Ted Williams Was Robbed of Baseball's GOAT Status
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- Опубликовано: 16 апр 2025
- Creator: Mike
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Baseball is the only sport without one universally agreed upon greatest of all-time. Well, the closest anyone ever came to holding that honor down was Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams...
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In addition to being in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ted Williams is also in the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. Can't leave that detail out.
That's prestigious
He was an ace fighter pilot too. His eyesight was so good they couldn't measure it.
I fished with Ted many times in New Brunswick. I always enjoyed talking to him. The only times he talked baseball was when he brought it up otherwise the topic of conversation was fishing. One thing about Ted he respected you for being patriotic to your country.
Nice catch!
@@livelife4471 Hey, I married a Canadian, became a Canadian citizen myself, and have lived half the year outside of St John for 20 years now. If I could spend the day with one athlete, hands down it would be spending the day fishing with Ted Williams! I have a TON of Ted Williams sports memorabilia and hope to finally make it up to the Miramichi this year. Do you know of one or two places I should go there to see anything about Ted? If you're in the area I also wouldn't mind buying you a coffee and listen to you tell a Williams' story or 2!
He was hitting.3999 going into the last day of the 1941 season. He refused to sit out the end of the season, and raised his avg to .406. And during his "lost" seasons, he was a fighter pilot! He once landed a jet on fire! Ted WAS the hero John Wayne always played in the movies.
.3995*
Too bad he was a terrible father and a complete prick
John Wayne slander is always wonderful. Bravo to you.
.3996
The time he missed in the Navy were some of his prime years. Same with Mays.
Just looking at his stats. He only had one year hitting under .300, having under a 1.000 OPS, under a .400 OBP and under a .500 Slugging. All in the second to last year of his career. That is absolutely mind blowing.
The guys were throwing 75-85 mph fastballs at most so it’s really not that crazy
Bob Feller may have thrown at 100 mph. Since radar guns didn't exist, they had him throw at a target while a motorcycle went the same fast at full speed and compared the difference in time between the fastball arriving and the motorcycle.
Also, Steve Dalkowski reportedly threw 98.6 mph on a flat surface. Ted Williams said Dalkowski was the hardest throwing pitcher he ever faced/@@TheEMTizzle
Ted Williams was so disgusted at the 1959 season that it may have been the reason he played in 1960. He reportedly said, "That wasn't Ted Williams." In fairness, the only thing that Ted Williams liked about the 1959 season was that the Red Sox finally integrated, adding Pumpsie Green and Earl Wilson to their roster.
While Ted Williams was a stinkpot in many respects, he greatly admired African-American players. I've often wondered if he knew that the Red Sox could have signed both Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays yet singed neither, and how he would have wanted to play with them.
The year he hit under 300 was because he had a pinched nerve in his neck ! He may have also had other health problems . He came back his last year and had a great final , in his book My turn at bat , he said the Yankees asked him to sign with them and just pinch hit . No free agents then so I don't know how that would of played out maybe a trade or clear waivers don't know I think after 1960 he was done ! Great hitter he was absolutely unbelievable at bat
Yeah I’ve always thought that exact same thing.
Ted Williams may have had his issues with the media, but his response to the farting question was absolutely spot on.
His issues with the media stemmed from the fact that the Boston press used to dump on him for not swinging at pitches that were out of the strike zone but that the sports writers thought were hittable. The fact that many of them either never actually played any organized ball or never got past little league really irked him. He talks about it in his book that is titled My Turn At Bat, if I remember correctly.
He also wrote "The science of hitting" that Joey Votto carries around everywhere. It basically was Driveline of the 1960s.
My favorite story about Ted is(going from memory, look up for more clear detail) when he started talking to Mickey Mantle at the all-star game asking about his mechanics as a switch hitter, how his bottom hand pulled through and the shoulder angle on his pushing arm and it confused Mantle so badly he went into a huge slump until he stopped thinking about it lol.
When I was 8 years old and in 2nd grade, we had a project where we had to dress up like our favorite historical person and give a quick presentation and speech to the class.
Being a little baseball stat nerd, and reading books about the legends, naturally, Teddy Ball Game was my favorite.
The class looked at me cluelessly and bored as I rattled off some of his accomplishments on and off the field. I wasn't even voted in the top 3 best presentations, despite my cool baseball uniform.
Now, 33 years later, I can rest easy, and am vindicated by this wonferful video, knowing I chose wisely.
And to anyone wondering, NO, I did not tip my cap to the class nor the teacher. I think Ted would be proud.
i did one on Joe DiMaggio in I think 4th grade
Your comment is too boring. I stopped reading after the first sentence.
That comment really was a hard read.
How can you go wrong with Teddy? Great "stat"!
Great story!
It is worth noting that much of the reason Williams struggled so much in the 1946 World Series was because he got hit in the elbow by a pitch in an exhibition game before the World Series. It was mentioned in a Ted Williams documentary in 2009 or 2010 I think.
It was also mentioned in Ben Bradlee’s book released in 2012.
Not arguing it just asking, so like after the season there was an exhibition game?
@@thomasguglielmo1509 Basically, after the Sox won the AL pennant in 1946 (remember, no wildcard, division, or league championship series back then), their manager, to prevent the team from going cold or complacent, set up an exhibition game against the best players in the AL. It was after the regular season ended, but before the World Series. During said game, Williams got hit in the elbow by a pitch, which probably messed with his mechanics, timing, and power.
@@zmr3352 There was a little more to it, too. The reason they had time for the exhibition was because the Cardinals had tied the Dodgers in the standings after 154 games, but back then they would play a best of three series, which ended up adding ~4 extra days off for the Red Sox before the WS started.
@@kendelljillson7939 Thanks for the added context.
One thing that isn’t talked about often enough is how discriminated against Ted Williams was. His mother was Spanish-Mexican-American and he said something along the lines of “if I had her last name they wouldn’t have even let me play.” I assume it plays some role in his relationship with the media.
That explained why he was an advocate for integration in baseball. Thanks for that fact, I never knew this
@@kiddReyes Yeah this is news to me too. Makes sense also.
Your comment speaks volumes as to what made him tick. Every time he heard the crowd cheer he might have wondered 'would they cheer if they knew my mother's heritage' . I loved this man even though I am not a Boston fan. I always thought him a HERO for his service. I think even more of him now.
He was never discriminated because his mother was Mexican . Nice try. You probably try to find racism in e everything.
I will forever argue that Joe DiMaggio’s mainstream popularity hurt Ted Williams’s career when Ted was CLEARLY the superior baseball player.
Streaks are so overrated
Agreed. DiMaggio won 3 MVPs that should have gone to other players, 2 of them should have gone to Williams
Superior baseball player and human being. Teddy Baseball stopped his career momentarily to serve in WW2 while Joe was beating women and drinking himself to death
Ted Williams was a great hitter, but not the greatest all-around player. Ken Griffey Jr. was clearly better. Even Carl Yastrzemski was better. A shoulder injury in 1971 diminished his hitting, but Yastrzemski was a superior fielder, while Williams was an average fielder at best.
Joe d also served
he'll make a comeback in the near future and get back those prime years missed
You never know with cryogenics 🤷♂️
@@StarkRavingSports yeah there was even an episode of the morton downey jr show about this back in like 1988 or 89
if they bring back Teddy Ballgame it'll be for WW3
@@shawnleighton339 they are thawing him out now gotta get ready, maybe he will take down some aliens too
He got frozen because he wanted to spend more time with his kids one day. His own parents abandoned him at a young age and he had issues with attachment and authority ever since. Its part of why he hated the media. He was not wrong to act the way he did, people would spit at him from great heights, not knowing anything about what they're saying and he would not humor them.
That 99 All Star pre-game was such a moment, I'm so glad I was able to witness it as it happened. Still gives me goosebumps.
When I played little league in the early 90's, we had a hitting instructor who was taught by Ted Williams.
Taught me to try and line up my finger knuckles instead of my hand knuckles and right away, I started hitting the ball so much farther til I went from back up to all-star that season.
Just that one little adjustment that came from Ted Williams teaching changed how good I was at batting.
My dad was old school and born in the 30's and had been trying to teach me the same thing on Williams grip but I was stubborn.
He died before the year I made all-stars.
You was right Dad. Ted Williams grip was perfect!
im trying to do what you're saying and it just makes my wrists almost touch
williams did not line up his knocker knuckles though
I think he means box knuckles, which is lining up base and middle on both.
my favorite baseball stat is that ted williams is one of only two players to win two triple crowns, in 1942 and 47. he lost the mvp award vote both of those years. since, no triple crown winner has ever lost an mvp race. unbelievable.
Teddy was not a jerk. Ted Williams is a great man and war hero. He donated his time to the kids and the jimmy fund that supports children with medical needs. Ted was a fine fly fisherman and has many records in saltwater fishing. ❤ this man
Yep the more I learn about him the more it seems he just wasn’t a kiss ass. Maybe he wasn’t friendly to strangers or was a bit ornery but for things that really mattered he was in the right. The man fought in two wars. I’d rather someone have a heart of gold, but be a little rough around the edges than deal with someone always acts friendly but deep down isn’t.
Not a great man, wouldn’t acknowledge the fact he was Mexican 😂
@@SuperJuggerNog 1/2 Mexican amigo!!
He just wasn't buddy buddy with the media, who painted him as a surly jerk.
he was known to be a cool teammate
One of the things I appreciate about Williams's career over a lot of the early greats is that he has sufficient post-integration numbers to make a judgment on how he performed in that environment, and the answer is "he still raked."
Mike Trout has never had a single season OPS as high as Ted's career OPS. That's nuts.
He has had a single season OPS+ that was as high as Ted’s career OPS+
Ted's career OPS is a monster all-time year. He did that FOR HIS CAREER.
Trout is a better player than Williams. Ted Williams was a great hitter. He wasn’t a good base runner, wasn’t a good defender, he was a great hitter. Trout is a great player…Great hitter, great base runner and great defender. Just because Ted Williams played decades ago doesn’t mean he’s the best by default. Some people take the stance that players from back in the day were the best ever and no one can compete. Thats ludicrous.
@ericjefferson9684 He had three things that are important whatever Era u play in and why he was such a good pilot: 20-10 vision that enabled him to pick up the spin on a pitch as soon as it left the pitcher's hand, incredibly quick reflexes, and incredible hand, eye, and foot coordination. All three needed for flying as well.
@@ericjefferson9684you are absolutely crazy. I like trout a lot, but he is NOWHERE near as good as Ted Williams.
Ted should have a minimum of 5-6 MVPs if they went by the standards of today. I say this as a Yankee fan. His OPS is 1.116... FOR HIS CAREER. Unbelievable.
You could say the same about Mantle. He won 3 but should have been more
Ted Williams trash he never won a ws
I've been waiting for someone to make a video like this but man you did this in such a way that I was crying at the end. Ted is truly the GOAT of Baseball
Dude sacrificed 30 war to fight in a war what a chad
like tying an onion on your belt, fighting in the war was the style at the time.
He heard they had a BIGGER war goin in Europe so he invaded….which was the style at the time
He was very, very unhappy about the second call up. WW2 everyone knew they had to do their part. By Korea though he was an old man in terms of being drafted, and he really had done enough already. They should have let him out if he would act as a publicist to get pilots enlisted. But I guess the way Korea happened they needed everything there now, not in the pipeline.
When asked what he wants to be remembered for Ted answered:
When I walk down the street, I want people to see me and say “there goes the greatest hitter to ever live”
He was. He is.
If he hadn’t _also_ been one of the greatest fighter pilots of his era (facts, look it up) while fighting in TWO wars IN HIS PRIME, he’d have record on top of record. Ted was inhuman.
“All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, ‘there goes the greatest hitter who ever lived’”
He achieved that. He may have been deprived of several years of his career but that doesn’t detract from what he accomplished
He hated that his family was Mexican
@@donaldpump3072 He had a lot of problems, understandable ones, with his family. Part of his greatness was his ability to overcome childhood adversity.
Heritage and ancestry didn’t change that one way or the other.
I remember someone asked me if "Who was a better hitter Gwynn or Ted Williams?" It felt like the dumbest question I ever heard.
Totally agree. I will note that Boudreau in 1948 was also a player-manager. That wasn't supposed to count in MVP voting, but it did sometimes (see also Mickey Cochrane 1934).
Although it's not SUPPOSED to factor in the MVP voting, Boudreau's Cleveland INDIANS won the one-game playoff against William's Red Sox at the end of the 1948 season. What made that hard to take, aside from the obvious disappointment of coming up just that "short", was that their cross-town NL "rivals", the Braves, had inexplicably won their pennant ("Spahn and Sain, and two days of 'rain' "), missing out on what would have been the ONLY World Series held only in Beantown. Williams got an undeserved reputation as a "selfish" player, one who readily "padded" his batting stats, but didn't hit well "in the clutch".
He also holds the record for consecutive games reaching base safely (hit, walk and hit by pitch) with 84 in 1948. Error dropped 3rd strike and fielder's choice don't count).
Yep. Second on the list is Dimaggio and third is Ted again with a separate 66 game streak. Nobody has come close since Ted retired.
Ted was such a talented pilot that much to his chagrin the military kept him training pilots for most of WWII. He’s also in like two separate fishing hall of fames. He was a super talented person.
And now look at him. A frozen head in a jar. LMAO!
Ted Williams was to baseball what David Pearson was to NASCAR. Neither were the GOATs, but both consistently whooped them, and were only limited by their lack of starts.
Pearson was the goat in nascar. Petty said he was the best driver and Pearson agreed with Richard 😂
This is actually a really good comparison as a nascar and baseball fan
If Ted played in Yankee Stadium as a home venue, he probably would've had 700+ HRs, even with his military service.
He has always been the greatest hitter ever in my book. No one ever reports on it but he was even harder as a manager. He thought all pitchers were stupid etc.😂
For me its between him and Bonds
Bonds, lol
@@thirdlegstallianoif bonds didn’t do roids it may have been him
There's no doubt in my mind that Babe Ruth was the greatest player ever, and I don't think it's close. He might have made the Hall of Fame as a pitcher if his hitting hadn't been so outstanding that he moved to the outfield. In his official rookie year, Babe led the AL in winning percentage, and in the following season, won 23 games, led the league in ERA, and set a record for consecutive scoreless innings in World Series play that stood for 45 years. A couple of years later his hitting started to dominate...
He played before the sport matured, which is why people generally take his stats with a grain of salt. Very similar to Wilt Chamberlain in basketball. Not his fault, but hard to consider him the GOAT.
Babe Ruth is top 5 imo, but I have Teddy Ballgame as the best hitter ever. You're right when you bring up Ruth's pitching. He was the better all-around player imo.
That is not exactly the case. Organized, major league baseball, had been around for 50 years before Ruth became a professional. It is true that he played before integration, but he also played before expansion. I have seen qualified studies that point out that the influx of black baseball talent was almost exactly equal with the dilution of expansion.@@kevineiford2153
Babe Ruth maybe would have hit 150 home runs if he played against todays pitching
@@twite5462 Do you mean in his career? It's just a different ball game now. The talent pool is wider, there are more pitches, and film study makes it so every weakness is known. There's no way to know how well Babe Ruth would've done in the modern game.
My grandmother's favorite baseball player. He chose to serve over baseball and that alone is worthy of respect
If there were a Hall of Fame for fighter pilots he’d be in it. Thank you, Ted, for your service.
@@deepdrag8131 He's actually in a fly fishing hall of fame. The man had some serious skills.
Well….. he was drafted. For his second stint in the military for Korean War he tried to get out of serving by seeking help from some influential people such as Kennedy but somehow did not succeed
Babe Ruth pitched had and 94 wins with back to back seasons with 23 and 24 wins and career era was 2.28 with 488 strike out....he also hit the ball well too :) When I was 7 y/o I went with my friends father fishing in the Marmichi River in New Brunswick with some tall old guy....who ended up being Ted Williams....who was also pretty good
Babe Ruth is the only player in baseball history who is provably of Hall of Fame caliber both as a hitter and a pitcher. Not possibly. Not arguably. Provably. He had 350-win potential as a pitcher. If he had been a position player throughout his whole career, he might have had 850 career home runs. The live ball was introduced in 1914. Ruth never played in the dead ball era as a major leaguer.
I agree. Ted was probably the greatest hitter ever but you have to count Ruth as the greatest player although Ohtani might yet have something to say about that.
@@psymar Ohtani won't have anything to say about it. He is 29 years old. He has 171 home runs and 38 wins as a pitcher. He is only the second player in modern baseball history to be provably of even all-star caliber both as hitter and a pitcher. Modern mean from 1900 forward. I cannot speak to what happened in the 19th Century.
By the way, the live ball era began in 1914, not 1919 as many believe. Ruth never played in the dead ball era as a major leaguer. Ruth was provably of Hall of Fame caliber both a pitcher and as a hitter. He had 350-win potential as a pitcher. More than 20,000 individuals have played major league baseball. Only two are known to be both top hitters and top pitchers. If the designated hitter had existed in Ruth era. he might have continued to pitch.
@@anonymike8280 stop it, not a single fans of other sport consider people playing in 1920's as their sport GOAT.
@@KaitoMinato You're responding to something I never said. What did I say? I said, George H. "Babe" Ruth is the only player in base ball history who is provably of Hall of Fame caliber both as a pitcher and as a position player and hitter. As a pitcher, provably of the caliber if he had continued pitching and had not been injured.
If what you're getting at is the Shohei Othani should be in the conversation for Greatest of All Time, you're allowed to say so. He is one of the greats of this era among several but no way in the conversation for Greatest of All Time. Many hitters over the past couple of generations have had numbers equal to his.
What made Ted Williams the GOAT in baseball, also made him possibly the GOAT at something else no one talks about, as a fighter pilot. His combination of perception, perfection and reflexes. Oh, don't forget sport fishing as well! Do you have any Sears Ted Williams fishing equipment?
I just wonder what else no one talks about that he was great at. Obviously one of the great competitors of all time.
I believe Ted Williams also gave away planes shot down to people he flew with. I think John Glen got credit for some planes Williams shot down.
GOAT is an opinion; others can be just as right about their goat as you are with yours. I wouldn't consider him the goat because he wasn't a five-tool player.
@@ron88303 wake me up when your five tool guys test off the Airforce charts for vision, target identification, reflexes, as well as set sport fishing records. Oh yeah, they become fighter aces and give kills to their buddies like John Glenn.
Wow that was an awesome video. Thanks for the upload. Ted is my favorite historic player. There is truly no better hitter in my view.
Williams joked on a Tv show that he preferred golf to baseball. When the show host asked him why, Williams explained: "Because in golf, the ball doesn't move."
And there goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived
0:29 "Baseball doesn't have a guy they put on a pedestal".......you serious?🤔🤣
Clearly he’s never heard of The Sultan of Swat!
The King of Crash!
The Colossus of Clout!
I think this younger generation has really fallen out of touch with how incredible and larger than life that the Babe was.
29 seconds in I already know this is a troll video
Ted hated the media. That alone makes him great.
There were no sac flies in MLB in 1941. Had there been, Ted Williams' batting average in 1941 would have been .413.
Great video. The 3 greatest hitters all lost significant time for different reasons. Ruth was a pitcher his first 3 full seasons. Gehrig lost his last 5 years to tragedy. Williams lost 5 prime years to war. Williams would also be the all time leader by a large margin in runs and RBI's with around 2,500 each.
I have no idea what this guy means by there is no GOAT in baseball. Babe Ruth. My only thought is that there simply are few people left alive who ever saw him play. Showing an old, out-of-shape, post-retirement Babe Ruth is a cheap shot.
TODAY'S PITCHERS AND MANAGER WITH KNOWLEDGE OF PLAYERS ARE WAY WAY WAY BETTER THAN THE OLD DAYS. AND IT IS GETTING HARDER TO PLAY.
I might be wrong, I don't think Williams said he was the greatest player of all time. He said greates hitter
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
One thing about Ted Williams was that he was partially Mexican from his maternal side. Considering the time he played, it wasn't something he actively advertised. I'd also highly recommend watching his interview with Ted Gwynn. It's crazy how far ahead of his time he was.
If I remember correctly he was told by the Red Sox to hide it and he did. There’s one story about how when he traveled back to San Diego after making it big. His extended family turned out to meet, being themselves their Mexican-ness evident, he apparently turned and ran the other way.
Makes you think about how that might have affected him and at least to me puts in perceptive his support integration.
and also the best Mexican-American hitter ever as his father was of Hispanic origin.
Just stop it lolol
Stevie Wonder can see that the bulk of that mans genetics are European.
Mother
I didn't realize he won Triple Crown sandwiched around his military service. this right there just goes to show how diabolical he was. In his 1941 season he was hitting .39957 or something like that and the Red Sox had a doubleheader on the last day and went 7-8 I believe to get to .406. he would not sit on his laurels to round up to .400. he wanted to actually hit .400 or better without rounding
this might be the greatest documentary I have seen on a player. you hit on everything and even somethings that people do not mention.
I am a Canadian who grew up reading about all the greats in books; but I'm not immersed in the culture. As a result I had no idea he was such an ass to the media; I already had him with Nolan Ryan as my GOATS, this makes me like him more.
Sorry, but Babe Ruth is the greatest player in MLB history. He and his teams were winners, while Teddy never won a World Series. The Bambino has better lifetime stats, was a terrific pitcher, won 7 championships in 10 Series, is generally credited with saving the game after the Black Sox scandal, and was beloved by millions. Teddy was a great hitter but didn't give a rats ash about fielding or running. He hated the press, and often treated fans like dirt. You can tell me about Ted's service time cutting down on his lifetime numbers. I can tell you about Babe's 5 years as a pitcher cutting into his offensive numbers. Also, Babe's World Series numbers are great, while Ted's 1946 Series numbers are pedestrian. The Bambino was and still is THE GOAT!
Sorry, Ted was last .400 hitter, lifetime OBP .482, 2-TIME Triple Crown winner, batted >388 at age 39
Willie Mays is the GOAT
660 Home Runs best centre fielder of all time and should have won 9 MVP if writers had access to modern day stats
100% you can argue Ted to be the goat. He went and fought in the war and came back. A true American hero
He IS the GOAT
His stat lines are video game level #’s. He was by far the most complete player ever. Considering he lost 3 years to military service in WW2 in his prime his numbers would be even more cartoonish than they are already. I’m not a Red Sox fan but they have every right to claim they watched the greatest player of all time suit up in Beantown.
I’ve always said. It shouldn’t come down to the writers
Williams during WWII was an instructor and didn’t see active duty during the war. So all of his active duty combat missions came in Korea, where his life was very much on the line. He even got shot down on his first combat mission.
Still very impresse. Coolest MLB player of all-time
Amazing video! Would you be able to make a video rewarding MVPs throughout history to their rightful players? I think we need a new perspective on MVP awards
Cy Young awards too. Most of time, before 2000, they just looked at wins and k's.
@frankenoise Except when they'd go insane and give it to closers. Three closers won not just Cy Young, but ***AL MVP*** in 12 years in the 80s and 90s.
holy crap, two of my favorite things ever in one video! wrasslin' and pre-dodgers-leave-brooklyn era (mostly since he played for like 40 years) baseball.
Wasn't his wingman in Korea someone famous too? Like a famous astronaut or something????
crap, i never realized John Glenn also became a US Senator
Yep, Jon Glenn. Said Williams was one of the best pilots he ever flew with.
Actually it was Williams who was the "wingman" to the "MiG-Mad Marine", Major John H. Glenn.
Most knowledgeable baseball fans acknowledge that Ted Williams is the greatest hitter of all time. And also most knowledgeable baseball fans acknowledge that Babe Ruth is the greatest player of all time. Because he was just barely less of a great hitter than Ted Williams. And the babe was also a great pitcher.
He hit .200 in his only world series appearance back when it's only the AL and NL pennant winners go in. Has there been a wild card the Red Sox would been in during the 1941, 1949 seasons. Was not good with the media and the fans. Yet to me he's the greatest hitter to ever play baseball. That swing was pure and a very tough out.
Went into that World Series with a pretty bad arm injury. Stinks that it’s still held against him, but the fact that he refused to use it as an excuse makes him even more of a boss.
What are you talking about? The world series is always only the NL and AL Pennant winners. Winning the Pennant is how a team makes it to the world series
@@thirdlegstallianohe means that there was no playoff series/tournament before that. So if you had the best record in the AL/NL, you went to the World Series. Forgot what year it started, but it went from one round or series (league championship, w/top 2 teams in each league), to two (division series and championship series), to, now, three (addition of the wild card series). So the path to winning the pennant is different
My grandfather played tennis with Ted regularly in Florida during the 70s
He also took my dad to see his final game, HR.
As a native San Diegan I can say without any bias that Ted is the greatest player of all time
Also his book: The Science of Hitting is a solid read for anyone who wants to play baseball in.
Ted Williams' mother was Mexican and part Indian. His father was half black. If you can't imagine why he wouldn't tip his cap in 1960 to the notoriously racist Boston fans of the era, then you may be unaware of how bad Boston was, and still largely is. Also, Williams spent six seasons in the military. God only knows what he would have done if it weren't for his four years as a Marine pilot during World War II, and another two years in Korea. Ted Williams held his own in Korea as a Marine while flying close air support in World War II era F-4 Corsairs against jet engine MiGs with Chinese uniformed Russian pilots.
He wasn't half black. He was 1/2 Mexican. Looks pretty much the same as my 1/2 German 1/2 Irish Grandfather did.
U say Ted Williams disliked the media and then show a clip of “stuttering John” from Howard stern asking him aboot farting in a catchers face?! The media is awful, was awful, has only gotten worse and worse and worse over the decades and generally writers should never vote for anything that actually matters or has relevance. Stuttering John from Howard stern when Ted Williams was how old?! Nice one ☝🏾
He was also a fighter ace and flew 37 combat missions in Korea
Babe was always THE GUY.
Great job on this video. My dad would tell me how great Ted was when I was growing up. I had the pleasure of watching Carl Yastrzemski (no slouch either). But you covered all the bases here (no pun intended).
Never forget what the europoors took from you
One of the low key biggest accomplishments a hitter can achieve is to have an OPS of 1.250 for a whole season. Three players have combined to do it 12 times in MLB history; Babe Ruth did it six times (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927), roid-aided Barry Bonds did it four times (2001-04), and Ted Williams did it the other two (1941 and 1957). If anything screams one of the best baseball players ever, that is it.
You also failed to mention the reason he was so good. His eyesight was so good it went beyond their ability to measure it at the time. So he could see the ball better than anyone else.
Where did you hear that?
@@Cereal_Killer007 Look it up.
Astronaut Jon Glenn who was Teds wingman in Korea nicknamed him Radar because he said he had the ability to see enemy planes long before anyone else did.
Glenn also said that Ted was maybe the best pilot he ever flew with.
He had 20/10 vision. Could pick up the spin of a pitch as soon as it left the pitcher's hand.
Ted Williams always thought that this vision was only one of the reasons he hit so well. He considered his studying of pitchers number one.
If we put together all the years Ted Williams won MVP, got snubbed of MVP, would have won MVP but didn’t qualify because of injury, and years he lost in both World War II and the Korean War which were his prime so he should have been just as good if not better, Williams would have won 15 MVP awards in a row from 1941 to 1955. This is a stretch but it’s still insane.
Every story i hear about people meeting Ted or interacting with Ted they all say he was a really nice or good guy
I am one of those people. While attending his baseball camp in Lakeville, Massachusetts during the summer of '74, I spoke with him, took some hitting tips, had my picture taken with him, and shook his hand. He truly was a classy guy and was great at fly fishing.
He was nice to humans. Mean to those other guys. 🤓
Cloudbuster Nine is a fantastic book about Ted’s time in the military during WWII. Great read, I highly recommend.
Best hitter ever… just look at his lifetime on base percentage- .482! That’s insane when you consider his average and power numbers, not to mention he missed at least 4 years in his prime due to military service.
You are gonna have to really sell me on this. Because it’s Ty Cobb as the best baseball player ever. Then Babe Ruth as the GOAT of hitting and you can’t really change my mind.the only things you nerds care about is slugging and war. Cobb and Ruth won games for their teams single-handedly and Cobb could play very well all positions on the field that y’all forget about. Power dont make you him unless your are the Babe who brought new attention to baseball that wasn’t there yet.
I’ll give Ted his due though! I respect his service to the USA. The just jumped right back in and was amazing!
the thing that I love most is that in very nearly every year ted williams didn't win the mvp, he lost to a yankee. which not only goes to show how much yankee prejudice there was back then, but also goes to show just how much the team's success used to matter. this is undoubtedly because back then you didn't hear of a player if the team wasn't doing well. you would pretty much only hear about the teams and how they did in the newspapers because the internet didn't even exist back then.
Never forget, Ted played in a game with an infamous spitballer. When asked after the game how his teammates went hitless but he went 3/5 he replied with “yeah, he throws a nasty spitball but I hit the dry side”
And while Dimaggio was playing baseball for the Army, Ted was actually in combat.
It's hard to discuss the art of hitting in baseball without mentioning Ted Williams. There is no GOAT debate in baseball. When you try too hard to compare players with awe inspiring stat lines, you dont end up with any definitive conclusions, you just end up gasping in awe, just how amazing all of these players were. Ted Williams is one of those guys who's stat line will be gawked at for as long as their is a game of baseball. That makes him one of the immortals of the game. That is what all ballplayers aspire for, being the GOAT is a modern thing meant for basketball and football, sports who's existence is still very young.
Just, war sucks.
nah its a pretty good measurement just not per- wait wrong one sorry
nice, very nice. Didn't even think about that when I wrote that@@smoceany9478
Fairly certain you ask people who the GOAT of baseball is they will all answer Babe Ruth…
nah, willie mays, ted williams, hank aaron, babe ruth barry bonds
If you ask people that know baseball, they'd most likely say Bonds
You almost need to look at it as the all natural free range GOAT and the mutated hybrid growth hormone injected GOAT. (Some say they taste the same.)
He hit .388 at age 38... can you imagine Paul Goldsmith doing this today or Joey Votto a few years back. Just completely absurd, even if you factor in pitching talent increasing over time. What's even more wild is that, like many players of his generation, he lost several prime years to WW2. For him it just so happened to be at the peak of his prime, 43-45 when he would've been 24 to 26. One of the few athletes that is considered a top 10 player of all time but is also underrated. Could honestly be #2 behind Ruth.
Sorry but baseball is not a sport without a GOAT. It's Ruth. It always has been. You can't speculate what might have been. Wars happened, its reality. Yes, he's arguably the greatest hitter of all time. And never won anything. It matters. And how many MVPs should Ruth have won? Minimum of 8, likely 10
No rings
I'm a Boston man, but Ted Williams didn't bring home the title.
Baseball GOAT is Willy May's, its not close. Offensively and defensively he was unstoppable.
Great argument but can Willie strike out hitters ?
@DallasTechie it wasn't an option for him. Babe Ruth and Willie are on the same pedestal. Babes drawback is that he played at a time when half the Athletic population was not allowed to play, and honestly the deadball( as a pitcher)
Let’s be honest the real reason why the writers didn’t like Ted Williams, is because he was Mexican!!!
He is now one of my fav players. Thank you for this
“Think about sports…” is not a question.
This is an excellent video
I'm so glad that younger people ( I'm 55) still keep the old heros from yesteryear still relevant to this dsy. I love how you understand some of the issues Ted did have, like with the media, for instance, how he treated the fans and such. So this piece is not all glad handing the viewership. You bring stats to the forefront but also discuss the intangibles, and I loved Pete Weber inserted into the discussion.
Now only 1 thing that I differ in this awsome video has nothing to do with Ted Williams, it's everything to do with the modern term "GOAT" I may agree to most of the choices you cited except for one. Tom Brady is not the GOAT.
He may be the best qb of all time due to the length of service and his enormous numbers tops on virtually all qb stats. Yet players like Montana, Unitas, Bradshaw , Staubach etc etc all played a different numerical amount of seasons. So Brady, who played for 20 years or more, most likely would have theae kind-of numbers. Ted missed 5 plus seasons, and your analysis proves thst he could have shattered Ruth's home run record, for instance. So alit of non stat fans and the media coin Brady the GOAT based on the fact that he won 7 Superbowls and lost 3. Ten superbowl appearances, and he won 7 in his entire career. That's the most in the SuperBowl era in professional football. In a league that has 32 teams and plays a 16 game schedule , now 17 game....
So here comes the name that challenges the Brady argument..
Otto Graham....
Thus, the guy entered into professional football for the All American Football Conference for the Cleveland Browns. So before the stats come to play, I just want to state that if anyone thinks this is an inferior league, I say this. The NFL had only a handful of teams. The AFCC had a handful of teams. You're a professional football player making money. Thus, you represent the best in the world. Back then, even Canadian Football had some great players that moved over to the NFL. So even with all three leagues in place, they still don't add up to 32 teams. So what I'm saying is back when Graham played no matter whatnkeague you played in you still are the best inbthe world and if those players were taken and applied to today's teams in numbers all three leagues coukd be accommodated a d fit within the 32 team format.
So I don't want to take away from the Wiliams video, but maybe you could do something like this for Otto Graham.
Now the proof. Otto Graham played only ten seasons. He played qb in all ten of those seasons. While in the AAFC, his team appeared in the championship game every year for 4 years, and his team won all 4 of them. 4 championship appearances 4 wins.
So the league then defaulted, and the NFL absorbed the Cleveland Browns among a few others. Now, he is actually in the consensus biggest league. He comes out and the Cleveland Browns with the championship. 5 championship appearances in a row and 5 wins. In fact, that 5th win he ran for 99yards passed for 295 and had 4 touchdowns. Numbers that rival qb's of today.
The Browns appeared in the next three NFal championships and lost three in a row. It's hard, and I mean really hard tonhavebthe best record in season yet win the final. So, 8 years in a row at this level a championship game in every season he played. Then, in the next two years, the Browns made it to the final, and they won both of them. Graham was named MVP in his last season.
A ten year career.
Ten championship appearances
Seven championship trophies
A titalnrecord of 7 and 3, which is identical to that of Tom Brady in half the seasons played.
Identical!
Brady needed to win 8 to be the GOAT in my book. Sorry Tom, you probably would have gotten it during that undefeated season only to lose to Eli Manning led Giants. But as I said before, it's hard to win the final each and every time. But even harder to appear in 10 in a row.
Cheer up, Buffalo and Minnesota. someday you'll get yours...
I rest my case, your honor.....
Bonds' "connection" to performance enhancing drugs. You mean how he made his dome grow as many sizes as the Grinch's heart did?!?
No one was doing what bond was able to do on rods -that counts for something in my SF born eyes..so I’m bias so what lol
@@andreashley6084 That's absolutely true. He was 100% a Hall of Famer before he started the steroids. I just can't call him the goat because you look at clean him vs his contemporary Griffey Jr (Who was clean) and Griffey was the better player.
But yeah, Bonds was a beast before the balanced breakfast :)
@@Extinguisher10 yeah Griffey reigns supreme in my eyes because of that too! His greatness with integrity should count for something…but I gotta say I wonder what a roided up Jr would look like LOL or what about Ichiro, what if he turned into Ted Williams lol
Ted Williams is pretty GOATy. And we are also grateful for his service.
The dude driving straight down the fairway at 0:53 triggered my golf etiquette OCD in ways I can’t begin to explain.
Is it just me or is the idea that baseball doesn't have a consensus GOAT crazy? Babe Ruth would have to be the answer from an overwhelming percentage of people - likely both casual fans and baseball experts. You'd probably get some votes for Bonds, Williams, Mays and others, but Ruth definitely seems like the obvious answer.
The stat that blows my mind more than anything else about his legendary 1941 season is the fact that he actually HOMERED 10 more times than he struck out that season. Nobody will ever come remotely close to approaching THAT again, regardless of how high their average is.
Ted was awesome, but Ruth is still the GOAT. Williams never pitched. Ruth won back to back 20 game seasons, led the league in home runs AS A PITCHER, and held the record for most consecutive scoreless innings until 1988. At just age 23 he led the league in ERA, starts, shutouts, and yielded the fewest hits in the league per nine innings. His career pitching numbers were 94-46, 2.28 ERA and his World Series numbers, albeit small sample size, were fantastic - 3-0, 0.87 ERA in 31 innings. Had he remained a full-time pitcher he would be most likely considered one of the all-time greats. That, along with his hitting stats makes Ruth the best ever. Williams may be the best HITTER, ever, but not the best player.
I'd give the edge to Ruth as a hitter too.
Thanks for putting up this video..i had a replica ted williams card. thats as close as i can come to one..i was 14 at the time. Good times...id love for you to do mickey mantle or pete rose next! im subscribing takes me back to the old days im 42 now
In baseball history, Ted Williams is the biggest What If. The potential MVPs aside, think of the personal stats he could have had if he had not missed seasons to the wars. He grew up wanting to be known as the greatest hitter of all time and he is pretty much the greatest hitter of all time.
Not true
He was .399+(which would have given him a .400 Avg for the 1941 season)going into the final game(a doubleheader)he refused to sit,and went 6 for 8 giving him .406 was incredible.
I mean everyone's answer for greatest baseball player of all time has always been babe Ruth
How is babe ruth not the king look at his career war, his ops+, his wrc+. Hes so much better than anyone else.
GOAT list;
2-Way-Player: Babe Ruth
SP: Greg Maddux
RP: Mariano Rivera
C: Mike Piazza
1B: Lou Gehrig
2B: Joe Morgan
3B: Chipper Jones
SS: Alex Rodriguez/Cal Ripken Jr.
LF: Ted Williams
CF: Mickey Mantle
RF: Willie Mays
DH: David Ortiz
ernie harwell said ted williams was the best hitter he ever saw. willie mays was the best player he ever saw.
he fought in WW2 and returned to keep playing .. this guy is the epitome of American