Just got word of the passing of baseball legend Ted Williams, one of the
greatest players to ever grace a baseball field. "The Slendid Splinter," as he
was affectionately known, despite two tours of duty as a Marine fighter pilot
in WWII and Korea, put up some of the greatest offensive numbers in the
annals of the game. One shudders to think of what his stats would have been
had he not lost all of that time to combat duty. Williams is regarded by most
as the greatest pure hitter to ever play the game. His eyesight was so keen
he could actually pick-up the rotation of the ball upon the pitcher's release
and so be able to tell what pitch was coming!!! (fastball, curveball, etc.) He
was the last to bat .400 for the season and the likelihood of that happening
again is increasingly remote. Williams is justifiably uttered in the same
breath that mentions Cobb, Ruth, Mays, DiMaggio (and others) and he
makes the top five in most "greatest ever" lists. More importantly, he
conducted his life as a gentleman, both on and off the field, and left no
tarnish to his legacy. Exemplary as an athlete and, more importantly, as a
person. Ted Williams loss today will be felt by every true baseball fan, but
my heart goes out especially, to all those Boston Red Sox fans in New
England, including Flatlander amd wow who have lost their most
noble spirit. It must have been a treasure, wow, to have had the opportunity to see the "Splendid Splinter" play. Carl Yastremski was the new Red Sox icon by the time I started watching the game. But he lived a long, fulfilling life, and we can be thankful we had Ted Williams to grace our baseball fields with his sterling achievements.

Today I, and I would think, all of the Baseball world, is a Red Sox fan. The
sport will never see anything the likes of Ted Williams again, that's for sure.
I'll never forget the tribute they had for him at the All-Star game a couple of
years back...one of those moments of emotional grandeur that anyone who
loves the Game will carry happily in their heart till the end of their days.

And, today, and the day of his memorial, just for once, I will wear a Boston
Red Sox cap in his honor.

Your heartfelt tribute has made a fan out of me, W'ON.

Thanks for your expression here,
WW

JFTR (Just For The Record), I was just went to K-Mart, and as I took the Red Sox cap off the rack to try it on, after taking my Yankees cap off, Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" came on the store tape...it gave me the goose bumps, a remarkable synchronicity.

I saw Ted Williams at Fenway Park, sock one over the Green Monster (the big wall at the end of the PArk for non USns)

I well remember the hurahrah that erupted around Ted's being recalled to active duty for service in Korea as a Marine fighter pilot when he had just barely gotten back into the game after his WWII service.
A petition to get Ted's release from the recall from the President of U.S. was promoted and was a very popular idea and was getting started UNTIL Ted Williams himself went to newspapers and on radio and put the kibosh on the effort, saying in effect, "...when my country calls, I will serve."

After he retired (hitting a home run in his last game, last time at bat) he became a world class fly fisherman and is in that Hall of Fame, too!
Williams was also a *tireless *worker for New England's favorite charity - "The Jimmy Fund" - which helps children with cancer. Williams had a brother who died young of cancer.
He was a gentleman, honorable, decent, kind and compassionate and a man who always said exactly what was on his mind. A lover of baseball Ted helped many younger players be their best ... and a man who was an ornament to The National Pastime.

Trivia tidbit - The Splendid Splinter was one of only three men EVER to steal a base in four different decades. And he wasn't even well known for his speed on the paths, was he??!

May the owners and union not make Ted spin on his cloud and strike later this summer. I say pay tribute to the finest hitter ever by treating the game with the spirit and unselfishness that Mr. Williams displayed.

Chem

>The Splendid Splinter was one of only three men EVER to steal a base in four different decades. And he wasn't even well known for his speed on the paths, was he??!

Speed? Hardly. He stole 24 bases in 19 seasons played in the major leagues. But he achieved "four decades" because the first season was 1939 and the last was 1960. Not many have even played in four separate decades.