Ted at the Top

by Paul Semendinger

November 2024

***

NOTE - This article appeared in the newsletter for the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) on November 23, 2024.

***

Last season, there was a period when the Yankees were struggling to find a lead-off hitter. 

They tried numerous players there but none found success. 

I came up with a solution that seemed very logical.  I wanted the Yankees to take their best player at getting on base, Juan Soto, and bat him first.  The reasoning makes sense.  What is a lead-off man supposed to do?  He's supposed to get on base...

The following are the All-Time MLB On-Base Percentage Leaders From Players Whose Careers Began After 1930:

1. Ted Williams .482

2. Barry Bonds .443

3. Ferris Fain .424

4. Juan Soto .4208

5. Mickey Mantle .4205

The 2024 Yankees had Juan Soto, one of the greatest players since 1930 at getting on base.  Since they weren't getting runners on base before him (Soto mostly batted second in 2024), I reasoned they should bat him first.  It was better, I reasoned, for Soto to come up with no outs rather than with one out.  

Alas, the Yankees never followed my advice... 

But in looking at my list, I started to wonder if Ted Williams, the greatest player of all time at getting on base, was ever tried as his team's lead-off hitter.  I wondered if Ted Williams ever batted first in the lineup.  

It turns out that he did.  

In his long career, Ted Williams batted in the first spot in the batting order for the Red Sox six times.  That's it.  Six times. 

The following is a list (from Baseball-Reference) of the numbers of times Ted Williams hit at each batting position:

1- 6 times

2- 57 times

3- 1,541 times

4- 459 times

5- 67 times

6- 32 times

7- 24 times

8- 35 times

9- 71 times

The first thing that jumps out at me from that list is, "Ted Williams batted ninth 71 times?  Ninth?  Ted Williams?!"  Why would any manager, in any situation, ever bat Ted Williams last?  

(It wasn't as if Ted Williams came to his greatness slowly.  Williams batted .327/31/145 in his rookie year.  He led the league in runs batted in and total bases.  He was a slugger, a great slugger, from the start. In Williams' first game, he batted sixth and hit a double.  In his second game, he had a hit and an RBI.  In his third game, he drove home another run and hit another double.  He was a force at bat from the very first moment he stepped into a big-league batter's box.)

For this exercise, though, I wanted to dig into the weeds and determine what occurred the six times Ted Williams batted lead-off.  Being that he had only six plate appearances at that spot, I originally figured it was a way to get him in a game and get him out as quickly as possible.  But... why?  I hoped the research would answer the question for me.  

Here are the six occasions when Ted Williams batted lead-off:

1. July 16, 1941 - Williams came in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of a game in which the Red Sox were trailing the White Sox, 1-0.  He hit a run-scoring fly to center field to tie the game at 1-1.  Williams did not remain in the game.  The Red Sox would go on to win that game, 2-1.  

2. September 16, 1955 - Williams came in as a pinch-hitter with the Red Sox losing to the Yankees, 2-0, in the top of the fifth inning.  He walked and was removed for a pinch-runner.  The Yankees won that day, 5-4.

3. April 17, 1958 - In a game the Red Sox lost to the Yankees, Williams pinch-hit in the eighth inning and grounded out.  He did not remain in the game.  

4. August 11, 1958 - Williams pinch hit in the seventh inning with the Red Sox losing, 4-2, to the Senators.  Williams struck out.  He did not remain in the game.  

5. May 12, 1960 - Williams pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded in a 0-0 game against the Senators.  He grounded out into a fielder's choice to first with the runner heading home retired.  The next batter singled and the Red Sox won the game, 1-0.

6. August 12, 1960 - In a game the Red Sox would lose, 5-4, to the Orioles, Williams pinch-hit in the top of the ninth inning and flew out to center.  He did not remain in the game. 

And there it is.  

Ted Williams actually never batted lead-off.  He appeared in the lead-off spot six times in his career, all because he pinch-hit for the lead-off batter.  I suspect the same is true if one were to determine all the times Williams "batted ninth."  I suspect he never batted ninth in a starting lineup at all.  

One final note: in Ted Williams' time, batting average ruled as the measure for hitters more than On Base Percentage.  Williams also played in a time when most of the other all-time Major League all-time leaders in OBP had played recently as demonstrated in the following chart:

(Juan Soto currently ranks # 19 all-time in OBP.  While he was special, his “specialness” wasn't as apparent then as it is today.)  

1. Ted Williams .482

2. Babe Ruth .474

3. John McGraw .466 (not a contemporary or recent player to Williams)

4. Billy Hamilton .455 (not a contemporary or recent player to Williams)

5. Lou Gehrig .447

6. Barry Bonds .444 (not a contemporary - a future player to Williams)

7. Rogers Hornsby .434

8. Ty Cobb .433

9. Jimmy Foxx .428

10. Tris Speaker .428

***

Dr. Paul Semendinger is the Vice Chairman of the Elysian Fields Chapter of SABR.  He has written a host of books on baseball and other topics.  He is eagerly awaiting the spring when he'll continue pitching for a local baseball team as he turns 57 years old.