MVP Profile: Ted Williams, 1946

Outfielder, Boston Red Sox

Age:  28 (Aug. 30)

5^th season with Red Sox

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 205

 

Prior to 1946:

A San Diego native, Williams played youth baseball prior to excelling as a hitter and pitcher at Herbert Hoover High School. While still in high school he signed with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1936. Used exclusively as an outfielder, he batted .271 in 42 games. Still with the Padres in 1937, he improved his average to .291 with 23 home runs. He signed with the Red Sox and was assigned to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1938. Brash and cocky as well as talented, Williams hit .366 with 43 home runs and 142 RBIs to win the league Triple Crown. The player called “The Kid” at that time was promoted to the Red Sox in 1939, where he was a highly publicized phenom with his picture-perfect swing that generated power and average. Playing in right field as a rookie, “The Splendid Splinter” batted .327 with 44 doubles, 11 triples, and 31 home runs and led the AL with 145 RBIs and 344 total bases. He finished fourth in league MVP voting. Shifted to left field in 1940, Williams hit .344 with 23 home runs and 113 RBIs while leading the circuit in runs scored (134) and on-base percentage (.442), aided by his 96 walks to go along with 193 hits. He was an All-Star for the first time. But he began to feud with reporters and fans that he perceived as being too fickle. Williams would stand in the outfield and swing an imaginary bat rather than concentrate on fielding, which drew criticism. Quick-tempered, arrogant, and argumentative, he also refused to abide by norms of standard attire for formal occasions, which further raised questions as to his maturity and judgment. He had a superb season in 1941 when he became the last .400 hitter to date, batting .406 and leading the league in runs scored (135), home runs (37), walks drawn (147), OBP (.553), and slugging percentage (.735). He finished second in league MVP voting, likely not helped by his unpopularity with the baseball writers (as opposed to the winner, Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees, whose 56-game hitting streak overshadowed “Teddy Ballgame’s” .406 average). The situation was similar in 1942 as Williams won the AL Triple Crown, batting .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBIs. He also topped the circuit in runs scored (141), walks drawn (145), OBP (.499), slugging (.648), and total bases (338). He again placed second in MVP balloting to another Yankee (Joe Gordon). He then joined the Navy to train as a pilot during World War II, where his superior eyesight and reflexes also served him well. He spent the remainder of the war as a Navy and Marine Corps pilot. With the war over, he returned to the Red Sox in 1946.

 

1946 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

LF – 150

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 672 [3, tied with Tommy Henrich]

At Bats – 514 [17]

Runs – 142 [1]

Hits – 176 [4]

Doubles – 37 [4]

Triples – 8 [8, tied with Mickey Vernon, Jerry Priddy & Joe DiMaggio]

Home Runs – 38 [2]

RBI – 123 [2]

Bases on Balls – 156 [1]

Int. BB – 29 [1]

Strikeouts – 44

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .342 [2]

OBP - .497 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .667 [1]

Total Bases – 343 [1]

GDP – 12 [20, tied with five others]

Hit by Pitches – 2 [15, tied with eighteen others]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – N/A

 

League-leading runs scored were +27 ahead of runner-up Johnny Pesky

League-leading bases on balls drawn were +43 ahead of runner-up Charlie Keller

League-leading int. BB drawn were +13 ahead of runner-up Hal Wagner

League-leading OBP was +.092 ahead of runner-up Charlie Keller

League-leading slugging pct was +.063 ahead of runner-up Hank Greenberg

League-leading total bases were +27 ahead of runner-up Hank Greenberg

 

Midseason snapshot: HR - 23, RBI - 72, AVG - .347, SLG - .693

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Cleveland 7/14, (in 5 AB) vs. St. Louis Browns 7/21, (in 4 AB) at Detroit 9/11

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

HR at home – 18

HR on road – 20

Most home runs, game – 3 (in 5 AB) vs. Cleveland 7/14

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 8 vs. Cleveland 7/14

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

 

Fielding

Chances – 342

Put Outs – 325

Assists – 7

Errors – 10

DP – 2

Pct. - .971

 

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. St. Louis Cardinals)

PA – 30, AB – 25, R – 2, H – 5, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 5, IBB – 1, SO – 5, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .200, OBP - .333, SLG -.200, TB – 5, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

 

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star (Started for AL in LF)

 

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Ted Williams, BosRS.: 224 pts. – 9 of 24 first place votes, 67% share

Hal Newhouser, Det.: 197 pts. – 3 first place votes, 59% share

Bobby Doerr, BosRS.: 158 pts. – 5 first place votes, 47% share

Johnny Pesky, BosRS.: 141 pts. – 2 first place votes, 42% share

Mickey Vernon, Wash.: 134 pts. – 1 first place vote, 40% share

(2 first place votes for Hank Greenberg, Det., who ranked eighth, and one apiece for Bob Feller, Clev., who ranked sixth & Dave Ferriss, BosRS, who ranked seventh)

 

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Red Sox went 104-50 to win the AL pennant by 12 games over the Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in runs scored (792), hits (1441), doubles (268), RBI (737), walks drawn (687), batting (.271), OBP (.356), slugging (.402), and total bases (2136). The Red Sox dominated the AL from start to finish in winning their first pennant since 1918. Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau devised a shift to defense Williams which did not slow the club down, although Williams tailed off in September. Lost World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3. Williams, who was hindered by an elbow injury and also facing a defensive shift by the Cards, had a subpar performance. St. Louis won Game 7 thanks to the baserunning heroics of RF Enos Slaughter and relief pitching of LHP Harry Brecheen.

 

Aftermath of ‘46:

“The Thumper” (he was known by several nicknames) followed up with his second Triple Crown-winning season in 1947, batting .343 with 32 home runs and 114 RBIs. Williams also topped the circuit in runs scored (125), walks drawn (162), OBP (.499), slugging (.634), and total bases (335). Just as in 1941, he placed second to DiMaggio in MVP voting. He hit a league-leading .369 in 1948, a season in which the Red Sox barely missed out on another pennant, to go along with 25 home runs and 127 RBIs. He further paced the AL in doubles (44), walks drawn (126), OBP (.497), and slugging (.615) and placed third in league MVP balloting. In 1949, the Red Sox battled the Yankees to the season’s last game before falling short and Williams barely missed out on a third Triple Crown as he batted .343 while leading the American League in home runs (43), RBIs (159), runs scored (150), doubles (39), walks drawn (162), OBP (.490), slugging (.650), and total bases (368). He received his second MVP award. On his way to another outstanding year in 1950, he severely injured his elbow when he crashed into the wall during the All-Star Game and ended up being limited to 89 games in which he hit .317 with 28 home runs and 97 RBIs. Returning to action in 1951, Williams batted .318 with 30 home runs and 126 RBIs while leading the AL in walks drawn (144), OBP (.464), slugging (.556), and total bases (295). He was limited to six games in 1952 when he was called back to active military duty during the Korean War. Trained to fly jets, he saw action in the same Marine squadron as future astronaut John Glenn. Having encountered problems with ear infections in 1953, he was mustered out of the service and returned to the Red Sox during the second half of the season and hit .407 in 37 games with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs. Williams suffered a broken collar bone during spring training in 1954 and was further limited to 117 games by a bout with pneumonia and fell short of another batting title due to the criteria at that time, hitting .345 with 29 home runs, 89 RBIs, a .513 OBP, .635 slugging percentage, and league-leading 136 walks drawn. He still placed seventh in league MVP voting. “The Splendid Splinter” said he was retiring in 1955 but returned to action in late May and went on to hit .356 in 98 games with 28 home runs and 83 RBIs, finishing fourth in AL MVP balloting. Williams was still a force in 1956 as he led the league with a .479 on-base percentage. He turned 39 during the 1957 season and topped the AL in batting (.388), OBP (.526), and slugging (.731). He won one last batting championship in 1958, hitting .328 along with 26 home runs and 85 RBIs. Williams dropped off badly in 1959 to .254 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs while appearing in just 103 games. Taking a cut in pay from his high of around $125,000, he returned for one last season in 1960, in which he batted .316 with 29 home runs and 72 RBIs. After homering in his last at bat, Williams retired. For his career, spent entirely with the Red Sox, he batted .344 with 2654 hits that included 525 doubles, 71 triples, and 521 home runs. He further scored 1798 runs, compiled 1839 RBIs, and drew 2021 walks. His career OBP was .482 and he had a .634 slugging percentage. Williams won six batting championships and two Triple Crowns. The 1946 World Series was his only postseason appearance. A 19-time All-Star, the Red Sox retired his #9 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Following his retirement as a player, he returned to the game in 1969 as manager of the Washington Senators. He stayed on until 1972, the club’s first year as the Texas Rangers, and compiled a 273-364 managerial record. Boisterous and opinionated, Williams was always a contentious and controversial figure who engendered strong opinions in return. Few players in the game’s history have approached his performance as a hitter.

 

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.