Teddy Ballgame Trivia Quiz

Answer: San Diego

Ted Williams was born in California in 1918 and attended Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego also. He was an outstanding scholastic baseball player, and several Major League teams were interested in young Williams. While in high school, Ted Williams played with a local Minor League team called the San Diego Padres.

Answer: He batted left and threw right

Ted Williams batted left-handed but threw right-handed. Many baseball historians feel that Williams was hurt playing his home games at Boston's Fenway Park due to its great length in right-center field. These pundits claim that Williams would have hit even more home runs if Fenway's dimensions were friendlier to left-handed batters.

Answer: Left field

Ted Williams was rated an adequate outfielder by most critics of his time. Williams supposedly possessed an "average" throwing arm, but he learned how to play the tricky Green Monster in left field at Boston's Fenway Park. He admitted late in his baseball career that he could have become an outstanding left fielder if he had devoted more time to improving his defensive skills.

Answer: Joe Cronin

Ted Williams arrived in the show in 1939 as a brash young rookie ballplayer. He had an excellent first season, batting .327 with 31 HRs and 145 RBIs. His first Major League manager was Joe Cronin, a future Hall of Famer. Cronin led the Bosox from 1935 to 1947, compiling a record of 1071-916. Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy was Williams' second manager, from 1948 to 1950. Steve O'Neill managed Boston from 1950 to 1951.

In 1960, Williams' final Major League season, Boston had three managers in Billy Jurges, Del Baker, and Mike (Pinky) Higgins.

Answer: The Marines

Ted Williams had already served in the military (Navy/Marines) during World War II, but in May 1952, the Splendid Splinter was recalled to active duty to fly Marine fighter jets in the Korean War. Williams flew about 40 combat missions before being removed from active combat duty due to illness. Williams missed five years of baseball because of his military service. How many more home runs and base hits would he have accumulated?

Answer: Jack Fisher

Ted Williams' final Major League appearance occurred at Fenway Park in Boston on September 28, 1960. It was a cool, overcast afternoon, and the Orioles started the game with lefty Steve Barber. Jack Fisher, however, took over the pitching chores in the middle of the game.

In the eighth inning, Williams crushed a fastball over the center field wall for his final home run. True to fashion, Williams refused to tip his cap to the crowd and did not come out of the dugout for a curtain call. Jack Fisher would also be involved in history the following season (1961) when he surrendered Roger Maris' 60th home run, which tied Babe Ruth's single-season mark.

Answer: Washington Senators

Ted Williams became the field manager of the hapless Washington Senators in 1969, and he achieved some surprising success with the team. Williams wasn't known as a brilliant tactician. He preferred to take his young players to the batting cage in order to practice hitting. Mike Epstein, a first baseman, blossomed under Williams' tutelage.

In 1969, the Nats had a winning season, going 86-76. After that, however, the magic seemed to vanish. Overall, Teddy Ballgame had a managerial record of 273 victories and 374 defeats with the Senators / Texas Rangers between 1969 and 1972.

The Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season.

Answer: Science

In 1970, Ted Williams and John Underwood released a book called, "The Science of Hitting". It was a guidebook to effective hitting techniques. Williams used prose and photographs to break down the science of hitting a baseball. Many Major League hitters claimed that the book was extremely helpful. Williams described every batter's "happy zone", a region where a batter had the best chance for success. Williams was passionate about hitting a baseball, and loved talking to batting stars such as Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, and Rod Carew.

Answer: Fishing

Ted Williams was a passionate fisherman throughout his adult life. He was considered to be an expert fly fisherman, and he was equally adept at deep-sea fishing. One of Williams' favorite places in the world was the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, Canada, where he went fishing for Atlantic salmon. Williams was elected to the International Game Fish Association just two years before his death in 2002, and the Splendid Splinter considered this honor to be quite special.

Answer: A tunnel

The Ted Williams Tunnel is named after the great Teddy Ballgame. It connects the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) with Boston's Logan Airport and is about 1.6 miles long. The Williams Tunnel was opened to general traffic in 2003.