Ted Williams hits his final homer #521 (off Jack Fisher)
 |
| Early Ted Williams baseball card (oldest in my possession) |
No question about it, Ted Williams was one of the great hitters of all time in Major League Baseball. On this day in 1941 the Boston Red Sox star ended the season with a .406 batting average, the last player to bat over .400 for a complete season. His On Base Percentage (a measure of a player's ability to get on base) was the highest of all time in pro baseball.
To illustrate OBP, consider my first year of baseball after Little League. Little League was for kids 8-12. Babe Ruth League is what you played when you were 13-18. Even though I was a Little League All Star, when I turned 13 and played in Babe Ruth League I was a runt. I never got a hit the whole season. Yet, even though I struck out 13 times, I also walked 13 times, so my On Base Percentage was .500. That is, half the time I went to the plate I got on base.
Ted Williams got on base by base hits, but also by discipline. He made pitchers throw the ball over the plate. He did not swing wildly at pitches outside the strike zone. He wasn't ashamed to take a walk. He knew that every runner who gets on base, by any means, is a potential run.
For more read:
I consider it an honor that this blog post was re-posted on the John Updike Society website.
Other Events of Significance on This Day
In 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England
The Jesse James Gang's surprise attack of a train in 1864 results in 150 killed.
In 1908 Henry Ford's first Model T rolls out of the Piquette Plant in Detroit.
In 1954, the Tonight Show premiered with host Steve Allen.
In 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald visited the Cuban Consulate in Mexico City.
In 2021, Ed Newman published his 5,195th post on his Ennyman's Territory blog.
Have a great, and grateful, day.
OH NO! EVERYTHING HERE IS WRONG. THIS ALL HAPPENED ON SEPT. 27.
NOT INTENDED TO BE FAKE NEWS... LET'S CALL IT MISTAKE NEWS.
My apologies to those who count on me for accurate reporting. This is a reminder to verify before you share.
No comments:
Post a Comment