Ted Williams was “The Real John Wayne”
By James Rodrigues
One of “the Splendid Splinter’s” teammates once said, “Ted Williams is the real John Wayne.” It’s easy to see what he meant. John Wayne played the roles of “ultimate heroes” on film. Ted Williams really was that kind of hero.
I only caught the very end of Williams Boston Red Sox career, but he finished his two decades in baseball as hot as he started it. He won batting crowns in his final two seasons. In his last major league at bat he hit his final Fenway Park home run.
One of Ted Williams’ biggest assets was his vision. He had better than 20-20 eyesight. He was the last hitter to finish a season at .400 or above. He not only did it, he did it with heroic panache. Going into the final day of the season, Williams was batting .400 or more accurately .39955. It would round off to exactly .400. His manager went to him before that final day of the season ending doubleheader and asked him if he would like to take the day off thereby hanging onto his .400. Williams said if he was going to make history, he wasn’t going do it while gathering splinters on the bench. He’d much rather make history swinging the bat!
He went six for eight in that doubleheader and wound up batting .406.
Like in many of the roles John Wayne performed, Williams was a war hero. He was a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. It is interesting how similar flying a fighter is to hitting a baseball. The qualities needed in order to be a great hitter or a great fighter pilot are very much the same.
Fearlessness is required in both professions. If you’ve ever been hit with a fastball, you understand something about serious pain. The result of a mistake in a fighter aircraft can quickly turn a pilot into "air-pizza."
Both of the above occupational hazards can put fear into the heart of a brave human being. Once that fear takes hold, accomplishing the exacting tasks of a hitter or a fighter pilot become all but impossible. This demonstrates the fact that Ted Williams was an extremely courageous man. He confronted both areas in an “MVP” manner. Add to the courage element the incredible physical coordination required in both actions and you begin to understand what a talented individual was Ted Williams.
Another element in being both a hitter and a fighter pilot is a chess master-like strategy. The individual needs be able to see the “game board” from the other player's point of view. He must be capable of predicting several moves ahead.
In a “dog fight” a pilot must know not only where his opponent is, but also what his opponent’s particular model of aircraft is capable of doing. For example, one type of aircraft may be faster than the other, but might not be able to “climb” as rapidly. As in chess, in order to make a kill, a pilot must able to think several moves ahead.
The same is true with hitting. Putting solid wood on a well-thrown baseball is not only the most difficult physical action in all of sport, but it is impossible to do if you are “fooled.” Like the great fighter pilot, the hitter must have a good idea what is coming. Ted Williams’ mind-boggling lifetime batting average of .344 proves he was able to predict what was coming pretty darn often.
Put all of the above together and you can understand why his teammate called him “the real John Wayne.” What John Wayne did on film, Ted Williams did in real life and he did it as well as it has ever been done.