Baseball Hall of Immortals – Inductee #7 : Ted Williams

One of the greatest hitters of all time, most every baseball fan knows that Ted Williams was the last player to bat over .400 when he hit .406 in 1941.  Williams was just 22 when he accomplished that feat.  What many people don’t know is that 16 years later when he was 38, Williams fell just 5 hits shy of batting .400 for a second time.

 

Over 19 active years, Williams batted over .300 in 18 of them hitting 521 home runs and achieving a lifetime on base percentage of .482 (best all time).  Think about that – when he came up to bat he was pretty much going to get on base half the time.

What really sets Williams apart though is he accomplished so much while losing years to military service both in WW2 and Korea, where he was an ace pilot.

Of course for Mets fans maybe Williams most important contribution was offering a young high school catcher from Norristown, PA some batting tips.

There is no doubt that Ted Williams is an immortal


For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.