The stories of Ted Williams’ keen batting eye are many; the myths legendary. It was rumored that Williams could see the seams on a pitched baseball, more quickly identifying each pitch as a fastball or breaking ball. Many have heard the story that he was able to read the label on a record as it spun at 78 rpm.

Neither tale is true.

What is true is that the Splendid Splinter had 20/10 vision. That means he could see objects clearly 10 feet before people with perfect 20/20 vision could. Ophthalmologists say that such a condition occurs in 1 of every 100,000 people.

Williams used his eyesight, eye-hand coordination, strength, and plate discipline to become a two-time winner of the Triple Crown. The six-time batting champion owns the highest career on-base percentage at .482. Add in his 521 homers, 1,839 runs batted in, and career 1.116 OPS, and it’s easy to see why many consider him the greatest hitter in the game’s history.

In the collection is this Major League Baseball Players Association document. Teddy Ballgame has filled it out entirely in his hand, lending his signature to the top.

The document reads in part, “In order to have the Association act on matters important to you and the Association itself we would appreciate your stating any opinions or suggestions you may have. These opinions and suggestions will be treated with the upmost confidence and will be categorized and analyzed.”

Interestingly, Williams suggests playing double headers as two 7-inning contests. More importantly the eagle-eyed Red Sox hitter writes, “Improve Baltimore, Chicago & KC backgrounds, check intensity of lights in the older parks”.

Ted Williams’ just might be the greatest hitter the game has ever known. His statistics have been analyzed and parsed ad nauseum. But what about Ted Williams the man?

Shown here and in the next image are two letters from pitcher Boo Ferris, Williams teammate of five seasons. Ferris broke in with the Red Sox in 1945 while Williams was serving in the military during World War II. As a 23-year old rookie, Ferris went 21-10 and placed fourth in MVP balloting.

In Williams’ first season back in baseball, Ferris was even better. The 6’2″ right-hander went 25-6 and made the All Star team. He and Williams shared the Boston clubhouse from 1946 until Ferris’ big league career ended in 1950.

Ferris pitched for the Red Sox both seasons that the baseball writers elected the Splendid Splinter as the AL MVP. Williams might be the only player better remembered for the MVPs he didn’t win.

His four second-place place finishes included seasons in which he hit .388 and .406. Writers also relegated him to runner-up status for the award in each of his Triple Crown seasons.

Many believe it was because of Williams’ relationship with the sportswriters. Here Ferris sheds light on the subject.

In 1942 23-year old Ted Williams won the Triple Crown by hitting .356 with 37 homers and 137 RBI. He then missed the next two three seasons due to his military service during World War II.

There was no rust when Williams returned after the three-year absence. The league’s MVP his first season back, Williams hit .342, slugged 38 homers. He led the league in on-base (.497) and slugging (.667) percentages, total bases (343), and OPS+ (215).

From 1946-1951 he hit .340 while averaging 33 homers, 124 runs batted in, and 312 total bases. After just six games in 1952 Williams returned to the Marines as a captain. He flew 37 missions in the same squadron as future astronaut John Glenn.

When Williams returned to the Red Sox in August of ’53 after missing nearly two full seasons, he didn’t miss a beat.

In his first full season back with Boston Williams put up incredible numbers. His .513 on-base percentage, .635 slugging percentage and 201 OPS+ led the league.

Williams finished his career with 521 homers, 1,839 RBI, a .344 average, and an MLB career record .482 on-base percentage. One must wonder what his stats would’ve looked like had he not missed 5 seasons in his prime.

Former teammate Boo Ferris gives his opinion in this letter.

“Though he missed almost 5 years in his prime, Ted still remains high (#1 in some) in batting categories. If not for missing those years, Ted would likely been #1 or close in most of the categories. No doubt he would’ve challenged Babe Ruth’s 714 home runs. He was great to watch go to the plate every day – a timeless winner, great guy, and great teammate.”

A career .250 hitter as a pitcher, Ferris adorns the bottom of the letter with his signature.

Ted Williams had almost 10,000 plate appearances but only once did he get pinch hit for. On September 20, 1960, Williams came to bat against the Orioles Hal Brown in the bottom of the first.

With one on and one out, the Splendid Splinter fouled Brown’s first offering off of his instep. The pain was so intense that Williams immediately knew he could not finish his turn at the plate.

Manager Pinky Higgins summoned 27-year old journeyman Carroll Hardy to pinch hit. Hardy hit a line drive comebacker that Brown snared. The pitcher threw the ball to first base to double off Pete Runnels to end the inning.

In the collection is Hardy’s handwritten account of the day he became the only man to pinch hit for the great Ted Williams.

Though Hardy played in only 433 gams in his 8-year big league career, he had other brushes with fame. A third-round pick in the NFL draft, Hardy played one year of professional football. He caught four touchdown passes from 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle.

In his baseball career, Hardy also pinch hit for Williams’ replacement Carl Yastrzemski as well as Yankee legend Roger Maris. Hardy laid down a bunt single in the at bat for Yaz and hit his first big league homer while subbing for Maris.

After he left baseball, Hardy worked in the Denver Broncos’ front office for more than two decades. He was responsible for building Denver’s Orange Crush Defense of the ’70s and joined them in the Super Bowl in 1977.

Here Carroll Hardy signs a photo with the inscription, “Only man to pinch hit for Ted Williams”. Hardy had a multi-faceted career in professional sports.

In 1955, his sole season as a wide receiver and running back in the NFL, Hardy also caught a touchdown pass from Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle. Three years later, Hardy pinch hit for Roger Maris and hit a homer. The exact date was May 18, 1958, Hardy’s 25th birthday.

His pinch hitting appearance for Williams in August of 1960 wasn’t his only link to the Splendid Splinter. Many fans remember that Williams homered in his final at bat. It was Hardy who replaced him in left field.

In 1961, Hardy pinch hit for a young Red Sox rookie named Carl Yastrzemski, another future Hall of Famer. In fact Hardy pinch hit for Yaz three times, going two-for-three.

When Hardy retired from baseball he became a scout for the Denver Broncos, eventually becoming a player personnel executive. In his 20 years with the Broncos, Hardy helped assemble five teams that reach the Super Bowl including the back-to-back championship teams.

Ted Williams had a flair for the dramatic and a love/hate relationship with the Boston fans. Never was that more apparent than in his final career at bat.

Hitting against Jack Fisher of the Orioles in the 8th inning on 9/28/1960, Teddy Ballgame slammed a home run over the right field wall. He put his head down and silently rounded the bases. Sensing the moment was historical, the Boston faithful stood and cheered. Williams never acknowledged them

In his autobiography My Turn at Bat, Williams reflected on the moment.

“I thought about tipping my cap, you’re damn right I did, and for a moment I was torn, but by the time I got to second base I knew I couldn’t do it. Like I said, I was just fed up with that part of the act. You can’t imagine though the warm feeling I had, for the very fact that I had done what every ballplayer would want to do in his last time up, having wanted to do it so badly, and knowing how the fans really felt, how happy they were for me. Maybe I should have let them know I knew, but I couldn’t. It just wouldn’t have been me.”

Red Sox manager Mike “Pinky” Higgins instructed Williams to take his position in left field in the top of the 9th. Then with all eyes on the Splendid Splinter, Higgins called on Carroll Hardy to replace Williams and give the fans another chance to shower the adoration upon him.

Hardy tells the story’s punchline with his trademark humility. “They booed me all the way out and cheered him all the way in.”

The Red Sox had three games left in their season, all in New York against the Yankees. With his team out of the pennant race, Williams elected to stay home and let the home run be his final time at bat. He explained the part of his reasoning for the decision”…I knew the club was thinking about youth. … There was a kid named Carl Yastrzemski coming up who was going to be a hell of a ballplayer.”

Shown here is an index card signed by pitcher Jack Fisher. He adds the inscription, “I gave up Ted Williams last HR 1960”.

Ted Williams famously hit a home run in his final big league at bat. After rounding the bases Williams decided to forgo his team’s final three games of the 1960 season and call it a career.

Only one Hall of Fame player went out the way Williams did. That man is Cooperstown catcher Mickey Cochrane.

Cochrane’s final game as a big league player came on May 25, 1937. Facing Bump Hadley and the New York Yankees, Cochrane connected for a third-inning home run.

In his next time at bat, Cochrane took a Hadley fastball to his head. The beaning came long before helmets were used in baseball.

The pitch felled Cochrane and nearly killed him. The catcher spent the next seven days in a hospital bed, his playing days over.

Though his final plate appearance resulted in the injury, Cochrane’s final at bat remains the home run. More than three decades later, Ted Williams duplicated Cochrane’s feat. His homer came in 1960 while his induction came in 1966.

When Ted Williams retired in 1960 only Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx hit more home runs. Since then, Williams has slipped into a tie for 20th all-time with Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas.

Among the 12 men who’ve passed the Splended Splinter is Jim Thome. The above lineup card is from the July 29, 2008 contest when Thome hit his 522nd home run to surpass Williams’ total.

For more on Thome, click here.