Many thanks to Bill Hunter for coming through with this 1941 Ted Williams card for me and allowing me to somehow make up for my glaring omission of Ted Williams from the Monster Card outfield poll. It’s only fair since the 1953 Williams card was the first official Monster Cards column I posted.
Do I need to tell you about the relevance of Ted Williams’ 1941 season? I doubt it. His .406 batting average is the stuff of baseball legends. If you need further proof, take a look at the two games of the doubleheader on the last day of the season (Game 1/ Game 2). I’m sure you’ve heard the story. Williams went into the day with a .400 average. While many in similar situations would have taken the day off, Williams played both games and not only kept his average at .400 but went 6 for 8 giving him his .406 mark.
How good was Williams in 1941? He not only led the AL in batting but also in homeruns (37), runs (135), walks (147), slugging (.735) and on base percentage (.553).
He did not win the Most Valuable Player award though. It was tight race but Joe DiMaggio who had a tighter relationship with the press and also did some magic of his own with the bat in 1941 won with a 291 to 254 point margin. Red Sox fans probably rue that decision to this day.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 Totals | 143 | 606 | 456 | 135 | 185 | 33 | 3 | 37 | 120 | 2 | 147 | 27 | .406 | .553 | .735 |
As to Ted Williams’ 1941 card itself, it’s nice to see this card show up long overdue on a Monday. It’s one of the best, providing power (1-1-5-6-6), average (15-7) and on-base (nine 14s!).
Williams’ 1941 card is actually a good case study for those who are new to APBA cards. Consider Al Simmons’ 1930 card (left). Simmons hit 25 points less (.381) but received significantly more hit numbers. He received a 31-7.
The difference? Williams’ nine 14s. Simmons received only two on his 1930 card.
Just as the walks don’t count as at-bats when calculating batting average, the 14s are not counted when determining batting average on an APBA card. So while 1941 Williams may only have a 25-8, his hit numbers are calculated against 27 non-walk numbers unlike Al Simmons’ 34.
By my estimation, Williams’ 1941 card is pretty accurate. He had 11 hit numbers (full value for 1-1-5-6-6-7-7 and five 8s and 9s which are worth .8 each for a total of four). Divide 11 by 27 (36 minus his nine walks) and you get .4074 which is pretty close to what he should be hitting.
Fun numbers: 44-6, 15-7, 21-14, 23-14
Williams trivia: The given name on Ted Williams’ birth certificate is actually Teddy Samuel.
Will the 1941 Ted Williams card somehow make its way onto the Monsters team? Time will tell.
Thank you sir! One of the monsterest monster cards out there.
Wow, can I take my vote back for one of the OF’s and vote for Williams instead?
Being a DW pitcher with the game on the line facing that Ted Williams card might be the loneliest feeling in all of APBA Baseball…
Ha, indeed.
Although an AB xyzz against this Ted W. card is likely to have a bad day just as quickly as a Dw :-)
And Ted never used steroids. My suggestion is to restart the vote including Ted and deleting Mr. Potato Head, aka Barry the chocker Bonds.
Ted Williams card is amazing.
It’s not good enough. He needs 12 hit numbers since he won’t see Grade D pitchers every game, and should be 1-6-6-1 (not 1-6-5-6-1). I played with the original card from an old-timers set 50+ years ago; I think that card only had 10 hit numbers, and was obviously not good enough.