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Decade Triple Crown Winners, Part Three: Ted Williams’ Phenomenal Decade of the 1940s
“If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me.” –Ted Williams
“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
To conclude my three-part series on “Decade Triple Crown Winners” which some of you may remember included Rogers Hornsby in the 1920s and Honus Wagner in the 1900s, here’s some great information on the the 1940s Triple Crown winner, Ted Williams. First a few words about Ted’s amazing career:
Ted’s Career Numbers:
There’s no debate that Ted Williams was one of the greatest ballplayers in major league history. He’s generally recognized by baseball historians as the greatest pure hitter ever. Ted played his entire 19-year major league career with the Red Sox (1939–1942 and 1946–1960). He was a seventeen-time All-Star, a two-time American League Most Valuable Player, a six-time American League batting champion, four-time American League home run leader, four-time American League RBI leader, and a two-time Triple Crown winner. Over his career, in which he lost three full seasons and parts of a fourth to military service, he hit .344 (seventh all-time), with 2,454 hits, 521 home runs (19th all-time), 1837 RBIs (14th all-time), and a .482 on-base percentage (first all-time). His .634 slugging average is second all-time, behind only Babe Ruth’s .689.
Ted’s Stats from the 1940s:
In the decade of the 1940s, Ted Williams, like many other ballplayers, missed three full seasons due to military service during World War II. Yet, in the seven seasons in which he played, he still put up phenomenal numbers. In the Triple Crown categories from 1940-1949, Ted averaged .357, with 234 home runs (average: 33 per season), and 868 RBIs (average: 127 per season). In addition he had 1302 hits (average: 186 per season), 951 runs scored (average: 136 per season), and 270 doubles (average: 39 per season). Perhaps most impressive of all was his average On-base percentage for the decade, .496, which included a .553 mark in 1941 that stood as the major league record for 61 years until broken by Barry Bonds in the steroid era. His .649 slugging percentage was also “off-the-chats” good.
The “Splendid Splinter’s” Historic Year 1941:
Ted Williams’ 1941 season is often considered to be the best offensive season ever, even though the MVP award that year went go to Joe DiMaggio. His .406 batting average is still the highest single-season average in Red Sox history, the highest batting average in the major leagues since 1924, and the last time any major league player has hit over .400 since Bill Terry in 1930. His .553 on-base percentage and slugging percentage of .735 that season are both also the highest single-season averages in Red Sox history. The .553 on-base percentage stood as a major league record for 61 years; and his .735 slugging percentage was highest in the major leagues between 1932 and 1994. Williams also led the league with 135 runs scored and 37 home runs, and was second in RBIs with 120.
Would He Sit Out the Last Two Games?
On September 28, before the final two games of the 1941 regular season, a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics, he was batting .39955, which would have been officially rounded up to .400. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin offered him the chance to sit out the final day, but Ted Williams famously declined, saying: “If I’m going to be a .400 hitter I want more than my toenails on the line.” He proceeded to go 6-for-8 and finished the season at .406.
Ted Williams was a first ballot selection to the Hall of Fame in 1966 and his #9 has been retired by the Red Sox. He was named to the Major League All-Century team and the Major League Baseball All-Time team.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: The Charles Conlon Baseball Collection, the Leslie Jones Boston Public Library Baseball Collection; others from public domain; Ted Williams colorizations by Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler
Statistics: From the Ted Williams Baseball-Reference page
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