This thread will be devoted to articles, analysis, opinions, and debate about the defensive shift applied to Ted Williams in his career.
The Ted Williams Shift
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The Ted Williams Shift
1949 article about the William Shift. In it they also note how many times in 1948 that the NY second basemen using the shift got Ted out.
Last edited by Ubiquitous; 01-22-2007, 09:04 PM.
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An picture of the Indians employing the shift in 1946.
Last edited by Ubiquitous; 01-09-2007, 09:57 AM.
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An interview of Ted Williams by Leigh Montville
TW: It certainly was the slider. I could hit the slider just as good as I could hit any ball, but I couldn't get it in the air as good. And you know they throw the shift there, and there's nine guys playing on this side and there's nobody over there, and I'm close to the plate and the only way I can get the ball over there is to uppercut it and hit it with the width of the bat, not the length of the bat. So I started looking for sliders and here they came. Boy I was laying for it. I was ready for it and I was crashing it. Now they're a little in doubt, now what are we gonna do? He hits high balls, fastballs, inside, outside, slider is the least dangerous and then they start throwing me a lot of sliders and I was starting to hit them out because I knew that was all I was gonna get. I knew I was gonna get it. If they're getting all of the good hitters out in the league, you knew damn well they were gonna throw it to Williams. So all those things fell in place.
LM: So the slider made you hit to the left?
TW: No, I didn't say that. You're putting words, you're trying to put words…
LM: I'm sorry
TW: No, I said for me to hit the slider, I had to look for it. I didn't care where a pitch was, if I was looking for it. But the slider was a pitch you kinda had to look for 'cause it was quick at the end. If I couldn't get under it, that's a little lag there, I had to hit it occasionally get one in the air, but it was a ground ball pitch. I didn't want any of those. But when they said go to left field, get a little further away from the plate, then that registered.
LM: And that opened it up for the .388
TW: Well, didn't open it up. Why did it open it up?
LM: Because you were getting hits… because you were hitting to the left field and they couldn't do the shift.
TW: That's right. They couldn't all go one way, they had to open up. Now I had more holes than I ever had in my life. Just hit a ball, a base hit.
LM: Did you say to yourself, why didn't I do this before?
TW: No I didn't, no I didn't. They hadn't changed the shift yet. That year I started hitting to left field a bit more and now they're opening up. I went to Chicago and I think I got 3 or 4 hits at least in the first game and then 3 or 4 hits the next day, and boy that shift was going out the window. Because I'd hit them all to left-center, through the box, shortstop, nobody there. So now they start opening up. Now the weather's getting hotter, June, July, and August. Now, I'm really starting to hit my own way and I had all kinds of room. That's what happened. Mantle had that tremendous year, and I happened to have a year that fell right in place
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Here is snippet showing seasonal splits of 1946, before and after Boudreau employed the shift. Another interesting tidbit was that there was a rumor that the Red Sox were going to send Williams to the Tigers.
Tallying the numbers
before the shift: .352/.496/.697
After the shift: .330/.477/.598Attached FilesLast edited by Ubiquitous; 01-09-2007, 10:34 AM.
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Originally posted by UbiquitousThis thread will devoted to articles, analysis, opinions, and debate about the defensive shift applied to Ted Williams in his career.Mythical SF Chronicle scouting report: "That Jeff runs like a deer. Unfortunately, he also hits AND throws like one." I am Venus DeMilo - NO ARM! I can play like a big leaguer, I can field like Luzinski, run like Lombardi. The secret to managing is keeping the ones who hate you away from the undecided ones. I am a triumph of quantity over quality. I'm almost useful, every village needs an idiot.
Good traders: MadHatter(2), BoofBonser26, StormSurge
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Originally posted by Williamsburg2599"The way those clubs shift against Ted Williams, I can't understand how he can be so stupid not to accept the challenge to him and hit to left field." - Ty Cobb
Agree or Disagree?Mythical SF Chronicle scouting report: "That Jeff runs like a deer. Unfortunately, he also hits AND throws like one." I am Venus DeMilo - NO ARM! I can play like a big leaguer, I can field like Luzinski, run like Lombardi. The secret to managing is keeping the ones who hate you away from the undecided ones. I am a triumph of quantity over quality. I'm almost useful, every village needs an idiot.
Good traders: MadHatter(2), BoofBonser26, StormSurge
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