I cant believe Ted Williams past away today...

yanyak5 · July 5, 2002 3:55AM

I cant believe it...He was by far one of the Greatest players to play Major League Baseball....My sympathies go out to his family and close friends....

PSASPORTS · July 5, 2002 3:56AM

i just heard it on the radio...i saw it coming...

SPORTSGUY247 · July 5, 2002 4:08AM

man good thing i picked that auto up of his.... i didnt even hear he died... he was one of the best

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 4:16AM

The grestest carreer hitter EVER! Hit 400 when there was no such thing as a balk, spit balls were legal, and bats and balls were just that, simple, not the new super engineered, treated equipment players use today. I recently heard an argument that Bonds is the best left fielder of all time; I wonder what Ted Williams would have done statically speaking if he didn't leave baseball for a couple years to serve his country when it needed him. When I deployed to the desert after 9/11, I didn't see any MLB players, not in the 6 months I was gone. Ted may have been a little crass, but when your the best.......EVER, I prefer to call it confident. Boston lost a true icon today, baseball lost one of it's true heroes of the game.

So long Number 7

winsarc · July 5, 2002 4:23AM

Wow, he was a great player and Barry Bonds ain't got nothing on Ted Williams. They shouldn't even be in the same sentence together (cept for the one I just used). I just can't believe it. He will be rememberd forever.

Bobstar · July 5, 2002 5:04AM

I remember my dad taking me to see Ted Williams & the Sox play the Washington Senators when i was a kid.I always remeber that long powerful swing Ted had.I would even watch him when he was in the on deck circle.He got 2 hits that day & my dad told me;son you just saw one of the greatest ball players ever!! My dad sure was right!!
Our prayers & thoughts go out to the Williams family.Thanks for the great memories you have given me of a very special time.God Bless!!

Raz4u2 · July 5, 2002 5:09AM

Hi,

I'm a Red Sox fan. My prayers go out to the Ted Williams family. Now Teddy ball game can make his trip o heaven and fight Babe Ruth in a no hold bars match to put an END to Sox curse. Special guest ref Angel Mike.

Robert A

yanyak5 · July 5, 2002 5:09AM

Ted Williams will never be forgotten...Dod....I do feel that Bonds is one of the greatest Left feilders in Todays Game...did the argument happen to talk about Todays players or all time? I do feel that Bonds Is not the greatest Left feilder of all time...Todays games are nothing like yesterdays games....It's kinda sad how you have shortsops hitting homers left and right when they could never hit 50 homers in a season then....The Game has definetly changed.....

I wanna Tell you all a Story That happened to me. I was eight years old (Im 18 now) and i loved baseball. Well my dad always taught me who the greatest players were in the 50's and 60's. Well when Christmas came around my parents Gave me An autograph baseball that they had bought of Ted Williams...Every morning i would sit and stare at it for the longest time...It was my treasure...Almost every month I would See if the price had gone up on it. It seemed to stay at $250 every month. Well my dad was telling me to keep it in a dry Dark place-He said that if light gets to it, the ball can turn yellow...So i had to find a dark place to keep it..I searched all over the house for a dark place and found nothing....Then I saw my trash can in my bedroom....I never put anything into my trash can...So i decided to put my ball in the trash can and i covered it with paper so there wasnt even a drop of light that could get in....I knew i found the perfect spot....About a week later my Uncle came up from S.C. and visited us. He was also a baseball fan...Well i was asleep when he and my dad were talking about baseball and all....My dad told him that He got me a Ted Williams auto ball...He asked to see it...Dad saying yes asked my mom to go upstairs and get it...Trying to be quiet as to not wake me, She looked all over my room for it...She couldnt find it anywhere....She finally woke me up and asked whereit had been...I told her it was in the trash can under all the papers so no light could get to it...Her eyes got wide immediatley....She told me that she had emptied the trash can that morning and brought it to the curb so the trash guys could pick it up....I knew i would never see it again.....Lo and behold I never saw it again....About 2 years later my Parents bought me another Autographed ball of Ted Williams for christmas....This time i have kept it in the Safety Deposit Box at the bank.....

Derrick · July 5, 2002 5:12AM

Yeah, I seen it coming as well. Arguably one of the greatest hitters of all-time, atleast in the top 5. He'll definitely be missed, but never forgotten. A true legend. Dodgamatic, he's not the greatest hitter ever, but I'd say he's mighty close to it. He's atleast #3 or 4. Ty Cobb was probably the greatest "hitter" ever and greatest competitor ever...Ted was also a good man...He helped Tony Gwynn become a better hitter in his days and the guy was just a genius at hitting...I remember reading the book of his he has out about Hitting and the book is so amazing...and the way he puts things in words is remarkable. Ted will surely be missed...Prayers and thoughts go out to his family and friends.

goyanks01 · July 5, 2002 5:29AM

sorry to see one of the greats leave us.....splendid splinter you will never be forgoten

PSASPORTS · July 5, 2002 5:41AM

STORY

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 5:45AM

In Ted's defense, I never heard of Ted Williams drop kicking basemen to get a base hit. Ty Cobb was a different type of player that played in a different time in baseball history. Umpires feared for there life, and in some occations were hit, tormented, and believe it or not killed trying to call a game. Cobb was a great hitter, but Williams was the greatest. Of course, this is one man's opinion, and believe me, I respect yours. On the Bonds issue, Williams and Yaz, (both left fielders) hit for the triple crown, Yaz being the last to do it. When you talk all around left fielders, those 2 must rank above Bonds esspecially having to make plays off the green monster. Like I said, I respect everybodys opinion, and if you ever heard an interview with Ted Williams, he had an opinion about just about everything. I guess that's what make this game that much more fun!

D-Matic

Derrick · July 5, 2002 6:42AM

Yes, Ted Williams is ONE of the greatest, but he's definitely not THE greatest hitter of all-time. You take into account what Ty Cobb was doing back in the 1900's -early 20's, and it's actually amazing the kind of numbers he put up. Let's look at some stats:

Ted Williams - 19 years

games - 2292
at-bats - 7706
hits - 2654
doubles - 525
triples - 71
homeruns - 521
RBI - 1839
runs - 1738
walks - 2019
k - 709
avg. - .344
ob% - .482
slugging % - .634

Ty Cobb - 24 years
games - 3035
at-bats - 11,434
hits - 4189
doubles - 724
triples - 295
homeruns - 117
RBI - 1937
runs - 2246
walks - 1249
k - 357
avg. - .366
ob% - .433
slugging percentage - .512

Not to mention he had about 850 stolen bases or so, in that range. Also, look at the number of at-bats he had and he only struck out 357 times! Look at the career average of .366, the greatest of all-time! Ty Cobb is the best hitter of all-time. I'm not taking anything away from Ted because he has some amazing numbers as well...but "averages" are usually the things people look at. Cobb was also more consistent and the guy was a rough and tough player, that played unlike any other player...far tougher than Pete Rose. Ted is maybe #3 in my opinion, but Cobb is definitely #1.

Derrick · July 5, 2002 7:15AM

Not to mention he could hit for power (For his time being that it was the dead ball era), won the Triple Crown, and had great speed (Currently third on the steals list). He also had a great arm as he threw out 30 runners from centerfield his first year in the majors.

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 9:00AM

Thanks for taking the time to list all the stats, but if you look, Williams led in most of them, and you forgot one of the main stats (Home runs). Ted hit with more power, and I think his HR and Triple prove that. Also, Ted Williams didn't play for 3 years because he was serving his country. I think it's evident that if Williams played during the war, he would have had more RBIs. Not to mention Cobb played 5 more years. I figured you being a Braves fan would have said Hank Aaron, LOL. Anyhoo, both were great, and I guess we can leave it at that.

D-Matic

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 9:09AM

I'm sorry, he was out of baseball 5 years serving his country

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 9:18AM

Here is the real deal, I couldn't say it any better myself.

This ESPN Story Says It All

Derrick · July 5, 2002 9:27AM

lol, yeah but those homeruns weren't in the deadball era. Ty Cobb played in the deadball era and look at his amazing numbers. Homeruns aren't everything.

By the way, speaking of Hank Aaron...he's an underrated "overall" player in baseball. When you think of Hank Aaron, you think of the homerun king. But, he did more than just hit homeruns. He was a GREAT hitter and his defense was very underrated as well.

Great article by the way.

Derrick · July 5, 2002 9:28AM

I think Ted was out just 3 years from 1941-1943 as a pilot. Just wanted to correct you.

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 9:32AM

Nope, it was 5 years. He fought in both WWII and Korea. That I know for sure. I agree about Hank, I have alot of respect for him, and at the time of extreme racism, he played through it. I did feel bad that he had to wear that powder blue Braves uniform, LOL

stockwiz · July 5, 2002 9:32AM

That is a sad story to hear. Even so young I recall of his legacy.

Remster · July 5, 2002 11:18AM

I just went to the Ted Williams Museum last week.What an amazing place.g/u bats of all the 500 hr,.400 hitters and 3000 hit players and exhibits of most of the great players with lots of memorabilia.Not to mention an entire room of stuff covering Teds entire life.A must see if anyone is ever in the Tampa area
out front is a space that has on it "reserved for Ted Williams" sad to think he'll never park there again.
If you listen to most baseball experts they are in agreement that Ted is the greatest hitter in modern baseball.Ty Cobb is the best in the deadball and I think it is difficult to compare.That said,Ted stats would be hugh if he had not spent 3 years serving his country during WW II,right after hitting over .400. He was also a lefty hitting in Fenway which would reduce his hr production.It was always speculated what each player would have done if Williams had played in Yankee stadium and DiMaggio in Fenway
Hey Yanyak...a guy there said they sold the last autographed baseball in the place for 900.00 the week before I was there.I'm lucky enough to have acquired an autograhed litho of Ted about 10 years ago and it is one of my most prized possessions.

DaBeef · July 5, 2002 11:31AM

<< <i>I remember my dad taking me to see Ted Williams & the Sox play the Washington Senators when i was a kid.I always remeber that long powerful swing Ted had.I would even watch him when he was in the on deck circle.He got 2 hits that day & my dad told me;son you just saw one of the greatest ball players ever!! My dad sure was right!!
Our prayers & thoughts go out to the Williams family.Thanks for the great memories you have given me of a very special time.God Bless!! >>

You are lucky that you actually got to watch the man play..
My highlight was in 92, dad and I watched randy Johnson toss his only no hitter vs the Tigers, a great memory for me.....
God Bless My Dad, and Now Mr. Williams....

yanyak5 · July 5, 2002 11:37AM

Thats awesome remster....Im glad i have one....The price doesnt mean a thing to me though...Only the greatest ball player of all time, and i happen to have his autograph...makes me feel real good

Remster · July 5, 2002 11:52AM

same way I feel about the Litho.I was offered 500.00 for it a month after i got it and turned it down.I had it matted and framed.It is hanging in my sons room and he loves the history of it
Ted will be missed by baseball. I was watching Fox Sports and they had an interview with Nomar and he was getting choked up talking about Ted.Said he was a good friend and he had visited him during spring training this year

Dodgamatic · July 5, 2002 12:01PM

I bought an autographed card of his from Upper Deck in 1993. I paid $150 for it, and have spent many hours since than looking at it. May seem like a waste of time to most, but it is one of my most treasured posessions. I never got to see him play, but I did see many times another great left-fielder and last triple crown winner, a man simply called YAZ. He was my favorite player growing up, and Ted had alot of respect for him. These days, my favorite player I guess would be Nomar. When asked "who do you think has the best chances of hitting .400", Ted answered Garci "Nomar Garciaparra". That is probably the best compliment a ball player could get, from the best.

I cant believe Ted Williams past away today...

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