Ted Williams.

Ted Williams. Ted Williams (1918-2002), American baseball player and manager, considered one of the greatest hitters in major league history. Known as The Splendid Splinter and Teddy Ballgame, Williams was the last major league player to hit for a .400 average or better for a full season. He was born Theodore Samuel Williams in San Diego, California. He began his career in professional baseball in 1935 in the minor leagues with the San Diego Padres. In 1939 he joined the Boston Red Sox and had a remarkable first season. With a batting average of .327 and 145 runs batted in (RBI), Williams became the first rookie to lead the league in RBIs. Two years later, in 1941, Williams won the American League batting championship with an average of .406. With the exception of two periods of service as a pilot in the United States Marine Corps during World War II (1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953), Williams played for the Red Sox as an outfielder until his retirement in 1960, hitting a memorable home run in his final at-bat in Boston's Fenway Park. Williams was voted the league's most valuable player in 1946 and 1949 and won the Triple Crown (awarded to the player who leads the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs in one season) in 1942 and 1947. During his major league career he had a lifetime batting average of .344, batted in 1,839 runs, hit 521 home runs, and was batting champion of the American League six times (1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1958). In 1966 Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Williams returned to baseball in 1968 as manager of the Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers), and in his debut season was chosen American League manager of the year. He retired as manager in 1972 after several losing seasons. In 1991 Williams received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1999 he was named to Major League Baseball's All-Century Team and was honored before that year's All-Star Game, held in Boston. Williams wrote several books, including the autobiography My Turn at Bat (1969) and the influential The Science of Hitting (1971). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.