| − | '''Ted Williams''', Theodore Samuel Williams (San Diego, CA. 30 August 1918 - Crystal River, FL. 5 July 2002) was a [[Major League Baseball]] player; he spent 19 seasons with the [[Boston Red Sox]]. Williams was perhaps baseball's finest hitter, setting numerous batting records without the use of steroids. A 502-foot home run that Williams hit at Fenway Park in 1946—a year that he won the Triple Crown—remains the record for the longest homer ever at that park.<ref>https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/07/13/why-aren-there-more-foot-home-runs/RYL4nuQcFltbTsf0lwABiK/story.html</ref> Williams batted left-handed but was actually right-handed in writing and throwing. He holds the highest career on-base percentage (.482) and his career slugging percentage (.634) is second to only [[Babe Ruth]]. | + | '''Ted Williams''', Theodore Samuel Williams (San Diego, CA. 30 August 1918 - Crystal River, FL. 5 July 2002) was a [[Major League Baseball]] player; he spent 19 seasons with the [[Boston Red Sox]]. Williams was perhaps baseball's finest hitter, setting numerous batting records without the use of steroids. A 502-foot home run that Williams hit at Fenway Park in 1946—a year that he won the Triple Crown—remains the record for the longest homer ever at that park.<ref>https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/07/13/why-aren-there-more-foot-home-runs/RYL4nuQcFltbTsf0lwABiK/story.html</ref> Williams batted left-handed but was actually right-handed in writing and throwing. He holds the highest career on-base percentage (.482) and his career slugging percentage (.634) is second to only [[Babe Ruth]], despite how the right-field fence in Williams' [[Fenway Park]] was much further from home plate than the right-field fence in Yankee Stadium.<ref>https://www.youbet.com/mlb/ranking-each-mlb-ballpark-by-distance-to-center-field/</ref> |
| | The son of an [[evangelical]] mother of Mexican descent, Williams' accomplishments include a .406 season in 1941, which under modern scoring would have been a .411 due to the lack of a penalty for hitting a sacrifice fly today,<ref name="MLB">http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/tributes/mlb_obit_ted_williams.jsp?content=holtzman</ref> two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six American League batting championships, 521 home runs, a lifetime average of .344, 17 All-Star game selections, and universal reverence. Most modern statistical analyses place Williams, along with [[Ty Cobb]], [[Babe Ruth]], [[Stan Musial]], and [[Barry Bonds]], among the greatest hitters of all-time. | | The son of an [[evangelical]] mother of Mexican descent, Williams' accomplishments include a .406 season in 1941, which under modern scoring would have been a .411 due to the lack of a penalty for hitting a sacrifice fly today,<ref name="MLB">http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/tributes/mlb_obit_ted_williams.jsp?content=holtzman</ref> two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six American League batting championships, 521 home runs, a lifetime average of .344, 17 All-Star game selections, and universal reverence. Most modern statistical analyses place Williams, along with [[Ty Cobb]], [[Babe Ruth]], [[Stan Musial]], and [[Barry Bonds]], among the greatest hitters of all-time. |
| | Williams was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] by Baseball Writers in 1966. In addition to serving in [[World War II]], Williams also volunteered and served with distinction as a fighter pilot in the [[Korean War]], which interrupted his career and prevented him from setting even more baseball records. Williams considered General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to be one of his heroes. | | Williams was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] by Baseball Writers in 1966. In addition to serving in [[World War II]], Williams also volunteered and served with distinction as a fighter pilot in the [[Korean War]], which interrupted his career and prevented him from setting even more baseball records. Williams considered General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to be one of his heroes. |