TED WILLIAMS’ LIST OF GREATEST HITTERS
BY ISMAEL NUNEZ
In a list which was put together by Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, published by Triple Play Baseball, he made a list of the of the top 20 hitters of all time. Here they are: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Roger Hornsby, Joe Dimaggio, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Joe Jackson, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Hank Greenberg, Mickey Mantle, Tris Speaker, Al Simmons, Johnny Mize, Mel Ott, Harry Heilmann, Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, and Ralph Kiner.
William is most likely the most consistent hitter of the hitters with 500 home runs. Williams has a batting average of .344, and won the Triple Crown two times (1942, 1947). He was also a six time American League batting champion (1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1958). He also was a two time Most Valuable Player in1946 and 1949.
Yet if one sees this list there are three strikes!
Strike one-Just like the All Century Team. No Latinos! Roberto Clemente who won 4 batting titles, and has 3,000 hits, add Rod Carew who has 3,053 career hits and 7 batting titles. Why weren’t they added to his list. Also Tony Oliva won 3 batting titles and if not for injuries most likely would’ve gotten over 3,000 hits. If Ralph Kiner and Joe Jackson are added, why not Oliva? Also, two of the most consistent hitters in the game, Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez, have more career home runs than Ralph Kiner.
Strike Two-Negro League Ballplayers are not included. No Josh Gibson, no Buck Leonard, no Cool Papa Bell, 0r Oscar Charleston, Pop Lloyd, Turkey Stearnes, Buck O’Neil, Martin Dihigo, Cristóbal Torriente, and Louis Santop. NONE OF THEM WERE MENTIONED ON HIS LIST!
Strike Three-Williams himself. Did he do proper research. Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest left-handed hitters, who finished with a batting average of .338, was not on the list. Neither was Rod Carew who finished with a batting average .328. It seems no matter where or what, Negro League and Latin American ballplayers are always either forgotten, not mentioned, or not talked about! First the All Century Team, where both Negro League and Latino ballplayers were excluded, now this!
