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 Ted Williams Photo Gallery
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Did Ted Williams Ever  Pitch in a Major League Game?

You Bet He Did!!

We all know what a terrific hitter Ted Williams was, so, as strange as it may seem to us, the answer is yes, Ted Williams was once called upon to pitch in a major league game. It happened eighty-three years ago yesterday, on August 24, 1940, in the first game of a doubleheader played at Fenway Park. The Red Sox were getting schlacked by the Tigers that day, and so Red Sox manager Joe Cronin summoned Ted from left field to pitch the eighth inning. The Red Sox eventually lost the game, 12-1. As one reporter for the Boston Globe put it:

 “The appearance of Williams on the mound marked Joe Cronin’s annual insult to his regular mound corps, as well as another exhibition of the Sox skipper’s eye for showmanship. He did it a year ago with Jimmie Foxx and two years ago with Doc Cramer.” (1)

Yes, that’s Ted on the mound in the feature photo. Let’s be honest… he doesn’t look too comfortable out there! As a matter of fact – how shall I put it? – he looks downright awkward! (Hard to believe I’m using the word “awkward” in the same sentence as “Ted Williams,” one of the most graceful hitters ever!).

How Did He Do??

And so, you might ask, how did the Splendid Splinter do on this day as a hurler? Well, the answer is a rather surprising: “Not too bad!” Actually, better than expected. He pitched two full innings, facing nine batters. Ted gave up one earned run on three hits and struck out one. He finished his mound “career” with a 4.50 ERA. The highlight of his one-and-only stint on the rubber was striking out Tigers’ slugger Rudy York on three straight pitches. York already had four hits in the game and had driven in five runs.  

I thought it would be fun to look at the box score and see what exactly was going on that day. The Red Sox lineup had some familiar names, including Dom DiMaggio in center, Doc Cramer in right, Jimmie Foxx catching, Joe Cronin at short, and Bobby Doerr at second. The Tigers lineup included Hank Greenberg in left, Pete Fox in right, Birdie Tebbets behind the plate, and journeyman Dick Bartell at short. Pitching for the Tigers was Tommy Bridges who had held Ted hitless in four at-bats. The game was played in a swift 2:12. The three-man umpiring crew included former major leaguers George Pipgras at home and George Moriarity at first, plus Hall of Famer Cal Hubbard.

Ted’s Great Career

Of course, this gives me another opportunity to comment on the career of Ted Williams and his off-the-charts stats. There’s no debate that he was one of the greatest ballplayers in major league history. He’s generally recognized by baseball historians as the greatest pure hitter ever to lace up the spikes.

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, a four-time American League home run leader, a 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 191 OPS+ is again second, behind only the great Bambino’s 206 (100 being the major league average).

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. 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.

“If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me” 

I think we can all be thankful that Ted realized his talent lay with a bat in his hand swinging at pitches in the batter’s box instead of throwing the ball from the pitcher’s mound!

Gary Livacari 

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Information: Quote (1) and background information from SABR essay on Ted Williams’s day as a pitcher by Tom Hufford. Read the entire essay here.