Ted Williams arguably the greatest hitter in MLB history, especially if we consider how his career numbers might have tallied had he not taken off to serve in the military on two different tours covering nearly five baseball seasons.
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http://espn.go.com/classic/000706tedwilliams.html
*The Boston Red Sox leftfielder belted 521 homers, batted .344 and had 1,839 RBI. He won two Triple Crowns. His .483 on-base percentage is baseball's best, with Babe Ruth second at .474. In slugging percentage, Williams' .634 trails only Ruth's .690. Williams' .406 average in 1941 is one of sport's magic numbers. No player has topped .400 since.
*Few ever played so well for so long. He batted .388 in 1957, and won the A.L. batting title again at .328 the following season at age 40. His eyesight and discipline at the plate were legendary.
In 7,706 at-bats, Williams struck out only 709 times.