Red Sox History Lesson

Ted Williams’ three best seasons in my opinion were 1941, 1942 and 1947.

Williams hit .406 in 1941 and is the last player to ever bat for a .400 or better average during a season. He also smashed a American League leading 37 home runs that year and also led the American League in on-base percentage (.553), slugging percentage (.735) and OPS (1.287). He also led the league with 135 runs scored and 147 walks. 

Both in 1942 and 1947, Williams won the Triple Crown, meaning he led the AL in home runs, RBIs and batting average.

In 1942, Williams hit 36 homers, knocked in 137 runs and batted .356. He also led the American League in on-base percentage (.499), slugging percentage (.648), OPS (1.147), total bases (338), runs scored (141) and walks (145).

In 1947, Williams smashed 32 homers, knocked in 114 runs, batted .343, and led the American League in on-base percentage (.499), slugging percentage (.634), OPS (1.133), total bases (335), runs scored (125) and walks (162).

However, Williams did not win an MVP award during any of these three seasons. He finished in second place all three years.

New York’s Joe DiMaggio won the MVP in 1941. New York’s Joe Gordon won it in 1942. DiMaggio won it again in 1947.

Here are the results of the 1941 AL MVP voting.

Here are the results of the 1942 AL MVP voting.

Here are the results of the 1947 AL MVP voting.

Video of the Day

A video on Joe DiMaggio:

MLB Hall of Famer of the Day

Joe DiMaggio or “Joltin’ Joe” or “The Yankee Clipper.”

There is a quote on the baseball Hall of Fame website in which Ted Williams once said: “Joe DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw. His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. It might sound corny, but he had a profound and lasting impact on the country.”

DiMaggio missed three years during his prime (when he was 28, 29 and 30 years old) because he was serving this country.

DiMaggio played his entire 13-year major league career with the Yankees. He actually didn’t start out a Yankee though. He was traded by San Francisco (PCL) to New York for players to be named later and cash Nov. 21, 1934, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

For his career, DiMaggio batted .325 with 2,214 hits, 361 home runs, 1,537 RBIs and 1,390 runs scored.

The center fielder won three MVP awards (1939, 1941 and 1947). He won the AL batting title twice. He won one in 1939 by hitting 381. He also won it in 1940 by hitting .352.

“Many rate his 56 consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 as the top baseball feat of all time,” according to the baseball Hall of Fame website, which also states that in 1933, eight years before his famed 56-game hitting streak, Joe DiMaggio fashioned a 61-game hitting streak with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.”

DiMaggio played in 10 World Series and helped the Yankees win nine of them.

He retired in 1951 at 36 years old.

According to the Joe DiMaggio official website, he said: ”I feel like I have reached the stage where I can no longer produce for my club, my manager, and my teammates. I had a poor year, but even if I had hit .350, this would have been my last year. I was full of aches and pains and it had become a chore for me to play. When baseball is no longer fun, it’s no longer a game.”

See his page on the baseball Hall of fame website here.

See the official Joe DiMaggio website by clicking here and read about his life, including how he started out as a shortstop for San Francisco.

MLB Statistic of the Day

Joe DiMaggio holds the MLB record for the longest hitting streak by stroking a hit in 56 straight games in 1941.

• 1. Joe DiMaggio (56 games in 1941)
• 2. Willie Keeler (45 games in 1896-1897)
• 3. Pete Rose (44 games in 1978)
• 4. Bill Dahlen (42 games in 1894)
• 5. George Sisler (41 games in 1922)
• 6. Ty Cobb (40 games in 1911)
• 7. Paul Molitor (39 games in 1987)
• 8. Jimmy Rollins (38 games in 2005-2006)
• 9. Tommy Holmes (37 games in 1945)
• 10. Gene DeMontreville (36 games in 1896-1897)

Stats from Baseball-Reference.com

Trivia question of the Day

Manny Ramirez won a batting title for the Red Sox during what season?

Answer to yesterday’s trivia question: once in 1967