Francis: Ted Williams’ pursuit of .400 took the world by storm in 1941
From SABR member Bill Francis at BaseballHall.org on August 26, 2016:
Though it had been only 11 years since a baseball player had ended a season having hit .400, it was still newsworthy when a young Ted Williams flirted with the magical mark 75 years ago.
By early June 1941, after a May in which he hit .436 (44-for-101), newspapers across the United States were already trumpeting the batting prowess of the 22-year-old Williams. The long and lean “Kid,” all 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds of him, was using his left-handed swing with the amazing wrist action to hit in the .430s.
“It’s a dream I’ve always had – the way I’m hitting now,” said the Boston Red Sox left fielder, batting .436 at the time, in a June 7, 1941 interview with The Boston Globe.
“Boy, I’m just busting the cover off that ball. I’m lucky because a lot of my drives are going where they ain’t. And hell, it’s only June. I may be down to .360 in another month.”
Read the full article here: http://baseballhall.org/discover/teds-williams-pursuit-of-400
Originally published: August 26, 2016. Last Updated: August 26, 2016.