Get A Good Ball To Hit
One of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball, Ted Williams. Hitting a baseball is largely considered to be the most difficult thing to do in all of sports and Ted Williams could do it better than nearly every one. That’s a one-line resume. No further explanation necessary.
Ted Williams was a naturally gifted athlete with sharp eyesight and quick reflexes. Perhaps the same skills that lent to becoming a top-notch fighter pilot in WWII. What gave Williams the edge was his scientific, systematic approach to hitting.
The now famous Ted Williams strike zone first appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1968, Science Of Batting. In this article he broke down the strike zone into 77 baseballs. The average on each of ball is not what Williams actually hit but rather his projected average — that’s key. Ted Williams doesn’t pretend that he can hit every pitch. Balls low and outside he knows he should lay off, the odds are against him. But right in the center of the plate, that’s his “happy zone”. “The heart of the plate, belt-high, and with some sugar on it.”
Maybe it was Williams’ shear willpower that allowed him to hit .400. He had the self control to wait for his pitch. And then wait some more.
I remember Lefty Chase, who pitched for Washington. He had a hell of a curve and fastball, but he was wild. One day he got me to 3 and 2 with two men on, and threw a big sharp curve, and I took it. Fooled me. Strike three. I got up again in the fourth inning, bases loaded, count goes to 3 and 2, and here comes another, and I’m hanging in there, waiting, waiting, and I don’t think I moved until the ball was right by my ear. It darn near hit my hat and spun it on my head. I walked.
(via hilker)
