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…….)