May 16th. 1954 – Ted Williams returns to action after breaking his collarbone in spring training and goes 8-for-9 with two home runs and seven RBI in a doubleheader against the Tigers. Williams has three hits in game one, a 7-6 loss. He goes five-for-five in the nightcap, including two home runs, but Boston loses 9-8 in 14 innings.
Today I planned on blogging about my first major league baseball game , but when I read this staggering ditty about Ted Williams I had to share it with you. Think about this. Ted Williams breaks his collarbone in spring training. That means by May 16 , his first game back, his recovery couldn’t have been more than 3 months max. Everything written about him tells us he was one of the cockiest, most self-confident, hardest working gamers of all time. He played 21 years in MLB with 5 years absence as a Marine Corps Pilot and retired on 9/28/1960 after hitting a home run in his final at bat.
Ted Williams Career Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
| 2,292 | 7,706 | 1,798 | 2,654 | 525 | 71 | 521 | 1,839 | 24 | 17 | 2,019 | 709 | .344 | .482 | .634 |
.344 Lifetime Batting Average. Are you kidding me? And look at the other Stats! I guess that just about says it all. (Does anyone know what “CS 17” means? It’s making me nuts…….)
Garlicfriesandbaseball's Blog 
Lenore Sweet Says:
May 17, 2010 at 1:37 pm e
Ronni,
Asked the guys here and Tony Adams says his Mom lived next door to Ted Williams Mom, in San Diego……and how about career seasons 17? Could that be it?
Love,
Lenore
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CS = Caught Stealing.
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Thanks for sharing. I thought I knew it all……! GFBB
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Yes, Dear, I have it on good authority. Caught Stealing (apparently that’s why it’s right next to Stolen Bases). Gettin’ anxious!
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“Caught Stealing”….When did they add that stat? I don’t remember scoring it in the 50’s. Yup! Leaving for BB trip one month from today! :)) GFBB
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Wow, tough to hit that good and lose twice! What would his stats have been without five peak years lost? That one always gets me. I think it’s only him and Ty Cobb hit over .400, Williams .407 in a partial yr, .406 in a full year, but this Williams year! : 1957 38 hrs., .388 BA, .526 OBP, .731 SLG Yikes! Cobb hit .420 one year. Once he hit something like 6 homers in three games just to show he could do what Ruth was doing if he wanted to, but he preferred the old style game, Ruth knew folks wanted the homer. In the end Cobb said Ruth had the most perfect swing of all time, average plus homers, and that drunk sometimes 🙂 Cobb, Williams, Ruth, still the best ever! Bonds best I ever got to see live, Mantle close.
Gonna go try those garlic fries, will let you know how it goes!
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Love to hear from passionate fans and I agree with your assessment about Williams, one of my favorites! Thanks for commenting!
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