Ted Williams

edmundfitzgerald

What if Ted didn't miss those years at the twilight of his career ? I think his stats would have read..........

3000+ hits
2000+ rbi
600+ HR's
2000+ Base on Balls
.500+ On Base Percentage (WOW!)
.650 Slugging Percentage (WOW!)
20 Grand Slams
.350 lifetime average (Double WOW!)

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=willite01

BobaFett72

your projections arent far off. Williams missed PRIME years.

he lost 4 1/2 seasons.

at bare minimum it cost him 100+ Homers 500 RBi's, 500 RUns, 800 hits, 175 doubles.


baseball, I honestly dont understand your posts. Williams played till he was 41. He didnt lost time at the end of his career, he lost most at the best part.

BobaFett72

I believe the original poster may have misused the term twilight regarding Williams career.

Mercury10c

<< <i>BTW, why would his average go UP in the twilight of his career? There is NO WAY, IMO, he could turn a .342 average into a .350 average with his play in his 40s. >>


Steroids.

MCMLVTopps

A pointless discussion to play "what if".

The sadest part about TW (IMO) was when he returned to Fenway Park during the All-Star game and his doofus son had him wear a "hitter.com" cap instead of a Red Sox cap. His son treated him more like a circus sideshow clown and a cash cow. It is beyond unthinkable to realize a man of Ted Williams' stature has his head severed and is cryogenically frozen. TW deserved a much better fate than dealt him by his evil son, who got his rather early in life. Finally Ted took off his cap to the Fenway Faithful during that All Star game...only a Red Sox fan could really understand and appreciate this gesture...albeit in a Hitter.com cap.

I have very fond memories of being a boy long ago and having seen TW play at Fenway. Nobody thrilled the fans more than Ted Williams. NOBODY!

Let Teddy Ballgame rest, to play "what if" is really futile.

Barndog

my grandmother told me stories about Ted Williams never tipping his cap to the fans. He had all kinds of fan-unfriendly habits but she still loved the guy!

perkdog

There is NO question his numbers would have been ridiculasly better had he played those 5 seasons. I too think of the "Twilight" being towards the end of a players career as well- no big deal, I can see where it was confusing.

MantleMarisFordBerra

Let's be clear, he missed prime years, not years at the end. He started in '39, missed a few years inthe mid '40s for WW2 then missed a few years inthe early '50s for the Korean War, he retired in '60. He missed PRIME years, and it is not unthinkable to say he could have broken Ruth's HR record.

BTW, if you really want to get into a game of what ifs about TW, think about what his stats would have been like if in fact the WIlliams/DiMaggio trade that was verablly agreed upon in '49 went through. TW's left handed swing in the old Yankee stadium with that short right field porch? Fuggetaboutit!

JackWESQ

What about Willie Mays? He also missed time due to the service. His career numbers are:

3283 Hits
1903 RBIs
660 Hrs
2062 Runs

In 1952 Mays played only 34 games and no games in 1953. Toss in those missed games (and splitting the difference between Mays 1951 and 1954 numbers and subtracting Mays' 1952 numbers), Mays career numbers could have read:

3444 Hits
2058 RBIs
718 HRs
2223 Runs

.. and he could have been the first to pass the Babe.

But I agree with MCMLVTopps that it is pointless to engage in these "what if" discussion. Many players miss games due to a variety of reasons, of course, the most frequent one is injuries. As such, one of the better cases of "what if" is Paul Molitor. Molitor accumulated 3319 career hits. Awesome. But in 21 seasons, he played only 2683 games out of a possible 3402; missing 719 games. While it's unrealistic to believe that Molitor could have played every game for 21 years in a row, I'll assume as such for purposes of these discussions. For his career, Molitor averaged 1.237 hits per game. 719 times 1.237 equals 889. Add that total to 3319 and you're looking at 4208 hits. Wow.

And what of Ken Griffey, Jr.? By my count, from 1989 to 2007, Griffey has missed 700 games, or about 4.3 seasons, good for (at 35 HRs per) 150 HRs, which would have put him at 743 career HRs and the end of the 2007 season.

/s/ JackWESQ

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>I believe the original poster may have misused the term twilight regarding Williams career. >>



Correct. I misremebered the difference between twilight and prime.

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>What about Willie Mays? >>




Do you know Willie's lifetime on base percentage and slugging percentage ?

Ted's was almost at .500 for on base, and around .650 for slugging.

jaxxr

Career BA, OB%, Slg%
Mays 302, 384, 557
Williams 344, 482, 634

Ted, in his last four seasons, twilight years, hit pretty well.
BA of .304 while the American League averaged .267, he also compiled a terrific 179 OPS+, during his final four years !l

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>Career BA, OB%, Slg%
Mays 302, 384, 557
Williams 344, 482, 634

Ted, in his last four seasons, twilight years, hit pretty well.
BA of .304 while the American League averaged .267, he also compiled a terrific 179 OPS+, during his final four years !l >>




Thnx Jaxxr,

Those career numbers aren't even close in my book. A ~100 point better On Base Percentage and a ~75 point better SLG, along
with a .302 to .344 batting average.

jaxxr

I presented those number merely as a frame of reference,

Willie was far more durable, and also a very much better base runner, and defensive player than Ted, both are among the very best who ever played the game of baseball.

Mickey71

I like these kinds of discussions. I believe the reason we can play "what if" with guys like Williams and Mays because injuries are not in the equation. Had they not served in the armed forces they undoubtedly would have owned some of the most cherished records in all of sports. Mays was just starting out when he entered military service, and Williams was a superstar in the prime of his career. I believe the fact that they served in time of war adds to my respect for these American heroes. Also, a Dimaggio for Williams trade in 1949- what were the Yankees thinking? Dimaggio did not have much left, while Williams was awesome at that time. Let me just throw another great American into this mix- Bob Feller.
Mickey71

TomGshotput

<< <i>A pointless discussion to play "what if" >>



In 1943, 44 and 45 Ted Williams was truly an all-time great baseball player. That is not what if. . .

In those years American culture dicated that men were to fight in war, not play baseball. That is not what if. . .