasons, at the height of his career, in the Army Air Corps, fighting for his country. I say, at a minimum, he’d have had another 150 homers. That would’ve put him in striking distance of the Babe. And since he was still no spuch at the plate at the time he retired… who knows what might’ve happened. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/9 "2002-07-05T19:53:03Z")
☹ Possibly another 1K hits, in addition to the homers, if he doesn’t have to go fight. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/10 "2002-07-05T20:25:11Z")
**iampunha** is a bit put out as **astorian** has obviously failed to preview a post, and entered **5 years** instead of **3 years** as the length of time that Williams missed during WWII. Let’s give him an additional 550 hits and 115 homers. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/11 "2002-07-05T20:36:42Z")
From [Williams’ obituary at ESPN.com](http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/williams_ted_obit.html) > [@](#): > > Yet Williams turned out to be baseball’s longest-serving military warrior, missing three full seasons (1943-45) during World War II and most of the 1952 and '53 seasons when the Korean War was going on. It should also be noted that his wasn’t an Elvis-type stint in the military. He was in “the shit,” particularly in Korea, where he flew 39 combat missions. From the ESPN obit: > [@](#): > > On Feb. 19, 1953, flying low on a bombing run far above the 38th parallel, Williams’ F-9 Panther was hit by small arms fire and started leaking hydraulic fluid. With his plane shaking badly (he didn’t know it was also on fire), his control panel lit up with warning lights, and his radio dead, Williams followed a fellow pilot back to base, flying without hydraulics and wrestling his stick all the way. > > Approaching the landing field, an on-board explosion blew off one of the wheel doors and Williams was forced to land his crippled jet at 225 miles-an-hour and on one wheel. When the F-9 finally came to a stop at the end of the runway after skidding over 2,000 feet, Williams walked away from the burning wreck as firemen hosed it down with foam. Fortunate but enraged, he reacted to nearly auguring in as if he had just popped out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth – he yanked off his helmet and slammed it to the ground. As we all know, he was the last man to hit .400. But the circumstances behind that milestone should be reiterated. > [@](#): > > on Sept. 28, Williams delivered the most telling _six_ hits of his career in a season-ending doubleheader at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Unfazed by a 3-for-15 slump and not interested in going into the record books as a .400 hitter who actually hit .39955, Ted refused manager Joe Cronin’s offer to sit out the twin bill. He then took the field and went 4-for-5 in the first game and 2-for-3 in the nightcap to finish the year at a more respectable .406. The man had **cajones**. As the obit quotes sportswriter Robert Lipsyte, “Ted Williams was what John Wayne would have liked us to think he was.” R.I.P., Splendid Splinter. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/12 "2002-07-05T20:38:16Z")
And, I have forgotten to add back the two years during the Korean War. Are you sure I can’t edit my previous post?:o Sorry for the mis-information on my part. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/13 "2002-07-05T20:39:50Z")
Truly a giant among giants. Teddy Ballgame transcended the sport itself. One of my favorite baseball stories is how, before the last two games of the 1941 season, with his .39955 average being rounded up to .400, he was offered the chance to sit out the double header against the A’s. And he never hesitated for a moment, insisting it’s not a record unless you play all the way. And he went 6 for 8, and finished the season with an unimpeachable .406. It’s nice to see such integrity rewarded. I’d say he got what he deserved that day, and for the 1941 season. Thanks for being such a great ballplayer, such a great patriot, and such a great man, Mr. Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/14 "2002-07-05T20:55:49Z")
Other than his managing stint, this guy was among the best in whatever he did, whether it was baseball, fishing, or flying. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/15 "2002-07-05T21:37:39Z")
I don’t know what to say. I’ve been a fan of his (even though I wasn’t born until well after he retired) pretty much my entire life. For as long as I recall, whenever I needed a one digit number, 9 was always my first choice. He was one of a kind, and I guarantee he’ll be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/16 "2002-07-05T21:39:54Z")
Can’t the guy get a break? He was managing the Senators! Gil Hodges didn’t do any better with that bunch of bums. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/17 "2002-07-05T23:44:26Z")
Williams is also the only player aside from Rogers Hornsby to win the Triple Crown twice (in 1942 and 1947). And the two-time AL MVP did _not_ get the MVP award either of those years, possibly due to his fueds with the baseball writers. How do you win the Triple Crown but aren’t considered to be the MVP? And in '41 when he hit .406, Williams was only 5 RBIs off winning the Triple Crown that year too. But 1941 was also the same year of DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak and DiMaggio took the MVP award. And how good could Ted Williams have been had he not missed those seasons to military service? On average, Williams got 187 hits, 36 homeruns, 129 RBIs, scored 127 runs, and reached base on balls 142 times each season. If you add those average numbers to the five years he missed to fight in World War II and Korea, his lifetime numbers would be around 3593 hits, 701 homeruns, 2484 RBIs, 2433 runs scored, and 2729 walks. Those extrapolated numbers would put Williams 4th in career hits, 3rd in career homeruns, and 1st in career RBIs, runs scored, and walks. And seeing as he missed those seasons during the prime of his baseball career, I think the average numbers could have been attainable. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/18 "2002-07-06T01:22:39Z")
I’ve merged **dantheman** ’s and **zev\_steinhardt** ’s threads. * * * **Cajun Man** - SDMB Moderator ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/19 "2002-07-06T01:43:49Z")
Thanks, **Cajun Man** , though I’m pretty sure I saw three of these threads earlier today… 🙂 Yeah, those feuds with Boston sportswriters were apparently something else. Maybe there are some longtime Boston folk around here who were around at some point during Teddy Ballgame’s long career. And remember, when he managed the Senators here, he took them from a perennially horrid team to a team that finished 10 games above .500. Wow. And great players hardly ever make great managers - had he one or two impact players, he might have managed 15 more years. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509/20 "2002-07-06T02:10:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > And remember, when he managed the Senators here, he took them from a perennially horrid team to a team that finished 10 games above .500. Wow. And great players hardly ever make great managers - had he one or two impact players, he might have managed 15 more years. While I doubt that Williams’ managing style would have lent itself to continued success even with a good team, I still have fond memories of that 1969 season. IIRC, the Senators had finished ninth in the AL in 1968 (the last year before the leagues were divided into divisions). But in ‘69, Our Wondrous Nats, as the late Shirley Povich used to call them, finished 86-76, only a game out of third in the tough AL East. Teddy Ballgame taught that entire team to hit - most notably Ed Brinkman, who had up to that point been one of the all-time great-glove, no-hit SS’s of the era, usually batting about .195. Under Williams’ tutelage, he hit something like .266 in '69, which was above the league average in that era. What happened to the Senators after that had little to do with Williams, and everything to do with that carpetbagger Short, IMHO. But that’s a story for another day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-williams-has-passed-away/117509.md?page=2)