despite complaining that the shift cost him 20 to 30 points on his lifetime batting average of . Between the two, the Yankee Clipper's record-setting 56-game hitting streak and the Splendid Splinter's .406 season batting average have stood the test of time . He saw it the same way. Average hits per week: 6.7 Extra hits needed per week: 0.2 T3. Its mind-boggling that Walker finished only 10th in the 1999 NL MVP vote, as he was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and Silver Slugger, all while leading the league in batting average (.379), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.710), and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.168). We'll never know how many total at-bats Gwynn would have ended up with if his 1994 season had gone to completion, but he would have needed just three more hits to finish at .400 during his strike-shortened campaign.2. 93.4 - Ted Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, his first year of eligibility, receiving votes from 93.4% of the writers. document.write(update); - Batting Champion (1939-1940) Joe DiMaggio in The 100 Greatest American Athletes (Martin Gitlin, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 10/15/2018, They Said It, Page 254), During the 1968 season, Carl Yastrzemski had the lowest batting average that was still high enough to lead the American League. Williams also had a batting average of .388 in 1942, .356 in 1947, .328 in 1948, .345 in 1949, and .317 in 1960. Pearson was the usual talk of the camp, and photographers delighted in posing him with his much taller teammates. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Here then, are the four batters since No. Ted Williams averaged 300 hits while winning two Triple Crowns, the most of any Hall of Fame player. At the age of 23 he hit .406 in 1941 winning his first of hour HR titles and first of six batting titles. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Did you know that Joe Glenn, who caught Babe Ruth last pitching appearance in 1933, was Williams's catcher? As the story goes, Ted Williams entered the final day of the 1941 season with a .400 batting average and a chance to sit out Boston's scheduled doubleheader against the A's, a move that would clinch the first .400 season in 11 years. from the SABR BioProject, More Ted Williams Pages at Baseball Reference. Back with the Red Sox in 1946, Williams hit the first spring training pitch he saw for a home run on February 26 and then led the team to the World Series. Statistics and Probability questions and answers. 1940 1942, 1946 1951, 1953-1960 Boston Red Sox AL. Note: Ted Williams served in the Armed Forces (WWII & Korea) for almost 5 full seasons during his career, which makes his career stats all the more remarkable. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. That the Red Sox lost, 7-1, in a game called after eight innings because of darkness was secondary. Reasonable shipping cost. Since Ted Williams achieved a lifetime batting average of .344, the highest batting average since his time has been held by Tony Gwynn with a career batting average of .338. What they did at that time, they teamed up a reservist with a regular to fly together most of the time just because the regular Marine pilots normally had more instrument flying experience and things like that. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The Boston left fielder entered the last game of the season that year with a .3995 batting average. Despite his.170 batting average, Bill Bergen is regarded as one of the all-time great players. So he was a very active combat pilot, and he was an excellent pilot and I give him a lot of credit.". A lifetime .298 batting average he hit a home run every 15.11 at bats. Note: Three point one (3.1) plate appearances per scheduled game are needed to win a Major League batting title and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season. Seven hits shy of .400.T3. It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. In 1941, he had the highest batting average of his career when he hit for .406. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. He also won the NL batting title with a .372 average in 1997. View Ted Williams's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). Comparing batting averages Three landmarks of baseball achievement are Ty Cobb's batting average of 420 in 1911, Ted Williams's 406 in 1941, and George Brett's 390 in 1980. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. These batting averages cannot be compared directly because the distribution of major league batting averages has changed over the years. Ted Williams hits .406 in 1941 . His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ted Williams baseball stats page. inInverness,FL, High School: Herbert Hoover HS (San Diego, CA), Debut: A piece of the loudspeaker . To picture just how tough a time hitters have had trying to match Teddy Ballgame's .406, here's a look at the 10 players who have come the closest to reaching .400, in order of their season-ending average, over the last 75 years:1. The Kid,Teddy Ballgame,Splendid Splinter,Thumper are nicknames for Ted Williams. Joe Posnaski in 2009 listed DiMaggio as the 11th best hitter . He was the last player to hit .400 in Major . Its hard to say which one is more undeniable: Bill Bergen or Ty Cobb. Ted Williams once commented about those that fail 'only' seven times out of ten attempts will be the greatest in the game. Throughout his entire career, Williams batting average never dropped below .300. Did you know that after we heard the audio recording of that historic moment, we immediately created an entire page of research here on Baseball Almanac dedicated to those players who hit a home run in their last at bat? (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Williams was 4-for-5 at the plate in the first game raising his batting average to .404. I want to play it all the way. As far as I was concerned, that was it.. In 1952, at the age of 34, Williams was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. 1942-11-03 Boston Red Sox outfielder . ), Latest-in-season .400 bids since Ted Williams. . In 1957, the season in which he turned 39, that .388 average won the batting championship by more than 20 points over Mickey Mantle's career-best .365. Has there ever been a player that was a "Top Prospect" longer than Royce Lewis? For hitters though, the home run or bust approach has taken over which has seen a decline in batting averages as a result. He would bat a more human-like .304 over his final 13 games to finish five hits shy of history.Last day at .400: Sept. 19How short was he? He had a career batting average of .344, which is the sixth highest in Major League Baseball history. Teddy Ballgame joined the club first when he went deep off Thornton Lee on September 17, 1939 then his son Don Lee on September 2, 1960. The Kid, Teddy Ballgame, Splendid Splinter or Thumper, View Player Bio The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Ted Williams Batting Average. Three innings later, Williams started the fifth with his 37th home run; he was now batting .402. In 1958, the year Kubek played with him in the All-Star game, he won his sixth American League batting championship. .406 Batting Average (1941) | .388 Batting Average (1957) Ted Williams was born on Friday, August 30, 1918, in San Diego, California. 6 years has to be a record for appearances on some of these lists. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. In his best year with . Ted Williams lost 6 years to military service in the prime of his career. Former Team: Boston Red Sox. Did you know that those who finished ahead of The Thumper were 7. Page 128. One of the most impressive batting averages of all time belongs to Ted Williams. Statistics courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference, and Baseball-Almanac. * Ted Williams himself lists Joe D in his book as the 5th greatest hitter ever, and he would be 6th with Williams included on his own list. Find out more. I had to maintain my focus throughout. Stan Musial 5. document.write(update); Ted's batting average was .3996 rounded off by numbers-trackers to .400. Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. Did you know that when Willie McGee won his 1990 batting title, he started the season in the National League, was traded to an American League team on August 29th, and became the first player in baseball history to win a batting a title in a league that they were not currently playing in? He'd gone 2-for-5 with a run scored in a rout of the Chicago White Sox, but all that did was improve his batting average . If he sat out, he would have been credited with a .400 batting average for the season. On September 28, 1941, Boston Red Socks first baseman Ted Williams had six hits in eight at-bats, raising his average to. On July 12, 1943, a team of Armed Forces all-stars managed by Babe Ruth and featuring Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams played the Boston Braves in a fund-raising effort. Except for a stretch from July 11-24, when his batting average dipped as low as .393, he'd been hitting above .400 since May 25. "We were in the same squadron there. On the morning of Sept. 28 - the last day of the 1941 baseball season - statistics showed Ted Williams, of the Boston Red Sox, leading the major leagues with a batting average of .400. Williams' response was not captured for posterity. [Answer]. His career was marked by numerous records and accomplishments, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters of all time. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Williams received his pilot's wings and commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on May 2, 1944. "Giant centerfield Willie Mays compared (Ted) Williams and (Stan) Musial to sportswriter Roger Kahn. MVP Season 150 Runs, 43 HRs, 159 RBIs, 162 BBs, 368 TBs, .343 BA (1949), Official Site for "The Splendid Splinter", MLB Hall Of Famer Ted Williams #9. In the last 80 years, the highest career batting average RH 324.6, Joe DiMaggio. Ted Williams career batting statistics for Major League, Minor League, and postseason baseball . Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Ted Williams once commented about those that fail 'only' seven times out of ten attempts will be the greatest in the game. Williams roommate, Wagner, drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single, then shut down the As for a 12-11 victory.). He had a . The Splendid Splinter posted the highest single-season batting average in the modern era by a player 38 years of age or older -- 10 points higher than 38-year old Ty Cobb's .378 in 1925. Last day at .400: July 10How short was he? I have my mother to support. Interestingly enough, although it has been three-quarters of a century since anybody has hit .400 or better, the top four outputs all happened within a 22-year span, with Carew being the oldest. Ted Williams impressive career totals are a testament to his skill as a hitter and his legacy as one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball. He won eight NL batting titles and hit .338 over a 20-year . Sunday marked the 75th anniversary of the culmination of Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak, as the Yankees star went 0-for-3 against Cleveland pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby on July 17, 1941.But while Joltin' Joe's record run captured the imagination of the American public, his friendly rival, Ted Williams, may have set an even more untouchable mark when he finished that 1941 season with a .406 average.Consider this: While DiMaggio batted .409 during his streak, Williams actually bested him with a .412 average during that same span. Williams struck out one batter, Rudy York, on three pitches. His incredible talent and dedication to the game earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 and secured his legacy as one of the greatest hitters of all time. Between games, the 41-year-old Grove was honored before taking the mound to start the nightcap. Last date at .400: May 15How short was he? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The Ted Williams World Series stats seen below include his World Series year-by-year hitting stats, World Series fielding stats, and World Series pitching stats (where applicable). But what made Williams so remarkable was his lifetime batting average, a staggering .344. Homer off the blooper pitch . In addition to his .406 batting averageno major league player since Williams has hit .400the left fielder led the big leagues with 37 homers, 135 runs and a slugging average of .735. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. If Im going to be a .400 hitter, Williams said at the time, I want more than my toenails on the line.. These batting averapes cannot be compared directly because the distribution of major league batting averages has changed over the years. The 38 year old Williams fell just 5 hits short of the elusive .400 mark in 1957. copyright=new Date(); update=copyright.getFullYear(); These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. "I'm tickled to death and I'm hoping I'll get into the air quick to start some slugging against the Axis," he told reporters. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1966. Lou Gehrig, 3. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. [Ted Williams Quotes], Ted 'The Splendid Splinter' Williams Autograph on a 1976 Topps Sporting News All-Time All-Stars Baseball Card (#347 | Checklist), Ted Williams Miscellaneous Items of Interest. . . Bud still does presentations for groups about Ted Williams but said this year was his final fantasy camp. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Part of Teds great success as a hitter was the way he studied pitchers. Baseball has seen some great players over the years, as they have come and gone. (Williams was erased on a double play, but the Red Sox rallied with two outs. Three Landmarks of baseball achievement are Ty Cobb's batting average of .420 in 1911, Ted Williams's .406 in 1941, and George Brett's .390 in 1980. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted Ted flew as my wingman on about half the missions he flew in Korea.". He was 42 by the time the last game rolled around, but he was hitting well over .300 for the season and had 28 home runs. When they shifted on him, everybody to the right side, he still kept trying to pull the ball for hits. Copyright 1999- During his 24-year career, he compiled a .366 batting average, which is the highest in Major League Baseball history. The Splendid Splinter led the league in walks eight times. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time - I owe him my best." His plaque reads, "A .344 career hitter with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBI in 19 seasons with the Red Sox, Ted Williams was voted A.L. "My conscience is clear. ", Latest-in-season .400 bids since Ted Williams. Ted wanted to play in the worst way.. He won three National League batting titles, hit .350 or higher four times (in five seasons,mind you), and won the 1997 NL MVP. Ted Williams is widely recognized as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. Its no surprise then, that Brett was able to get so close to reaching .400 back in 1980, when he finished with a .390 mark. Ted Williams, 1957: .388A full 16 years later, Williams proved he had plenty of magic left in his bat in 1957. Walker would win the title the very next year however, but clearly 1997 was the best hitting year for seasonal batting average leaders Tony Gwynn and Larry Walker. "It was something that required a kind of nonstop consistency," Williams said of his .406 season in 1991. Bob Feller (93.8% in 1962), 4. The southpaw had pitched two innings against the Red Sox in 1940 but had spent most of 41 in the Minors. Cobb, 2. The best Murphy has ever hit over a full second half of a season was .307 in 2013. "By luck of the draw, we went to Korea at the same time," said future astronaut, John Glenn. Among the hundreds and thousands of ballplayers to have the opportunity over the past 75 years, not a single one has hit .400. Ted Williams had a .344 average over his career. Another single: an RBI and a batting average of .405. He could have sat out the games and achieved the .400 average for the year, through rounding. Ted Williams weighed 205 lbs (92 kg) when playing. This article (among others) that . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Babe Ruth? Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. His 120 RBIs were five shy of Joe DiMaggio's MLB-leading total and thus five short of the Triple Crown, something Williams would accomplish in 1942 and 1947. Average for the last 12 months. Five hits shy of .400.T3. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. He saw 17 seasons in which he hit for over .300 which ranks third-most in the modern era only behind Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. The future Hall of Famer didnt have much, though, giving up three runs in the first in what would be the last inning of his career. The Red Sox were coming off a three-game series in Washington where Williams went 2-for-10, dropping his average from .406 to .401. The flip side is that Bob Feller's opponents hit only .228 against him in his 18 year career, 121 points lower than Williams hit against him. Join Baseball Almanac as we take a look at some additional numbers of interest as they relate to Ted Williams, easily (one of) "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived": 1 - Ted Williams has the highest on base percentage ever put together by any Major League ballplayer in history! The Splendid Splinter answered when his country called Tris Speaker). But Williams was locked in, leading off the second inning with a single to pull his average back up to .405. Ted didnt drink, so from time to time Id run into a bar room to get a drink, and hed wait outside until I got finished, drinking a soft drink. It's hard to knock him for effort, however, seeing as collected 262 hits to break George Sisler's 84-year-old record that season.Last day at .400: N/A.How short was he? 454/.655 compared to a .312/.432/.496 line for Williams. That year, the mean and the standard deviation for batting averages were 0.28062 and 0.03281. . The strike halted play in mid-August, denying Gwynn the opportunity to try and keep the four-plus months hot streak going. Williams singled, raising his average to .404. Friendly reminder that Ted Williams played from 1939 to 1960 and had the highest batting average, most home runs and most RBI's of any player in MLB during that period. In the last three-quarters of a century, no player has had the same kind of consistency needed reach just the .400 plateau, let alone tie Williams' .406.To put it in contemporary terms, think of it this way: If Daniel Murphy, the Majors' current batting average leader at .348, were to finish with 584 at-bats this season (his average over the last three years), he would have to hit roughly .472 (117-for-248) the rest of the way to join Williams in the .400 club. Ted Williams, in full Theodore Samuel Williams, bynames the Splendid Splinter and Teddy Ballgame, (born August 30, 1918, San Diego, California, U.S.died July 5, 2002, Inverness, Florida), American professional baseball player who compiled a lifetime batting average of .344 as an outfielder with the American League Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. However, the press and the fans were not happy and he enlisted in the Navy on May 22, 1942. Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, going 6-for-8 on the season's last day to raise his average from .3995. Walker finished his career with 383 career home runs, a .313/.400/.565/.965 slash line, and 230 stolen bases for good measure. .. an .800 batting average is good. A career.344 batting average ranks second to Ty Cobb, and he won six American League titles in the league. [Top 1,000 / On Base Percentage Record Book] Did you know that he once got on base in eighty-four straight games (in 1949), an incredible feat that remains unmated to this day? Free shipping for many products! Larry Walker, 1999: .379Two seasons after claiming the NL MVP Award, Walker followed up with his best season at the plate by average. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Standard Batting; Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards; 1936: 17: BOS-min: AA: 42: 107: 107: 18: 29: 8: 2: 0: 11: 2 . He retired in 1960 with 521 home runs, 1,839 RBIs, and a .344 batting average highlighted by a .406 performance in 1941, his third year in the majors. I can do this by playing ball this year. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family, Current Through End of 2023 Regular Season. Ted Williams, 1957: .388 At the age of 38, Williams found out first-hand how hard it is to record a .400 average. by Retrosheet. Do you have a sports website? Ted Williams one of the greatest hitters that ever lived. by Handedness. Williams was first sent, with teammate John Pesky, to the Navy's Preliminary Ground School at Amherst College in Massachusetts, for six months. Aside from winning two Triple Crowns and being a two-time Most Valuable Player, Williams was also a 17-time All-Star. The ride out was quiet, Wagner said. Born: Williams did enjoy his .406 season, right down to the final hit on Sept. 28, 1941 a rocket that crashed into a bulky loudspeaker atop a fence in right-center field. Ted Williams served as a Naval Aviator during World War II and the Korean War. Ironically, along with Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak that has stood the test of time since 1941, Boston Red Sox icon Ted Williams' .406 average put up that very same year is unsurpassed. He was a master of the art of hitting, combining great hand-eye coordination and power with a keen knowledge of the strike zone. He played his entire 19-year career with the Boston Red Sox and is often referred to as the greatest hitter who ever lived. When his classification was changed to 1-A following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he made an appeal to his draft board which was upheld. At season's end, Williams was five hits shy of . Again, yes. Mr. Padre saw a batting average of .394 in 1994, actually slumping to end the season as he was above .400 before dropping right below it. 14 hits shy of .400.T6. He was right about that and the list of batting champions below, reflects those great hitters who truly dominated during a single season of play. Do you know what National League player had the lowest average, but still won the batting title? 8,629th in major league history) The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Did not play in major or minor leagues (Military Service), Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. That means Cobb was successful hitting the ball three out of 10 times. Miguel Cabrera currently leads all active players in career batting average with .308, right above both Jose Altuve and Mike Trout. In 1941, only his third season in the majors, Williams captivated the nation by chasing a .400 season batting average. 9 who have come closest to reaching the hallowed mark. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and . In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat, and is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats. Nine hits shy of .400.5. 5 - Ted Williams signed a five-year contract to manage the Washington Senators on February 21, 1969. Thats a debate for another day (or article). He led the American League in batting average six times and is one of only three players to hit over .400 in a single season with a .406 average . 9 - Ted Williams had his number "9" formally retired by the Boston Red Sox on May 29, 1984, the first player in team history to receive the honor and one of two numbers they retired that same day - the other being #4, for Joe Cronin. Bats/Throws: L/R. 15 hits shy of .400.T6. He won 2 MVP awards. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960; his career . 93.4 - Ted Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, his first year of eligibility, receiving votes from 93.4% of the writers. His career batting average of .344 is a testament to his greatness as a hitter. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. . Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Ed Delahanty, 5. And in his 22-year major league career, Williams accomplished things on . Not saying LH Joe DiMaggio would do better, no way to tell. It does not store any personal data. One of the most prolific hitters in the history of Major League Baseball, Ted Williams was a true master of the sport. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? One of these accomplishments is Ted William's hitting over .400 on the season. us, Died: It is appropriate to place Williams among the greatest hitters of all time, as his career numbers demonstrate his greatness. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 4. (Age 42-029d) As already mentioned, Williams .406 batting average is the highest off all-time while no other player has crossed the .400 mark.