Ted Williams (baseball player)
| Ted Williams | |
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 Ted Williams plaque in the Hall of Fame
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| Leftfielder | |
| Born: August 30th, 1918 San Diego , United States 
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| Died on: July 5, 2002 Inverness , United States
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| Suggested: Left | Threw: Right |
| Debut in Major League Baseball | |
| April 20, 1939 with the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB assignment | |
| September 28, 1960 with the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics (until end of career) |
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| Batting average | , 344 |
| Hits | 2,654 |
| Home runs | 521 |
| Runs Batted In | 1,839 |
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As a player
As a manager
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| Awards | |
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| member of | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Recorded | 1966 |
| Quota | 93.38% |
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams b. as Teddy Samuel (born August 30, 1918 in San Diego , California , † July 5, 2002 in Inverness , Florida ) was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball . His nicknames were The Kid , The Thumper , The Splendid Splinter, and Teddy Ballgame . Teddy Samuel is entered as his first name in his birth certificate.
Life
Ted Williams grew up in San Diego, California. There he attended Herbert Hoover High School, where he also played baseball. Already in his youth he expressed the desire to become the greatest batsman in baseball one day. After graduating from high school , he played minor league baseball for the San Diego Padres and the Minneapolis Millers .
In 1939 he made his debut for the Boston Red Sox in the American League . On April 20, the leftfielder played his first game at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees . Against Red Ruffing he scored a double in his first game. He finished the season with a batting average of .326 (32.6%), 31 home runs and 145 RBI . In the RBI category, he led the American League this season.
Ted Williams had his best individual season in 1941. At the age of 23 he had a batting average of .406 (40.6%), he was the first player since Bill Terry in 1930 to surpass the .400 (40%) mark. To date, no player since Williams has managed to surpass this mark. Before the last game day, his average was .39996 (39.996%) and would have been rounded up to .400 (40%) if Williams would not have competed again. His manager Joe Cronin made it up to him whether he wanted to compete in the double header of the last game day or not in order to keep his average and not possibly deteriorate it. Ted Williams competed in both games and had six hits in eight punch appearances and even improves his editing. With 37 home runs, he also led this statistic. Despite such outstanding achievements, Joe DiMaggio was more in the foreground with the press and the public with his series of 56 games in a row with a base hit. In 1942 Williams won his first triple crown as a batsman, leading the league in the batting average (.356 (35.6%)), home runs (36) and RBI (137) categories.
After that season, Ted Williams left the Red Sox for three seasons and took part in World War II as a pilot in the US Marines. In 1946 he returned to the major league and was elected MVP of the American League. That year, the Red Sox also won the title in their league and faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series . The Cardinals won seven games, Ted Williams only got five singles in 25 hits in his only World Series. In 1947 he won his second Triple Crown , in 1949 he won his second title as MVP. As with his first Triple Crown, Joe DiMaggio was voted MVP of the season, but only by one vote. 1952 and 1953 Williams could not play a full season again, as he was also used in the Korean War. In Korea he flew 53 sorties. Williams is one of the few baseball players who has had to interrupt his career twice because of military service.
Ted Williams played his last game for the Boston Red Sox on September 28, 1960. In his last punching appearance he managed a home run against Jack Fisher of the Baltimore Orioles in Fenway Park in front of only 10,454 spectators . Overall, this was the 521st home run of his career. His average career hit was .344 (34.4%). His performances as a batsman were outstanding, but as an outfield player, Williams was only average. When evaluating Ted Williams' career, it should be noted that he has not been used for five seasons as he served as a Marine in World War II and in Korea.
In 1957, Williams was honored with the Associated Press Athlete of the Year award . In 1966 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame .
From 1969 to 1972 Williams worked as a manager for the second Washington Senators . Their first year in Texas as Rangers was Williams last year as a manager.
After baseball, Ted Williams devoted himself intensively to his second passion, fishing. Here, too, he was inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame . He came eighth in The Sporting News magazine's choice of the 100 best baseball players of the century . In his final years, Williams struggled with heart problems, of which he died in 2002 at the age of 83. After his death, the family argued about the manner of burial. After his death, he was frozen at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona.
His stations as a player
- 1939-1942 Boston Red Sox
- 1946-1960 Boston Red Sox
His stations as a manager
- 1969–1971 Washington Senators
- 1972 Texas Rangers
Web links
- Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or The Baseball Cube (English)
- Data as a manager (English)
- Biography of Ted Williams (english)
- Ted Williams in the Hall of Fame (English)
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Williams, Ted |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Theodore Samuel; The kid; The thumper; The Splendid Splinter; Teddy ball game |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball player and manager |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 30, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Diego , California |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 5, 2002 |
| Place of death | Inverness , Florida |