Ted Williams
Position: Leftfielder
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-3, 205lb (190cm, 92kg)
Born: August 30, 1918 in San Diego, CA us
Died: July 5, 2002
Buried: Frozen
Ted Williams: the mythology of the final games of 1941. Thursday, October 13, 2011
Ted Williams hit .394 in 1941 against teams not the Yankees. Monday, August 15, 2016
Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Williams is the last batter to qualify for league lead in averages with a batting average (BA) of at least .400.
Williams had his highest BA (.471) against the New York Yankees (101-53-2) ...
... the biggest culprit was Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez.
_____________________
Lefty Gomez made Ted Williams a .400 hitter in 1941. Sunday, March 16, 2025
1941 was the last significant season for Lefty Gomez. He put Ted Williams over .400.
Williams had his highest BA in 1941 against the Yankees but it wasn't the Yankee pitchers (.471) who put Williams over. It was one Yankee pitcher: Lefty Gomez:
10 for 14: .714 ...
Ted Williams 1941:
| I | Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 Totals | 143 | 133 | 606 | 456 | 135 | 185 | 33 | 3 | 37 | 119 | 2 | 4 | 147 | 27 | .406 | .553 | .735 | 1.287 | 335 |
Subtract Gomez from Williams totals:
(185-10)/(456-14)=.39592760181
.396 ...
Williams batted against 74 pitchers (unfortunately, teams are not listed) in 1941: https://stathead.com/tiny/l6mwC
He had fewer than 5 Plate Appearances (PA) against 28 of the 74.
He had at least 10 Plate Appearances against 19 of the 74...
At least 10 PA:
| Rk | Player | T | PA ▼ | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Gorsica | R | 24 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .600 | .750 | 1.200 | 1.950 |
| 2 | Bob Feller | R | 22 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | .444 | .545 | .500 | 1.045 |
| 3 | Johnny Rigney | R | 19 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 | .533 | .632 | 1.800 | 2.432 |
| 4 | Lefty Gomez | L | 18 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .714 | .778 | 1.071 | 1.849 |
| 5 | Johnny Niggeling | R | 18 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | .250 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| 6 | Al Milnar | L | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | .333 | .500 | .333 | .833 |
| 7 | Spud Chandler | R | 14 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .500 | .643 | .500 | 1.143 |
| 8 | Marv Breuer | R | 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | .111 | .429 | .111 | .540 |
...
Gomez has the highest BA: .714.
Second is Johnny Gorsica, who has the most PA: .600. Gorsica pitched his entire career with Detroit. Gorsica pitched in the 1940 World Series. Gorsica would also put Williams under .400: (185-9)/(456-15) = .3990.
Gomez 1941:
| I | Split | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 Totals | 15 | 5 | .750 | 3.74 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 156.1 | 151 | 76 | 65 | 10 | 103 | 76 |
Gomez led AL in W-L% in 1941.
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Ted Williams final 84 plate appearances in 1941: .406 Batting Average. Monday, March 17, 2025
I received some off blog comments about the fact that Ted Williams had a .400 Batting Average in 1941 despite the stupid Sacrifice Fly (SF) scoring rule not being in effect. In other words, if Williams hit a fly out ball with fewer than two outs and a base runner scored as a result, Williams got the Run Batted In (RBI) but was charged with an At Bat (AB) because he, you know, made that OUT.
The Sacrifice Fly scoring rule has been in and out since the 1920s. It's been back in its current form since 1954, so Williams got that benefit in his final seasons 1954-1960.
Supposedly in 1941 Williams would have had 8 SF. Subtracting them from his AB:
185/(456-8)=.41294642857
If we also subtract the 10 for 14 that Williams had against Gomez:
(185-10)/(456-8-14)=.40322580645
I think the RBI is reward enough and that the batter should be charged with an AB as was the case in 1941. But that's not the point of this post.
The point is that back then, a single pitcher could change a batter's BA ten points. It doesn't matter if it was from .406 to .396 without SF or .413 to .403 with SF. It's still ten points.
Making it even more interesting is that the pitcher is Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez in his final good, but not great, season.
In 1941 Gomez had the fourth most PA against Williams (18). Johnny Gorsica had the most (24). Bob Feller had the most AB (18) on 22 PA. Gomez had the fourth most AB (14).
In 1961 the American League (AL) expanded from 8 to 10 teams and increased the schedule 5% from 154 to 162 games. Norm Cash led the AL in BA in 1961 with .361. Cash also led in hits. 193/535=.361. And 673 PA. Williams had only 606 PA and 456 AB. Cash played 159 games, Williams 143. Plus, Williams only Pinch Hit (PH) in his first five games and 10 total. Ironically, Cash had only 2 SF in 1961.
Cash faced 104 pitchers compared to 74 for Williams:
https://stathead.com/tiny/g3gQh
Cash had at least ten PA against 27 pitchers compared to 19 for Williams.
In 1961 Yankee ace Whitey Ford had the most PA and AB against Cash. Here are the tops in PA against Norm Cash:
| Rk | Player | T | PA ▼ | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitey Ford | L | 20 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | .167 | .250 | .167 | .417 | 0 |
| 2 | Ken McBride | R | 19 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .235 | .316 | .294 | .610 | 0 |
| 3 | Pedro Ramos | R | 18 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .313 | .389 | .500 | .889 | 0 |
| 4 | Joe McClain | R | 17 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .333 | .412 | .733 | 1.145 | 0 |
| 5 | Jim Perry | R | 17 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .286 | .412 | .286 | .697 | 0 |
| 6 | Jack Fisher | R | 17 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | .250 | .471 | .500 | .971 | 0 |
| 7 | Frank Baumann | L | 16 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .375 | .375 | .563 | .938 | 0 |
| 8 | Jim Archer | L | 16 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .250 | .400 | .250 | .650 | 0 |
| 9 | Bob Shaw | R | 15 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .700 | .800 | 1.100 | 1.900 | 0 |
| 10 | Camilo Pascual | R | 15 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .643 | .667 | 1.143 | 1.810 | 0 |
| 11 | Bennie Daniels | R | 15 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .286 | .333 | .429 | .762 | 0 |
Bob Shaw comes the closest to replicating what Gomez was to Williams: 7 for 10. Here's how Shaw impacted .361 BA by Cash:
(193)/(535)=.36074766355
(193-7)/(535-10)=.35428571428
About 7 BA points.
Lefty Gomez threw only 156 innings in 1941. Bob Shaw, pitching for the White Sox and KC As, threw 221 innings in 1961.
Expansion caused an increase in innings pitched by starters:
1961:
| 1. | Ford • NYY | 283.0 |
| 2. | Lary • DET | 275.1 |
| 3. | Bunning • DET | 268.0 |
| 4. | Ramos • MIN | 264.1 |
| 5. | Pascual • MIN | 252.1 |
| 6. | Barber • BAL | 248.1 |
| 7. | Grant • CLE | 244.2 |
| 8. | Kralick • MIN | 242.0 |
| 9. | McBride • LAA | 241.2 |
| 10. | Mossi • DET | 240.1 |
1991 (AL had 14 teams playing basically a balanced schedule between the two divisions):
| 1. | Clemens • BOS | 271.1 |
| 2. | McDowell • CHW | 253.2 |
| 3. | Morris • MIN | 246.2 |
| 4. | Langston • CAL | 246.1 |
| 5. | Tapani • MIN | 244.0 |
| 6. | Abbott • CAL | 243.0 |
| 7. | Swindell • CLE | 238.0 |
| Candiotti • 2TM | 238.0 | |
| 9. | Navarro • MIL | 234.0 |
| 10. | Finley • CAL | 227.1 |
Julio Franco led AL in BA in 1991 with .341 (201 for 589) on 659 PA. Oh, 2 SF. Franco had at least 10 PA against only 10 of 160 pitchers faced. Relief pitching was really expanding and Mariano Rivera had not even started.
https://stathead.com/tiny/uuD1M
| Rk | Player | T | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Stewart | R | 16 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .467 | .500 | .600 | 1.100 | 0 |
| 2 | Chris Bosio | R | 13 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .385 | .333 | .718 | 0 |
| 3 | Bill Krueger | L | 12 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 4 | Walt Terrell | R | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .400 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 5 | Mike Boddicker | R | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .111 | .273 | .111 | .384 | 0 |
| 6 | Jimmy Key | L | 11 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .273 | .273 | .273 | .545 | 0 |
| 7 | Eric King | R | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .091 | .000 | .091 | 0 |
| 8 | Ramón García | R | 10 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .556 | .600 | .889 | 1.489 | 0 |
| 9 | Jack Morris | R | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | 0 |
| 10 | Todd Stottlemyre | R | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .300 | .300 | .300 | .600 |
In 2024 inter league play, including every team played every other team at least twice, really diluted batter - pitcher matchups, as did relief pitching.
2024 MLB:
| 1. | Gilbert • SEA | 208.2 |
| 2. | Lugo • KCR | 206.2 |
| 3. | Webb • SFG | 204.2 |
| 4. | Wheeler • PHI | 200.0 |
| 5. | Nola • PHI | 199.1 |
| 6. | Burnes • BAL | 194.1 |
| 7. | Berríos • TOR | 192.1 |
| 8. | Skubal • DET | 192.0 |
| 9. | Kirby • SEA | 191.0 |
| 10. | Cease • SDP | 189.1 |
| 1. | Sánchez • PHI | 2 |
| Fried • ATL | 2 | |
| Gausman • TOR | 2 |
Many with one complete game.
In 2024 Bobby Witt, Jr. led AL in BA with .332 and also led in hits: 211 for 636 on 709 PA ... 8 SF (Hey, same as Williams in 1941). Let's add 8 AB and see what it does.
211/636=.33176100628
211/(636+8)=.32763975155
A change of about 4 points in BA. The difference for Williams was about 11 points: .413 v. .406.
Finally:
https://stathead.com/tiny/HqcuP
In 2024 Bobby Witt, Jr. faced 287 pitchers. Williams faced 74 in 1941. Most PA:
| Rk | Player | T | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | L | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .182 | .250 | .182 | .432 | 0 |
| 2 | Tanner Bibee | R | 12 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .273 | .333 | .545 | .879 | 0 |
| 3 | Chris Flexen | R | 9 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .750 | .778 | 1.250 | 2.028 | 0 |
| 4 | Jonathan Cannon | R | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .429 | .500 | .571 | 1.071 | 0 |
| 5 | Casey Mize | R | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .600 | .750 | 1.200 | 1.950 | 0 |
| 6 | Bailey Ober | R | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .750 | 1.250 | 0 |
| 7 | Reese Olson | R | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .286 | 1.000 | 1.286 | 1 |
| 8 | Tyler Anderson | L | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .571 | .571 | .714 | 1.286 | 0 |
6 for 8 against this guy Flexen. Let's subtract his numbers:
(211-6)/(636-8)=.32643312101
Flexen increased Witt about 6 BA points. Lefty Gomez increased Ted Williams about 10 BA points way back at the beginning of this post.
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