He probably would have had appx 160 more homeruns added to his total. What an average of close to 200 more hits over those lost seasons. Who's Barry Bonds?
I think baseball's most overlooked streak is Eddie Murray's 75+ RBI in each of his first 20 seasons. What makes it incredible is he was able to get to 75+ in 2 strike shortened seasons, '81 and '94, and also while he was on 2 of the worst teams in MLB history, the '88 Orioles and '93 Mets. He's the only player to accomplish this feat. Honorable mention to Kazuo Matsui's streak of hitting a home run in his first at bat of his first 3 seasons.
It's remarkable for its consistency but 1) it's not overlooked; certainly nothing like TW's streak (find me anyone, anywhere until now who EVER talked about it), and 2) we know now that RBIs are...well, "okay," but not nearly so meaningful of a stat as once thought (and yes, this is truth, not perception); hence why it isn't talked about ad nauseum (as opposed to getting on-base, which has exploded in terms of its considered value in today's game). Frankly, I've seen/read this streak mentioned numerous times. I'm a TW/Sox fan and I'd NEVER heard of Williams' absurd streak until seven years ago.
@NotReadingYourReplies Those early 90's Mets teams cost Vince Coleman the Hall of Fame. Of the 2 Dodgers home games I've been to in my life, one of them was the Vince Coleman firework game.
I loved reading about Teddy Ballgame. I loved his blunt, no bs comments. I didn't get into baseball until about '65. But I always enjoyed reading about him and all the other all time bb greats. Now of course we have other sources. It always irked me when Joe D was announced as 'the greatest living ball player" at certain events. He lost 5 yrs of his bb life because of duty to his country. Think of the all coulda beens.
@@tomtalley2192I used to have a Ted Williams autograph model spinning reel. Pretty sure he had a line in Sears catalog. I've been led to understand that he was the preeminent fisherman (fly or otherwise) of his era.
Great video. Ted’s stats are incredible. Amazing what he did with all the interruptions in his playing career. And only two mvp awards. Both of his triple crown seasons he did not win the mvp. He should have had 5 of the things. I just wish there was more footage of him playing. Like that clip you have of him charging in and throwing the ball in. I haven’t seen much footage like that. The one where I believe he’s got those flip up glasses on. Haven’t been able to find much of him hitting, either.
I'm surprised Ichiro didn't make a run at this at some point... that 262 hits season! Being in the lead-off on a good team, getting 700 plate appearances! But I guess he didn't draw many walks as he hit .372 but OBP was .414, which is to say he only drew 49 BB compared to 262 hits -- Williams had twice as many walks in those 84 games!!
In that crazy 2004 season he reached base in 141 of the 147 games he played, but those 6 games were very evenly spaced out across the year. He failed to reach base on May 12, June 19, July 21, August 1, August 18, and August 30. So, his streaks were broken up pretty much every 35 games or less.
@@Il_Exile_lI Bobby reached base 141 out of 147 games is bonkers. That sir is a record that WILL NEVER be beat. Bobby reached base in 96% of all games that season. I bet Joe Dimaggio or Ted Williams didn't come close to that. Do you know what second place is because it sure is hell isn't close to 96% of games.
@@Wallyworld30 Ted Williams reached in 134 of 143 games in 1941, the season he hit .406 and set the single season OBP record that would stand until Bonds broke it.
Also remarkable: Thumper’s .482 career OBP; getting on base nearly every other time he came to the plate. “Asterisk” guy Bonds wound up at .444 and he got 537 more walks, 281 more hits and played three years longer than Williams. Seven hundred homers was likely sans three years and two wars (in which he distinguished himself, particularly Korea). Of course if Ted had played then, the OBP might not have been as high, but .450 was not out of the question. Certainly no disrespect toward Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn, but Ted Williams probably was “the greatest hitter who ever lived.”
Regarding intentional walks, I think this anecdote is about Don Drysdale. I think it was somewhere on-line that someone said Drysdale would just hit the batter on purpose, rather than throw 4 pitches. I also heard that he once threw at the batter in the on-deck circle.
I'm surprised that Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs or Rod Carew didn't have on base streaks that would put them in contention for this title. These guys were renown for putting the ball in play and not having bad at bats.
Gwynn and Carew were great contact hitters, but they never drew a ton of walks. Boggs could have had a shot in his prime years when he was getting 100+ walks, but even his best BB seasons pale in comparison to Ted Williams . From 41'-51' Williams averaged 141 games a year and 140 walks a year, he missed '43-45' for WW2 and was just as good as he was before.
I could see Boggs because he took his walks. He walked a lot and was getting 200 hits a year for a while. But that streak is tough. That’s more than half the season.
As a hitter, Williams was so much better than Dimaggio, there is not even a comparison. Homers-Williams. Batting average-Williams. On base %-Williams. Dimaggieo had one thing going for him against Williams, he played in New York. SO...WHAT?
While it seems as if the greatest athletes in sports like football and basketball are today superior to those of the 20th Century, it seems many of the greatest baseball players played well before the steroid era which has left a huge brown skid mark across baseball history.
The higher level of strikeout isn't just from pitching. It's also a function of modern adherence to management-approved plate approaches (commensurate with Sabermetrics). I.e., achieve max velo off bat and forget the strategy of poking it where they're aren't...even though that approach inherently produces more strikeouts. It's been green lit. Strikeout, schmikeout. You get up there and swing as hard as you can, sonny! The incentives of today's hitters suggest that record appears untouchable. Akin to the complete game record no longer being in play for today's pitchers.
"Ted Williams has the longest streak" Me: That tracks "The second-longest streak was by Joe DiMaggio in '41" Me: Makes sense "The third longest streak was also by Williams" Me: Understandable "The fourth-longest streak was by Orlando Cabrera" Me: ... ... How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Man I can't believe Barry Bonds didn't break this. He started 2004 with a walk in every game except 2 for a month. In those games he went 4/4 and 1/2. His streak ended at 30 games on 5/12 with an 0/4 performance against the Phillies. His carryover from 2003 was only 3 games because he had a 0/1 game against the Astros near the end of the season. I imagine Bonds had more games where he reached base at least once in 2004 than Williams did in his record-setting year. He had 6 games without reaching base, 3 of which were 0/1 pinch hit games.
This is a really nice video. Very well done. One caveat, at 6:13 - it's not a 3.6% difference, but rather a 3.6 percentage point difference. Not the same.
@@jimwerther 3.6% and 3.6 percentage points if the number is 100 and you subtract 3.6% and subtract 3.6 percentage points you'd get the same number the difference in the 2 is negligible until uoj get to be bigger numbers like 10k or 1k or 200 so while you're right most people probably don't get the concept I was saying they still understood either way thay the gap between the 2 is very small and a normal everybdaynperson could understand that the gap is small without knowing the difference in those two to begging with but im glad you said it inwouldve said it if uou didn't probably
.406 is harder to hit in a season than 56 straight games. you can get a hit in 160 straight games and still bat .250 for the season. At .400 the pitcher is thinking how can I hold him to single bases. .406 is the hardest record to break.
@@KitchenerLeslie2 why would that be? i would argue that it's THE most amazing hitting record. i knew who he was and that's it. his strikeout numbers are mind bending. beyond comprehension.
THANK YOU for showing some love for possibly the greatest hitter of all time. If only he wasn’t _ALSO_ an American hero who fought as a pilot in two wars and lost 5 years during his PRIME!
His .406 is more impressive than DiMaggio's hit streak. A Hit streak is like hitting for the cycle. Kinda flukey. A whole year batting over .400. That's impressive.
Considering his age at the time, I find Williams’ 1957 season underrated. He hit .388, had an on base percentage over .500, and slugged over .700 with I believe 37 homers, at age 39 in his 16th season (counting the war shortened early 50’s years). He was a good player until the end, but by his own standards, 1957 was arguably the last year of his prime.
Thanks for posting this; I didn't know what the record was, either. He started that season with a 38-game streak, followed by two straight games without reaching base, although he drove in a run in game 39. The successful pitchers were Bob Lemon and Early Wynn, respectively. Williams had only 6 of his 155 games in 1949--5 in June--in which he didn't reach base. The other pitchers to keep him off the bases were Red Embree and Chuck Stobbs of the Browns; Vic Raschi of the Yankees; and Ray Scarborough of the Nationals. He had an RBI in 2 of those 6 games.
the way I always try to explain it is to take that persona and raise their talent up in todays world, you will get similar results. same with if you drop players to older generations and raise them there and then. mike trout wouldn't be his size and strength in 1940. so you just got to respect what people do in their eras, super freaks exist in any corner and anytime int he world.
today they're largely throwers, not pitchers.& guys throw as much gas as they can. Id say the greats of any era would still be te greats when moved around. Todays pitchers give up meatballs to scrubs on the regular. Its so watered down
Juan Soto is probably the closest we have to Ted Williams in today’s game, he’s probably the best pure on base guy we have and should only improve in the next 4-5yrs since he’s only what, 23 now? I don’t think Soto will break Ted’s records by any means, but he does still have a long career ahead of him and has proven to have the best eye in the current game
He only actually flew missions in Korea tho, in ww2 all the generals used their drafted athletes to compete in sports against each other which makes.me very angry. You draft these guys saying they shouldn't be exempt and they are strong anyways so useful, and then just make them play sports for you in unit dick measuring contests for less money than they should he getting and take years off their actual careers, I'm Korea tho he was actually able to serve so I don't mind him being drafted their... but ww2 was a waste of many players careers for nothing
@@andrewsmith3257 I just think it's kinda annoying for the government to make the argument of, athletes shouldn't not join the military cause they are strong and would make great soldiers and then instead of actually having them fight they instead make them play the same sport for much less pay.
Ted Williams' on-base streak is not the most overlooked record in baseball to anyone who watches MLB Now on the MLB Network. Any time a current baseball player has any sort of on base streak, Brian Kenny whips the “chasing history” segment about Ted Williams’ on base streak.
In how many recent years? Until 7 years ago, I NEVER saw it mentioned, ever. It got some mention 2 yrs ago when Wander Franco had his streak. Considering how long ago TW's was--75 years now--yeah, I'd still call it vastly overlooked. Sure, one guy on MLB mentions it. SABR has proliferated baseball for 30 years now, OBP become a foundational stat; yet it still took into the late 20-teens for ANYONE to ever talk about this. It's still overlooked, esp. for what it IS (considerably more impressive than DiMaggio's streak, which could be put on ice for a decade and still be overrated). If you say it isn't, well then, tell me something else that is.
Thanks for posting this. I was unaware of this record. However, I'm not surprised that Teddy Ball Game holds the record! My biggest thrill in baseball was meeting Ted Williams and having a conversation with him about hitting and both of us being Marines when I was in spring training many years ago. We spoke about Ted missing 3 full years due to World War II and the majority of 2 seasons due to the Korean War. I also asked him why he didn't tip his cap when he hit a home run in the last at bat of his career off of Jack Fisher in 1960. He said that he really wanted to, but he didn't. When I replied. "Why not?" He said, "Because I'm Teddy F------ Ballgame." It was hilarious! One more thing to think about is that Ted Williams won the Triple Crown in 1942 and 1947. He did not win the A.L. MVP Award. He finished second in the voting, just like he did in 1941 when he hit .406. In all 3 of those years, the MVP came from the New York Yankees. There was no one that knew as much about hitting as Ted Williams. He was "the Greatest Hitter that ever lived!"
The Boston sports press hated Williams, and he returned the sentiment. When your own local press contingent does not support you for awards like the MVP, you don't have the best chance of winning.
Williams went .371/.518/.695 during his run. In 1980, George Brett had a 72 game stretch where he went .453/.508/.725 and reached base by hit or walk in 71 of 72 games.
If Williams didn't miss all of that time due to military service he would have had all the records offensively and would have won a world series at least once. Sweetest baseball swing of all time...Williams and Griffey Jr
Don’t give credit to “increased velocity” and better relievers. The reason hitters don’t approach this record now is because they aren’t good hitters. They try more for home runs than getting on base. They don’t care about striking out. If today’s hitters were so good, the league wouldn’t have had to ban shifts-good hitters can adjust, todays hitters couldn’t.
Short Answer: Yes, it is. I told Sean McAdam this a few years ago. It's crazy, and frankly more impressive than DiMaggio's. And Williams career was so much better than DiMaggio's it's not even worth debating.
Devil's Advocate saysc "Well Joe D did finish his career in 5th all time in HR, and tied for 1st all time in Marilyn Monroe marriages." But I'm a Splendid Splinter man myself.
There were no sacrifice flies allowed from 1931 through 1938, and again from 1940 through 1953. A fly-out during those seasons which scored a run counted as an at-bat. Williams had eight sacrifice flies in 1941.
Ted Williams had a better batting average during DiMaggio's streak. Also, in 1980, George Brett hit safely in 53 games in a 56 game stretch, batting .468 during that stretch.
The fact that William's had a better batting average than DiMaggio during Joe's streak is an important point. There is a substantial amount of luck in a game-based hitting streak. Near the end of the game while on deck with no hits, does the guy in front of you make the last out? Are you without a hit late in a rout (either direction) facing perhaps not the best pitching? etc. Whereas batting average is a much fairer statistic. Just a statistician's point of view...
@@dougharvey2839Streaks don't mean much in terms of the point of playing--winning the game. A late single in a game already sown up or clearly lost just doesn't affect the outcome. Naturally, only very good hitters get long streaks, but having one off day now and then, doesn't really diminish a great hitter.
also, @@dougharvey2839, it helps immensely when the Official Home Scorer (and thus the final arbiter as to what constitutes a hit when in doubt) is your Official Ghostwriter (and drinking buddy, Dan Daniel) ...
This IS a tremendous record, unlike so many "records" pulled from the behinds of so many (those being like Canseco's 40/40, which was used to hype it up). The only similar record to Williams is, for me, the most unbreakable of all. 40/.400, held by Rogers Hornsby. During the 1922 season, Hornsby hit .401 while amassing 42 HR. He almost reached it again in 1925, hitting .403 with 39 HR. Williams came close in 1941, hitting .406 with 37 HR. Ruth's closest was in 1923 hitting .393 with 41 HR. No one else even comes close.
DiMaggio's record of 56 games was certainly amazing, but let's not forget that Williams batted 406 in that same year and no one has come close to matching that since.
Tony Gwinn batted in the .390s in a strike shortened season. George Brett got to .390 No one has gotten close to 56 games, besides Rose at 44. It’s all amazing. I adore baseball stats.
If Williams played those 5 years he missed for WW2 and Korea he would have 700 hrs 2300 RBI and 344 Ave making him the best hitter ever. And I'm a Yankee fan
@@guod911 So if the three years he missed were even close to the three before and after he would have had about 500 more hits, 100 more doubles, 100 more home runs, 350 more rbi's and 9 consecutive top 3 mvp finishes.
Ted Williams was purely amazing! I agree this record should be right up there with DiMaggio's hit streak. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Ted Williams is in my top 3 all-time greatest hitters and IMHO the smartest hitter ever hands down. If you are young high school player, read his book "The Science of Hitting" you won't regret it!
I run a fantasy baseball league and do a weekly trivia question. I asked who had the streak and how many games it was: only one guy got Williams right and none knew the number of games. I definitely didn’t know until I was searching for questions.
Talk about plate discipline! If Ted Williams' goal was to walk down the street and have it said, "There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived" - he came pretty damn close. DiMaggio was no slouch either: if I recall, Joe DiJoe had more home runs than strikeouts - like 325 to 323. Times have changed - and I believe the game is harder now - but guys like Williams and DiMaggio would have starred in any era.
People overlook that Fergie Jenkins had OVER 300 innings pitched and around only 40 walks per year!! I get tired of announcers saying what great control modern pitchers have.
His streak is notable and does mean something, but what exactly? There is no doubt he would have been a quality hitter in any era, but it seems very likely that this streak wouldn't exist if he had played in a neutral park 50 years later, s there is some need for context. Fenway distorted the stats of left handed batters for generations, there is no doubt about that, and I think that it is widely acknowledged and supported by statistical analysis. What isn't talked about is how different circumstances were for batters in the 1940's than they would be in more recent eras. In 1949, only 3 pitchers had twice as many K's as walks. Tommy Byrne had 179 BB's as compared to 129 K's, yet went 15-7. Mel Parnell led the majors with 25 wins, yet he walked 12 more than he struck out. Viewing baseball as a whole, it seems there was about a 5 year stretch where something led to a major change in the number of K's around both leagues. Was it a different strike zone? I haven't found a clear answer to this question, but obviously something was going on that led to some radically different stats. I would love to see what he could have done in a different era in a different park, and dream about what others could have done in his situation with Fenway and 1949....Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, even other Red Sox players from other eras, like that magical Fred Lynn season
Thanks for this! I grew up idolizing The Splendid Splinter based on stories my Dad told me about watching him play and anything I could get my hands on to read about him despite being born almost 2 decades after his career ended. I’ll never forget getting his autograph and how he looked me right in the eye and shook my hand even as a snot nosed little kid. I believe he was an even better man than hitter, and that’s saying something!
Ted williams is the greatest baseball player of all time. just imagine if he didnt serve in world war 2 and the Korean War? his number would eclipse guys like barry bonds and hank aaron.
How come we never hear of this streak. To me it is just as impressive as DiMaggio's hit streak. Imagine going more than a half season reaching base in every game.
The man was like John Wayne in cleats. He's bigger than life in so many ways. You could write about (and books have been written about) just one part of about ten chapters in his life: War Two Fighter Pilot, Korea Fighter Pilot, Baseball, Manager, Salesman, Actor, Cryo Patient, and on and on. I first remember seeing him as the kind fisherman in The Baseball Bunch. Johnny Bench said, "That fisherman might be the greatest hitter in baseball history". As great as 84 straight games is, I still think DiMaggio's 56 is the more impressive of the two. It's a pure accident of mathematical improbability, something computers can't even duplicate with a million simulations of the season. It's that hard to accomplish. But, as the video said, Williams "only" had a .512 On-Base during this streak...in other words, it's just a typical day at the office for Ted. What a man.
Had the season not ended in 2005,Jimmy Rollins may have had a shot at Joe D. He batted leadoff on a high scoring team,was a switch hitter with great speed,and was disinclined to walk.
That footage of the home run being hit into the second deck of left field at polo grounds was amazing. I don’t know how that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that footage
You should consider doing a video on Jimmy Rollins MVP season in 2007. His numbers are ridiculous and the fact he did it with more plate appearances in a season than any ever has had is really impressive
Having such an insanely high number of plate appearances would give him MORE opportunities to boost his numbers though, not less. Or, at the very least, more opportunities to boost his counting stats - which it did. He certainly wouldn't have gotten to 30 HRs if not for having nearly 800 PAs that year. If your point is that sustaining such a high BA over so many PAs is harder to do though, then I suppose I get where you're coming from. But his .296 BA was still only the 20th best in MLB in 2007 (and that's only including players with at least 600 ABs; including players with at least 500 ABs pushes Rollins even further down that list). I've always been a fan of Rollins, but if we're being honest here, there were several other more deserving candidates for NL MVP that year - Matt Holliday chief among them with his .330 BA and 1.012 OPS in 158 games played. He actually had MORE hits than Rollins in 80 fewer ABs...
If Ted hadn’t missed so much time because of wars he would be talked about more as the greatest hitter of all time
He probably would have had appx 160 more homeruns added to his total. What an average of close to 200 more hits over those lost seasons.
Who's Barry Bonds?
He was the greatest hitter of all time. He wrote the book on hitting.
He is actually considered the best hitter of all time. Ruth is the greatest player.
He’s like the Puskas of baseball. Already considered possibly the best even with prime years taken from them.
He is THE GREATEST HITTER WAR OR NO WAR
And William's OBP in 1949 (.490) was only his 8th best of his career, outside of service connected years.
Imagine reaching base every other at bat. That is awesome.
Williams was the best hitter ever. Great video!
To Me this video proofs it.
I think baseball's most overlooked streak is Eddie Murray's 75+ RBI in each of his first 20 seasons. What makes it incredible is he was able to get to 75+ in 2 strike shortened seasons, '81 and '94, and also while he was on 2 of the worst teams in MLB history, the '88 Orioles and '93 Mets. He's the only player to accomplish this feat. Honorable mention to Kazuo Matsui's streak of hitting a home run in his first at bat of his first 3 seasons.
Man, Eddie Murray was awesome, great stat
Kaz Matsui! I remember that!
It's remarkable for its consistency but 1) it's not overlooked; certainly nothing like TW's streak (find me anyone, anywhere until now who EVER talked about it), and 2) we know now that RBIs are...well, "okay," but not nearly so meaningful of a stat as once thought (and yes, this is truth, not perception); hence why it isn't talked about ad nauseum (as opposed to getting on-base, which has exploded in terms of its considered value in today's game). Frankly, I've seen/read this streak mentioned numerous times. I'm a TW/Sox fan and I'd NEVER heard of Williams' absurd streak until seven years ago.
@@mctaguer Just like Ted Williams, you've lost your head.
@NotReadingYourReplies Those early 90's Mets teams cost Vince Coleman the Hall of Fame. Of the 2 Dodgers home games I've been to in my life, one of them was the Vince Coleman firework game.
I loved reading about Teddy Ballgame. I loved his blunt, no bs comments. I didn't get into baseball until about '65. But I always enjoyed reading about him and all the other all time bb greats. Now of course we have other sources. It always irked me when Joe D was announced as 'the greatest living ball player" at certain events. He lost 5 yrs of his bb life because of duty to his country. Think of the all coulda beens.
Williams was the best hitter, and maybe one of the best fighter pilots, and from what I've read the best fly fisherman.
@@tomtalley2192I used to have a Ted Williams autograph model spinning reel. Pretty sure he had a line in Sears catalog. I've been led to understand that he was the preeminent fisherman (fly or otherwise) of his era.
Dimaggio was announced as the "greatest living ballplayer", because he would not appear at public events unless they agreed to announce him that way.
Knew that. Nice guy. He treated Mantle like crap too.@@berean77
Great video. Ted’s stats are incredible. Amazing what he did with all the interruptions in his playing career. And only two mvp awards. Both of his triple crown seasons he did not win the mvp. He should have had 5 of the things. I just wish there was more footage of him playing. Like that clip you have of him charging in and throwing the ball in. I haven’t seen much footage like that. The one where I believe he’s got those flip up glasses on. Haven’t been able to find much of him hitting, either.
I'm surprised Ichiro didn't make a run at this at some point... that 262 hits season! Being in the lead-off on a good team, getting 700 plate appearances! But I guess he didn't draw many walks as he hit .372 but OBP was .414, which is to say he only drew 49 BB compared to 262 hits -- Williams had twice as many walks in those 84 games!!
Ichiro definitely didn’t walk much. Phenomenal pure hitter though.
I'm shocked Barry Bonds didn't beat this record when he was getting intentionally walked almost every at bat.
In that crazy 2004 season he reached base in 141 of the 147 games he played, but those 6 games were very evenly spaced out across the year. He failed to reach base on May 12, June 19, July 21, August 1, August 18, and August 30. So, his streaks were broken up pretty much every 35 games or less.
Goes to show how unbelievable Teddy Ballgame really was.
@@Il_Exile_lI Bobby reached base 141 out of 147 games is bonkers. That sir is a record that WILL NEVER be beat. Bobby reached base in 96% of all games that season. I bet Joe Dimaggio or Ted Williams didn't come close to that. Do you know what second place is because it sure is hell isn't close to 96% of games.
@@Wallyworld30 Ted Williams reached in 134 of 143 games in 1941, the season he hit .406 and set the single season OBP record that would stand until Bonds broke it.
@@Il_Exile_lI Still very impressive. In 96% of the games he played he reached on base. That is unreal.
of course it is Ted lol. who else could it be.
Barry was my first guess
Well, the top 9 best hitting season are only babe Ruth and ted williams.
@@garygood6804 Looking at Adj. Batting wins I'm getting Bonds, Ruth, Williams, and Gehrig
@DanielSong39 this was from an mlb network prime 9 episode.
@@DanielSong39 th-cam.com/video/uK81ostuU9g/w-d-xo.html
Ted Williams was a 'REAL AMERICAN HERO'. A baseball sports hero and a war hero as well. Makes me proud to be an American.
Also remarkable: Thumper’s .482 career OBP; getting on base nearly every other time he came to the plate. “Asterisk” guy Bonds wound up at .444 and he got 537 more walks, 281 more hits and played three years longer than Williams. Seven hundred homers was likely sans three years and two wars (in which he distinguished himself, particularly Korea). Of course if Ted had played then, the OBP might not have been as high, but .450 was not out of the question. Certainly no disrespect toward Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn, but Ted Williams probably was “the greatest hitter who ever lived.”
Regarding intentional walks, I think this anecdote is about Don Drysdale. I think it was somewhere on-line that someone said Drysdale would just hit the batter on purpose, rather than throw 4 pitches. I also heard that he once threw at the batter in the on-deck circle.
I'm surprised that Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs or Rod Carew didn't have on base streaks that would put them in contention for this title. These guys were renown for putting the ball in play and not having bad at bats.
Gwynn and Carew were great contact hitters, but they never drew a ton of walks. Boggs could have had a shot in his prime years when he was getting 100+ walks, but even his best BB seasons pale in comparison to Ted Williams . From 41'-51' Williams averaged 141 games a year and 140 walks a year, he missed '43-45' for WW2 and was just as good as he was before.
You would need someone who walked a lot, none of those guys did.
@@darthrevan611 Remember, he missed years when he was a fighter pilot in Korea.
I could see Boggs because he took his walks. He walked a lot and was getting 200 hits a year for a while. But that streak is tough. That’s more than half the season.
What might be even more amazing was his reaching base in 16 consecutive at bats streak!
As a hitter, Williams was so much better than Dimaggio, there is not even a comparison. Homers-Williams. Batting average-Williams. On base %-Williams. Dimaggieo had one thing going for him against Williams, he played in New York. SO...WHAT?
He and DiMaggio stepping in the box without helmets too.
Phenomenal record!
Also, Williams was very unpopular with the press.
And he played in Boston.
Thanks for this... I'd always wondered (but never googled lol) the answer to this question... And, of course it was Ted Williams lol
DiMaggio made it 76 games in a row
THANKS FOR ALERTING US--
While it seems as if the greatest athletes in sports like football and basketball are today superior to those of the 20th Century, it seems many of the greatest baseball players played well before the steroid era which has left a huge brown skid mark across baseball history.
The most overlooked record in Johnny Vander Meer's double no-hitter. To break that record, a pitcher would have to throw three no-hitters in a row.
Subbed. More vids avout great ball players please
The higher level of strikeout isn't just from pitching. It's also a function of modern adherence to management-approved plate approaches (commensurate with Sabermetrics). I.e., achieve max velo off bat and forget the strategy of poking it where they're aren't...even though that approach inherently produces more strikeouts. It's been green lit. Strikeout, schmikeout. You get up there and swing as hard as you can, sonny! The incentives of today's hitters suggest that record appears untouchable. Akin to the complete game record no longer being in play for today's pitchers.
Back in my time they called it "uppercut" not launch angle!
Ted believed you may only get one or two pitches a game to hit, so you have to capitalize on them. He also didn't try to hit homers.
Im curious, how many games in a row did bonds have in 2001?
"Ted Williams has the longest streak"
Me: That tracks
"The second-longest streak was by Joe DiMaggio in '41"
Me: Makes sense
"The third longest streak was also by Williams"
Me: Understandable
"The fourth-longest streak was by Orlando Cabrera"
Me: ... ... How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Wow, impressive
What’s the streak for most consecutive times to reach base?
Some old baseball records will ever be beat. Just not possible in current baseball. Pitching it too good.
Just for fun, who held the consecutive on base record that Ted Williams broke, or do we even know ?
The hit streak is way more impressive. It definitely won't be broken in today's MLB because they don't value consistency.
I’m surprised Bonds didn’t break this how many walks he was getting in the early 2000s.
Man I can't believe Barry Bonds didn't break this. He started 2004 with a walk in every game except 2 for a month. In those games he went 4/4 and 1/2. His streak ended at 30 games on 5/12 with an 0/4 performance against the Phillies. His carryover from 2003 was only 3 games because he had a 0/1 game against the Astros near the end of the season.
I imagine Bonds had more games where he reached base at least once in 2004 than Williams did in his record-setting year. He had 6 games without reaching base, 3 of which were 0/1 pinch hit games.
I would have guessed Williams but would have thought I would was a lot more games.
real baseball died when Johnny Bench retired, the players up till then will never be matched
Billy Beane wrote this script.
This is a really nice video. Very well done. One caveat, at 6:13 - it's not a 3.6% difference, but rather a 3.6 percentage point difference. Not the same.
No it's not the same but most people understood it
@@hoppy23
Says who? I doubt most people are aware of the concept to begin with.
@@jimwerther 3.6% and 3.6 percentage points if the number is 100 and you subtract 3.6% and subtract 3.6 percentage points you'd get the same number the difference in the 2 is negligible until uoj get to be bigger numbers like 10k or 1k or 200 so while you're right most people probably don't get the concept I was saying they still understood either way thay the gap between the 2 is very small and a normal everybdaynperson could understand that the gap is small without knowing the difference in those two to begging with but im glad you said it inwouldve said it if uou didn't probably
@@hoppy23
Um, your response is not in English. Please translate.
@@jimwerther learn how to infer this is youtube I dont hot time to proof read this shit
As always, DiMaggio had the NYC HYPE machine. I would have taken Ted Williams ANY day over DiMaggio.
Ted Williams is a Mexican-American hero.
.406 is harder to hit in a season than 56 straight games. you can get a hit in 160 straight games and still bat .250 for the season. At .400 the pitcher is thinking how can I hold him to single bases. .406 is the hardest record to break.
nope. it is not. lots of people talk about it. just no one really gets close to it so announcers don't talk about it much.
Is his head still frozen?
How about Rey Ordonez? The very best fielder I have ever seen. But he couldn't do anything at the plate!
Dimaggio's hit streak is
Ted should have won at least 12 MVPs instead of just 2.
Joe Sewell’s 3 total strike outs for one season with over 500 ABs is truly phenomenal and NEVER talked about!
posted yogi berra's 1950 season before i saw your comment. 696 plate appearances in 151 games. good power figures and 12 Ks.
Yeah, let’s not bring up Joe Sewell in a Ted Williams video.
@@KitchenerLeslie2 why would that be? i would argue that it's THE most amazing hitting record. i knew who he was and that's it. his strikeout numbers are mind bending. beyond comprehension.
I had no idea he had so few strikeouts. Thanks for bringing up this stat.
How about Joe DiMaggio only striking out 8 more times than he hit a home run during his entire career... 369 SOs vs 361 HRs. Amazing.
Most impressive record by Ted Willaims is 17 consecutive at-bats without getting out. Imagine going up 17 times, and getting on 17 times. Unreal
Wow. Didn't know about that Stat. Insane
You would figure Barry Bonds would have that record. Either getting a homer or walk
@@andrewsmith3257Do you really think Bonds got a homer or walk 16 times in a row? You're special kid.
@@Tom-y1j Bonds probably could get walked 10x in a row because no one wanted to pitch to him. It's absolutely possible no offense
THANK YOU for showing some love for possibly the greatest hitter of all time. If only he wasn’t _ALSO_ an American hero who fought as a pilot in two wars and lost 5 years during his PRIME!
It’s heartbreaking that he didn’t live long enough to see them win in ‘04
The greatest generation.
His .406 is more impressive than
DiMaggio's hit streak. A Hit streak is like hitting for the cycle. Kinda flukey. A whole year batting over .400. That's impressive.
I also forget the exact stat but I know Ted's batting average during Joe's streak was higher that Joe's during the same period. Insane!!
Considering his age at the time, I find Williams’ 1957 season underrated.
He hit .388, had an on base percentage over .500, and slugged over .700 with I believe 37 homers, at age 39 in his 16th season (counting the war shortened early 50’s years).
He was a good player until the end, but by his own standards, 1957 was arguably the last year of his prime.
Streaks are kinda meaningless and made-up records. The fact that Williams batted better than DiMaggio during his streak says it all.
56 games in a row is NOT Flukey. At all. both are insane and will never be broken
there was a time when it wasn't that rare.
Thanks for posting this; I didn't know what the record was, either. He started that season with a 38-game streak, followed by two straight games without reaching base, although he drove in a run in game 39. The successful pitchers were Bob Lemon and Early Wynn, respectively. Williams had only 6 of his 155 games in 1949--5 in June--in which he didn't reach base. The other pitchers to keep him off the bases were Red Embree and Chuck Stobbs of the Browns; Vic Raschi of the Yankees; and Ray Scarborough of the Nationals. He had an RBI in 2 of those 6 games.
He reached base in the last 9 games of 1948, including the playoff for the pennant, giving him a 47-game on-base streak through June 1, 1949.
I had breakfast with Mr. Williams AND Smokey Joe Woods brother in Keene NH...And went fly fishing with Ted for 2 hrs..What a blessing !! 1984
Must have been awesome. How much did you talk about Baseball that day with Ted.
Could Ted Williams repeat his feat batting against today's pitching? I say YES!
Williams had an eye for the ball and knew the game as well as anyone who has ever played. I believe he would be an all time great in any era.
the way I always try to explain it is to take that persona and raise their talent up in todays world, you will get similar results. same with if you drop players to older generations and raise them there and then. mike trout wouldn't be his size and strength in 1940. so you just got to respect what people do in their eras, super freaks exist in any corner and anytime int he world.
today they're largely throwers, not pitchers.& guys throw as much gas as they can. Id say the greats of any era would still be te greats when moved around. Todays pitchers give up meatballs to scrubs on the regular. Its so watered down
He had better than 20/20 vision
Juan Soto is probably the closest we have to Ted Williams in today’s game, he’s probably the best pure on base guy we have and should only improve in the next 4-5yrs since he’s only what, 23 now? I don’t think Soto will break Ted’s records by any means, but he does still have a long career ahead of him and has proven to have the best eye in the current game
Ted Williams was also a USMC fighter pilot in both WWII and Korea. A key to his aviation success is also why he was such a great hitter--20/10 vision.
It's only one reason. I had 20/10 vision with my glasses playing youth league for 3 years and hit the ball to the outfield exactly once.
i read that stat decades ago. only once tho.
He only actually flew missions in Korea tho, in ww2 all the generals used their drafted athletes to compete in sports against each other which makes.me very angry. You draft these guys saying they shouldn't be exempt and they are strong anyways so useful, and then just make them play sports for you in unit dick measuring contests for less money than they should he getting and take years off their actual careers,
I'm Korea tho he was actually able to serve so I don't mind him being drafted their... but ww2 was a waste of many players careers for nothing
@@omalleycaboose5937 yeah but he was drafted. Even Elvis was put in a safe unit. Can you imagine Ted or Elvis being KIA?
@@andrewsmith3257 I just think it's kinda annoying for the government to make the argument of, athletes shouldn't not join the military cause they are strong and would make great soldiers and then instead of actually having them fight they instead make them play the same sport for much less pay.
You're right. I had no idea. 84 games in a row is mental!
Ted Williams' on-base streak is not the most overlooked record in baseball to anyone who watches MLB Now on the MLB Network. Any time a current baseball player has any sort of on base streak, Brian Kenny whips the “chasing history” segment about Ted Williams’ on base streak.
In how many recent years? Until 7 years ago, I NEVER saw it mentioned, ever. It got some mention 2 yrs ago when Wander Franco had his streak. Considering how long ago TW's was--75 years now--yeah, I'd still call it vastly overlooked. Sure, one guy on MLB mentions it. SABR has proliferated baseball for 30 years now, OBP become a foundational stat; yet it still took into the late 20-teens for ANYONE to ever talk about this. It's still overlooked, esp. for what it IS (considerably more impressive than DiMaggio's streak, which could be put on ice for a decade and still be overrated). If you say it isn't, well then, tell me something else that is.
It was overlooked (or at the very least unknown) until people started valuing on base percentage more than batting average
Thanks for posting this. I was unaware of this record. However, I'm not surprised that Teddy Ball Game holds the record! My biggest thrill in baseball was meeting Ted Williams and having a conversation with him about hitting and both of us being Marines when I was in spring training many years ago. We spoke about Ted missing 3 full years due to World War II and the majority of 2 seasons due to the Korean War. I also asked him why he didn't tip his cap when he hit a home run in the last at bat of his career off of Jack Fisher in 1960. He said that he really wanted to, but he didn't. When I replied. "Why not?" He said, "Because I'm Teddy F------ Ballgame." It was hilarious! One more thing to think about is that Ted Williams won the Triple Crown in 1942 and 1947. He did not win the A.L. MVP Award. He finished second in the voting, just like he did in 1941 when he hit .406. In all 3 of those years, the MVP came from the New York Yankees. There was no one that knew as much about hitting as Ted Williams. He was "the Greatest Hitter that ever lived!"
The Boston sports press hated Williams, and he returned the sentiment. When your own local press contingent does not support you for awards like the MVP, you don't have the best chance of winning.
Williams went .371/.518/.695 during his run.
In 1980, George Brett had a 72 game stretch where he went .453/.508/.725 and reached base by hit or walk in 71 of 72 games.
If Williams didn't miss all of that time due to military service he would have had all the records offensively and would have won a world series at least once. Sweetest baseball swing of all time...Williams and Griffey Jr
Don’t give credit to “increased velocity” and better relievers. The reason hitters don’t approach this record now is because they aren’t good hitters. They try more for home runs than getting on base. They don’t care about striking out.
If today’s hitters were so good, the league wouldn’t have had to ban shifts-good hitters can adjust, todays hitters couldn’t.
I love this because OBP has always been my favorite stat.
Why is it your favorite stats?
@@georgepress1261 It’s a simple summation of what a batter is supposed to do, get on base.
Ok
To me OBP is more important then batting average.
@@georgepress1261 Simple you cannot score if you don't get on base.
Short Answer: Yes, it is. I told Sean McAdam this a few years ago. It's crazy, and frankly more impressive than DiMaggio's. And Williams career was so much better than DiMaggio's it's not even worth debating.
Devil's Advocate saysc "Well Joe D did finish his career in 5th all time in HR, and tied for 1st all time in Marilyn Monroe marriages."
But I'm a Splendid Splinter man myself.
I'm a Yankees fan, you're absolutely correct, Ted Williams was a far superior hitter, it isn't a question. But DiMaggio was pretty good too
@@boxingdonkeyjoes teams won teds did not
williams was an incredible hitter but you play defense as well. williams wasn't that great in the field.
@@jamescampione8531 correct!
The man was a GOAT in Baseball and a badass fighter pilot in 2 wars ,like I said a GOAT!!!!
In 1941 when Ted Williams batted .406 sacrifice flies were counted as an at-bat. By today's rules, Ted Williams would have actually hit .413 in 1941.
When did they change this rule?
There were no sacrifice flies allowed from 1931 through 1938, and again from 1940 through 1953. A fly-out during those seasons which scored a run counted as an at-bat. Williams had eight sacrifice flies in 1941.
Ted Williams had a better batting average during DiMaggio's streak. Also, in 1980, George Brett hit safely in 53 games in a 56 game stretch, batting .468 during that stretch.
The fact that William's had a better batting average than DiMaggio during Joe's streak is an important point. There is a substantial amount of luck in a game-based hitting streak. Near the end of the game while on deck with no hits, does the guy in front of you make the last out? Are you without a hit late in a rout (either direction) facing perhaps not the best pitching? etc. Whereas batting average is a much fairer statistic. Just a statistician's point of view...
@@dougharvey2839Streaks don't mean much in terms of the point of playing--winning the game. A late single in a game already sown up or clearly lost just doesn't affect the outcome. Naturally, only very good hitters get long streaks, but having one off day now and then, doesn't really diminish a great hitter.
also, @@dougharvey2839, it helps immensely when the Official Home Scorer (and thus the final arbiter as to what constitutes a hit when in doubt) is your Official Ghostwriter (and drinking buddy, Dan Daniel) ...
Brett was so close to batting 400 that year.
This IS a tremendous record, unlike so many "records" pulled from the behinds of so many (those being like Canseco's 40/40, which was used to hype it up). The only similar record to Williams is, for me, the most unbreakable of all. 40/.400, held by Rogers Hornsby. During the 1922 season, Hornsby hit .401 while amassing 42 HR. He almost reached it again in 1925, hitting .403 with 39 HR. Williams came close in 1941, hitting .406 with 37 HR. Ruth's closest was in 1923 hitting .393 with 41 HR. No one else even comes close.
Amazing! Was not aware of this. Ted was pure baseball. Thanks for the post.
BTW,
Please don't mention McGuire or Sosa in future posts.
If I’m not mistaken Ted also reached first base 16 consecutive times
You're not mistaken
I heard it was 17
DiMaggio's record of 56 games was certainly amazing, but let's not forget that Williams batted 406 in that same year and no one has come close to matching that since.
Tony Gwinn batted in the .390s in a strike shortened season.
George Brett got to .390
No one has gotten close to 56 games, besides Rose at 44.
It’s all amazing.
I adore baseball stats.
It's all CGI nowadays anyway.
Adore? Really? @@bruff76
If Williams played those 5 years he missed for WW2 and Korea he would have 700 hrs 2300 RBI and 344 Ave making him the best hitter ever. And I'm a Yankee fan
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz one person on the internet cares and it's not me@@GeorgeYoung-uh5by
Imagine what Williams would have accomplished if he had not gone to war.
That's a pretty vague comment. Try to do better. Thanks - The World.
@@guod911 So if the three years he missed were even close to the three before and after he would have had about 500 more hits, 100 more doubles, 100 more home runs, 350 more rbi's and 9 consecutive top 3 mvp finishes.
@@analogboi The World read your comment and shrugged. Again, try to do better. Thanks - The Universe
@@guod911 ok one guy.
@@analogboi I represent the Universe Federation of Trolls and you are guilty of writing nonsense. Please do better,
Barry Bonds had an OBP above .600 in 2004. No one else has ever reached above .600 in the history of baseball.
Great video, man! Glad I got to learn something new about the great game of baseball almost everyday, because of people like you. Thank you 🍻
TED WILLIAMS IS THE GREATEST HITTER EVER. The argument could be made for Bonds or Ruth.
What about Cobb?
@waynejohanson1083 Cobb put up incredible numbers and was a great hitter but Williams power numbers are what separate him from Cobb.
Ted Williams was purely amazing! I agree this record should be right up there with DiMaggio's hit streak. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Ted Williams is in my top 3 all-time greatest hitters and IMHO the smartest hitter ever hands down. If you are young high school player, read his book "The Science of Hitting" you won't regret it!
I feel like Orlando Cabrera is going to be an immaculate grid answer in a few days lol
Best hitter the game has ever seen.
One day your channel is gonna blow up my guy youre the best and all these videos will make you money in back views 1000% chance
Players are being taught to swing and try to hit it at a high launch angle as opposed to waiting out your pitch and being more selective
In part because of that, and a desire for more power in general, higher batting averages are arguably less common.
I run a fantasy baseball league and do a weekly trivia question. I asked who had the streak and how many games it was: only one guy got Williams right and none knew the number of games. I definitely didn’t know until I was searching for questions.
Talk about plate discipline! If Ted Williams' goal was to walk down the street and have it said, "There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived" - he came pretty damn close. DiMaggio was no slouch either: if I recall, Joe DiJoe had more home runs than strikeouts - like 325 to 323.
Times have changed - and I believe the game is harder now - but guys like Williams and DiMaggio would have starred in any era.
Ted Williams was an amazing human being.
And not just as a ballplayer.
In 1947, Johnny Mize had 51 Home Runs and only 42 Strikeouts. Only player to hit over 50 Home Runs and Strike out less than 50 times in a season.
It's not overlooked if you're talking about it.
The New York Press grabbed attention for DeMaggio. Teams were less likely to pitch to Williams, so a continuous hitting streak was tougher for him.
People overlook that Fergie Jenkins had OVER 300 innings pitched and around only 40 walks per year!! I get tired of announcers saying what great control modern pitchers have.
His streak is notable and does mean something, but what exactly? There is no doubt he would have been a quality hitter in any era, but it seems very likely that this streak wouldn't exist if he had played in a neutral park 50 years later, s there is some need for context.
Fenway distorted the stats of left handed batters for generations, there is no doubt about that, and I think that it is widely acknowledged and supported by statistical analysis. What isn't talked about is how different circumstances were for batters in the 1940's than they would be in more recent eras. In 1949, only 3 pitchers had twice as many K's as walks. Tommy Byrne had 179 BB's as compared to 129 K's, yet went 15-7. Mel Parnell led the majors with 25 wins, yet he walked 12 more than he struck out.
Viewing baseball as a whole, it seems there was about a 5 year stretch where something led to a major change in the number of K's around both leagues. Was it a different strike zone? I haven't found a clear answer to this question, but obviously something was going on that led to some radically different stats.
I would love to see what he could have done in a different era in a different park, and dream about what others could have done in his situation with Fenway and 1949....Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, even other Red Sox players from other eras, like that magical Fred Lynn season
probably, its insane, though the true most overlooked record is probably something i dont know
Goat of hitting. Ted should've had 700 hrs and 3000 hits. Wouldve crushed the walks record.
Thanks for this! I grew up idolizing The Splendid Splinter based on stories my Dad told me about watching him play and anything I could get my hands on to read about him despite being born almost 2 decades after his career ended. I’ll never forget getting his autograph and how he looked me right in the eye and shook my hand even as a snot nosed little kid. I believe he was an even better man than hitter, and that’s saying something!
Sheesh why not write a book about it!
I hope you still have that autograph.
Ted williams is the greatest baseball player of all time. just imagine if he didnt serve in world war 2 and the Korean War? his number would eclipse guys like barry bonds and hank aaron.
How come we never hear of this streak. To me it is just as impressive as DiMaggio's hit streak. Imagine going more than a half season reaching base in every game.
Recency bias and people not knowing their history...i feel like Ted Williams should be mentioned more as possibly the greatest hitter of all time
The man was like John Wayne in cleats. He's bigger than life in so many ways. You could write about (and books have been written about) just one part of about ten chapters in his life: War Two Fighter Pilot, Korea Fighter Pilot, Baseball, Manager, Salesman, Actor, Cryo Patient, and on and on. I first remember seeing him as the kind fisherman in The Baseball Bunch. Johnny Bench said, "That fisherman might be the greatest hitter in baseball history".
As great as 84 straight games is, I still think DiMaggio's 56 is the more impressive of the two. It's a pure accident of mathematical improbability, something computers can't even duplicate with a million simulations of the season. It's that hard to accomplish. But, as the video said, Williams "only" had a .512 On-Base during this streak...in other words, it's just a typical day at the office for Ted.
What a man.
Had the season not ended in 2005,Jimmy Rollins may have had a shot at Joe D.
He batted leadoff on a high scoring team,was a switch hitter with great speed,and was disinclined to walk.
No. John Wayne was like Ted Williams. Fact--look it up--Wayne copied TED.
Well you don't have to get hysterical over it. It's just men playing with a ball for goodness sakes.
Ted DOES in fact look and talk just like the Duke!
344 lifetime hitter who missed 4 years in his prime serving in the wars. His last at bat was a home run amazing player
my jaw dropped when I saw this his OBP during the streak was only 36 points higher than it was over his entire career!
As they teach you starting in Little League… “a walk is as good as a hit”.
US FIGHTER PILOT.....Who Played baseball....and Fished.
That footage of the home run being hit into the second deck of left field at polo grounds was amazing. I don’t know how that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that footage
Post 1900 MLB. Babe Ruth 1921, 154 games, 177 runs scored. That's a record that remains obscure.
That is unreal. Scoring over a run a game. He must have been hitting home runs and getting on base a lot with walks and doubles.
You should consider doing a video on Jimmy Rollins MVP season in 2007. His numbers are ridiculous and the fact he did it with more plate appearances in a season than any ever has had is really impressive
Having such an insanely high number of plate appearances would give him MORE opportunities to boost his numbers though, not less. Or, at the very least, more opportunities to boost his counting stats - which it did. He certainly wouldn't have gotten to 30 HRs if not for having nearly 800 PAs that year.
If your point is that sustaining such a high BA over so many PAs is harder to do though, then I suppose I get where you're coming from. But his .296 BA was still only the 20th best in MLB in 2007 (and that's only including players with at least 600 ABs; including players with at least 500 ABs pushes Rollins even further down that list).
I've always been a fan of Rollins, but if we're being honest here, there were several other more deserving candidates for NL MVP that year - Matt Holliday chief among them with his .330 BA and 1.012 OPS in 158 games played. He actually had MORE hits than Rollins in 80 fewer ABs...