Ted Williams draws 2,000th career walk
The player nicknamed The Splendid Splinter led the American League in bases on balls eight times in his 19-year career with the Boston Red Sox, and on Aug. 20, 1960, he drew his 2,000th career walk. At the time, the only other player to have reached that milestone was Babe Ruth.
The walk came in Williams’ first at bat in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. Williams led the Red Sox to an 8-6 victory with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including six RBI, two home runs and three runs scored in front of 17,437 fans at Fenway Park.
Boston finished the 1960 season with an unremarkable 65-89 overall record. Williams, however, was a bright spot: In 113 games, Williams hit .316 with 29 home runs and earned an All-Star berth, the 17th of his career.
But by the time Williams’ career ended, he was also regarded as one of the most disciplined and patient batters to have ever played the game.
“I’ll never forget Ted coming to the plate,” former big league pitcher Gene Conley said. “You talk about a guy putting you back on your heels on the mound. He dug in, and he looked so big up there and the bat looked so light in his hands… Confidence just oozed out of him. He took something away from you even before you threw a pitch.”
Kristen Gowdy was the 2014 public relations intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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