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Seventy-seven years ago today (September 28, 1941),
Theodore Samuel Williams finished-up his regular season going 6-8 in a double-header. He could have sat out the meaningless twin-bill and ended the year with a batting average right at the .400-mark (actually, .3995, rounded up to .400). Instead, the inimitable
Splendid Splinter insisted on playing
both games to leave no doubt about his achievement. The result of his efforts was a .
406 average—
a mark that has not been equalled since. Before Williams,
Bill Terry of the New York Giants had been the last player to attain the .400-level (in the 1930 season). The only
other players to have come close to
Teddy Ballgame's mark since were:
Rod Carew (.388 in 1977),
George Brett (.390 in 1980) and
Tony Gwynn (.394 in 1994). Of course, Williams
himself hit .388 in 1957—
at the age of 38. All of baseball should pause today and reflect on Ted's incredible hitting accomplishment more than three-quarters of a century ago.
