Ted Williams

Williams was known for his indifference, even hostility, toward the press and sometimes the fans, earning him another nickname, Terrible Ted. Constantly chasing the perfect hit, Williams was often gruff and critical. S. L. Price, of Sports Illustrated, once wrote that Williams's speech was a "uniquely cadenced blend of jock, fishing and military lingo, marked by constant profanity." Price also called him "savagely independent." Williams called hitting a baseball "the hardest single feat in sports," and at age nineteen he said his goal was "to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.'"

He might have been the greatest hitter, but Williams would not smile for the camera, and he once spat toward the stands after being booed for dropping a fly ball. He was fined by Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey for spitting at the pressbox during a home run, and he once flipped his bat into the stands after a strikeout, hitting a woman on the head. Boston fans booed him, but Hall of Famer Eddie Collins said, "If he'd just tip his cap once, he could be elected mayor of Boston in five minutes."

At the height of his career, Williams was the highest paid player in the major leagues, earning $125,000 a year. His theory was that if he was being paid so much money "the very least I could do was hit .400." He made every trip to the plate an information-gathering session and said in his autobiography, My Turn at Bat, "I honestly believe I can recall everything there was to know

Ted Williams, swinging bat

about my first 300 home runs—who the pitcher was, the count, the pitch itself, where the ball landed." His eyesight was legendary—it was said he could read the label on a spinning record and distinguish between a fastball and a curve ball as the ball approached the plate.