Facing Ted Williams: Players from the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived

Description

"The Splendid Splinter," Teddy Ballgame," The Kid"-no matter the nickname, Ted Williams was one of the most accomplished hitters in baseball history. He was the last man to hit .400 in a single season, a 19-time All-Star, a two-time American League MVP, a two-time winner of the Triple Crown, and an inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 . . . all while serving his country in World War II and the Korean War. Far from a conventional biography, Facing Ted Williams aims to offer a different perspective with testimonials from teammates and opponents alike, on how Williams was regarded among his peers. See Ted Williams through the eyes of pitchers struggling to put a fastball past his bat, the infielders and outfielders adjusting their positions in the hopes that they can fill the hole where a frozen rope might land, and the catchers strategizing a Williams at-bat, pitch-by-pitch. Facing Ted Williams provides riveting insights from many baseball legends, including Hall of Famer Bob Feller; 1956 World Series MVP Don Larsen; and 1952 American League MVP Bobby Shantz; as well as many others. Whether you're a Red Sox fanatic, a casual baseball fan, or perhaps just an admirer of the fabled war hero and slugger, this book is sure to be a fresh and compelling look at this classic baseball icon. Much like Williams himself, Facing Ted Williams is sure to be a home run for all walks of baseball fandom.

Dave Heller spent six years as a freelance writer in Cincinnati, while also appearing in several newspapers (Washington Post) and magazines. He recently spent five years as the lead editor at CBS SportsLine.com and is currently a sports web producer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a contributor at Seamheads.com. Wade Boggs is a former baseball player who spent eighteen years in the big leagues with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now known as the Rays). On August 7, 1999, he became just the twenty-third player to record 3,000 hits for a career and the first to do so with a home run. He retired in 1999, finishing his career with 3,010 hits (currently twenty-sixth all-time), a .328 batting average (currently thirty-third all-time), and was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. Bob Wolff is the longest-running sportscaster in television and radio history, now in his ninth decade behind the microphone. He is the only broadcaster in history to call the play-by-play championships of all four major pro sports, including Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. He's enshrined in the baseball and basketball halls of fame, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, as well as numerous others. In 2009, the broadcast booth at Nationals Park in Washington was named in his honor.

"Now we have something new: A series of reminiscences from the players who battled the great No. 9. . . . In Facing Ted Williams, Dave Heller did yeoman's work tracking down a range of players, from perennial all-stars to guys whose cup of coffee in the Show was more like a shot of Joe. . . . [A] worthy accessory to the Williams portion of the baseball shelf." -Boston Globe "The value of [Facing Ted Williams] is in the unabashed discussion of Williams' passion for the game....The result is a fast-paced yet not superficial discussion of the National Pastime's best hitter. [Facing Ted Williams is] essential for baseball fanatics, should also be perused by fans of all ages." -Library Journal, Starred Review) "There's a neat book out called 'Facing Ted Williams' that's worth checking out if you're a Red Sox fan, Williams fan or just a fan of players talking about baseball from the old days...a fun project by Heller, something different than the standard biography." -David Schoenfield, ESPN.com "What was it like to pitch to the greatest hitter who ever lived? Now we know." -Dan Shaughnessy, New York Times bestselling author of Francona: The Red Sox Years "...the soul of Facing Ted Williams is the stories, and those, like the sweet swing of a Ted Williams' home run, are delightfully satisfying." -New York Journal of Books "A very enjoyable and revealing view-both literally and figuratively-of perhaps the greatest hitter of all time. Even 'The Splended Splinter' probably would have been impressed by Dave Heller's prodigious amount of research." -Jack Cavanaugh, author of Tunny, Giants Among Men, and Season of '42 "In this ambitious and engaging project, Heller set out to get the truth straight from the players' mouths. . . . What also emerges through Heller's dogged efforts is a scrapbook-style look at the way the game was played in the 1940s and '50s..." -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "As the author of several books on Ted Williams, with a couple of more in the wings, Facing Ted Williams is an idea I wish I'd had." -Bill Nowlin, author of So You Think You're a Boston Red Sox Fan? and co-author of Red Sox vs. Yankees "A penetrating inside look at the 'Splendid Splinter' from those who played against him. Facing Ted Williams is a must-have for fans of baseball's Golden Age." -Glen Waggoner, former editor for ESPN: The Magazine and author of Baseball by the Rules