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Reading some other threads in this forum has caused me to wonder:
How many "tough breaks" did Ted Williams have in his career, which caused his career stats to be less impressive than they would be if he had played his entire career "under today's rules".
Some examples:
(1) Sacrifice Fly rule: Most hitters prior to 1938 and all hitters after 1953 have benifitted from the "Sacrifice Fly" rule. Ted played most of his career without benefit of this rule. His career batting would likely be .347 rather than .344 if the SF rule were in effect all of his career.
(2) If the 1949 season were played "under today's rules", Williams would most likely have won the AL Batting Crown that year. That would have given Ted a seventh batting title and his third "Triple Crown".
(3) Qualification rules for a batting crown: Minimum at-bats needed to earn a batting title were not well defined prior to 1940, and many batting crowns were won with less than 100 games or fewer than 350 at-bats. But by 1949 the qualification rule was made very specific: minimum of 400 at-bats. Ted had the AL's highest BA in 1954 but because he had so many walks and thus fell short of the required 400 AB , Ted lost that batting crown to Bobby Avila.
A few years later the rule was changed to what it is today: 3.1 PLATE APPEARANCES per scheduled game. If Barry Bonds had played under the 1949 rules he would not have qualified for batting crowns in 2002 or 2004. Under today's rules Ted would have won the 1954 AL batting crown.
(4) World War II: Not a rule change here, but talk about tough breaks! Yes, hundreds of MLB players lost 2, 3 or even 4 years due to military service in WWII -- but few lost such potentially great seasons. Ted hit .406 in 1941, then had a Triple Crown season in 1942. Returning to Boston after three years as a Marine pilot, Ted was voted MVP in 1946 and earned his second Triple Crown in 1947. He missed 3 years at his peak (ages 24-25-26). What might he have done had the war not cancelled out those years?
I guess I'm just feeling sorry for my boyhood hero -- but does anyone have anything else to add to this list?
How many "tough breaks" did Ted Williams have in his career, which caused his career stats to be less impressive than they would be if he had played his entire career "under today's rules".
Some examples:
(1) Sacrifice Fly rule: Most hitters prior to 1938 and all hitters after 1953 have benifitted from the "Sacrifice Fly" rule. Ted played most of his career without benefit of this rule. His career batting would likely be .347 rather than .344 if the SF rule were in effect all of his career.
(2) If the 1949 season were played "under today's rules", Williams would most likely have won the AL Batting Crown that year. That would have given Ted a seventh batting title and his third "Triple Crown".
(3) Qualification rules for a batting crown: Minimum at-bats needed to earn a batting title were not well defined prior to 1940, and many batting crowns were won with less than 100 games or fewer than 350 at-bats. But by 1949 the qualification rule was made very specific: minimum of 400 at-bats. Ted had the AL's highest BA in 1954 but because he had so many walks and thus fell short of the required 400 AB , Ted lost that batting crown to Bobby Avila.
A few years later the rule was changed to what it is today: 3.1 PLATE APPEARANCES per scheduled game. If Barry Bonds had played under the 1949 rules he would not have qualified for batting crowns in 2002 or 2004. Under today's rules Ted would have won the 1954 AL batting crown.
(4) World War II: Not a rule change here, but talk about tough breaks! Yes, hundreds of MLB players lost 2, 3 or even 4 years due to military service in WWII -- but few lost such potentially great seasons. Ted hit .406 in 1941, then had a Triple Crown season in 1942. Returning to Boston after three years as a Marine pilot, Ted was voted MVP in 1946 and earned his second Triple Crown in 1947. He missed 3 years at his peak (ages 24-25-26). What might he have done had the war not cancelled out those years?
I guess I'm just feeling sorry for my boyhood hero -- but does anyone have anything else to add to this list?
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