Ted Williams

[kairos12]

Twice won the Triple Crown (42,47) and did not win the MVP for the AL. 1942-Joe Gordon. 1947 Joe DiMaggio. Yankees both.

There must have been a equivalent for WTF in the 1940s.

[regnaD kciN]

1. The "WTF equavalent"...

...was that both Gordon and DiMaggio led their team to the World Championship. Ted Williams never won a single World Championship (and only made the World Series once). Value was defined by how key you were to your team winning, and Williams' Red Sox never did.

[kairos12]

2. Nice Try. Wrong.

MVP voting takes place before the World Series. It is an award based on the regular season. It is announced after the WS is complete.

[sharedvalues]

4. The old VORP vs Win debate

That debate has been resolved long ago in favor of Ted Williams.

Go ask Bill James.

Worst is that the “he’s not a winner” bullshit was all created by the Boston sports media who hated Ted because he wouldn’t talk to them. Gerry Callahan’s lazy racist forebears.

[empedocles]

3. Teddy baseball

was phenomenal. Even Joe D w the Yankee press, fan base and very strong teams was not that close, as an individual player. MVP is a different measure, as the Barry Sanders types know well.

[oswaldactedalone]

5. Teddy Ballgame

Best hitter who ever lived. Joe DiMaggio, best player who ever lived. Williams missed 5 seasons due to military service both in WW II and Korea. His eyesight was better than 20-20 and he was an amazing fighter pilot. He was great at everything he did, except fielding because he didn't care about it until late in his career, and didn't mind telling you about it. Teddy Ballgame said it ain't bragging if it's fact.

What the Boston media did to him in their campaign to crucify him was abominable. Plus, the Yawkey family wasn't committed to winning baseball. They paid their players nearly double what the Yankees did with no consequences. The Yankee organization defined winning, the Red Sox organization defined incompetence.

[kairos12]

6. Great post. I would disagree with you on best ball player who ever lived, though.

I have to go with the Babe. He won 94 games as a pitcher and held the record for most consecutive shutout innings pitched in the WS until Whitey Ford broke it. He would have made the HOF as a pitcher or a hitter. Teddy Ballgame was the greatest hitter who ever lived.

I love these debates though.