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

Teddy Ballgame rightly deserves his self-selected title as the "Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived." Fans still debate what his lifetime stats might have been had he not lost thousands of at-bats while serving in two wars. His greatness has resulted in many books devoted to his career, notably Ed Linn's Hitter: The Life and Turmoils of Ted Williams, and countless in-depth articles including many negative ones. The value of this new book is in the unabashed discussion of Williams's passion for the game, beginning with Wade Boggs's foreword and culminating with an afterword by veteran sportscaster Bob Wolff. In between, Heller (sports web producer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) arranges the content by position, with an array of pitchers offering their thoughts, followed by catchers, then infielders and a small number of outfielders, all of whom responded to his call for contributions. Great pitchers such as Bob Feller and memorable players such as Yankees' third baseman Bobby Brown discuss Ted's well-known determination not to bunt or hit to left field to defeat the famous shift. Along with contributions by the big names are reminiscences of players who enjoyed the proverbial "cup of coffee in the bigs." The result is a fast-paced yet not superficial discussion of the National Pastime's best hitter.