Williams

Ted Williams may have been the greatest hitter who ever lived. Williams played for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, and missed nearly five full seasons while serving his country in World War II and later the Korean War as a Marine fighter pilot.

The Splendid Splinter hit 521 home runs, third all-time behind only Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, and he retired after homering in his final at-bat in 1960. Williams had a .344 lifetime average, won seven batting titles and was the last player to bat .400 with a .406 average in 1941.

Williams hit .388 to win the American League batting title in 1957—at the age of 38. He won two MVPs (1946, 1949) and is the only player in history to win the Triple Crown twice. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966.

David Cataneo’s book I Remember Ted Williams contains anecdotes and memories from the players and people who knew him best.

Here is a sampling of some of the top reminisces from that book:

“I always say that Ted needed another planet. You look at what he has accomplished. Ted Williams was one of the best fishermen, so he kind of conquered the seas. He’s one of the best baseball players, so he kind of conquered the land. He was an ace pilot, so he kind of conquered the air. So he’s kind of a man who’s outgrown this planet. He’s the real John Wayne.”
– Maureen Cronin, daughter of Red Sox manager Joe Cronin

“He never wanted to be embarrassed at the plate. Ever. He talked about it. He said, ‘When I walk down the street, I want people to say: ‘There goes Ted Williams, the best hitter I’ve ever seen.''"
– Broadway Charlie Wagner, Red Sox pitcher, 1938-42, 1946

“One day at Tiger Stadium, he put on the greatest demonstration of batting practice that I had ever seen. He hit one ball after another, most of them in the upper deck. He loved to hit in Detroit. I think out of 20 pitches, he hit 17 up into the stands. And when he got through, it was early, but there were 30-35,000 in the stands. Those people just stood and gave him a standing ovation. You would have thought he had just won the World Series.”
– Boo Ferriss, Red Sox pitcher, 1946-1950

“I never met anybody in my life who was as electric as he was. I’ve met some who are electric, but none to the brilliance that he was. I mean he’d light up a funeral parlor.”
– George Sullivan, Fenway Park bat boy in 1949, sportswriter in the 50s and 60s, and the Red Sox PR director in the 80s

Williams had a stormy relationships with the Boston media—whom he referred to as the “Knights of the Keyboard." The sportswriter who hurt Williams most was wrinkly, sour Mel Webb of the Boston Globe. On the opening day of spring training in 1947, Williams greeted the old scribe by saying, "Why don’t you drop dead you old bastard." Webb vowed to get back at him, and he did during that season’s MVP balloting. He completely left Triple Crown winner Williams off his ballot. Ted lost the award to DiMaggio, 202-201. If Webb had voted Ted at least 10th most valuable, Williams would have won.”

“He always talked to the out-of-town writers just to screw the Boston writers. You know what he’d do? He’d be in the dugout and an out-of-towner would come in and he’d give him a big handshake. “Let’s get out of here.” They go down to the end of the dugout, all alone. They’d be talking, and all the Boston guys would be looking and wondering what the hell he was telling him. Maybe he was quitting or something. Ted did it on purpose.”
– Tim Horgan, longtime Boston Herald columnist

“Of all the things Ted told me, he said, ‘I’ve gotten all kinds of accolades in the baseball department, but the thing I’m most proud of was I was a good marine fighter pilot.’ He was so darned proud of being a marine.”
– Long-time friend Frank Cushing

Williams on being sold to the Red Sox
“When I first heard the news that I had been sold to Boston, I almost blew a fuse. I always dreamed of playing with the Yankees or Giants. Babe Ruth was my hero. I used to dream of hitting home runs into the friendly right-field stands in the Yankee Stadium or Polo Grounds. Why, I had followed baseball since I was old enough to read and the Red Sox had been mired in the second division throughout my boyhood.”

His opinion on whether, as manager of the Washington Senators, he could get along with a cantankerous player like Ted Williams.
“If he can hit like Ted Williams, yes.”
   

This is like a "run" recruiting blitz update today but with some tasty nuggets in there for you that follow the recruiting trail. 

• The No. 1 safety in the country and current Alabama commit Hasean Clinton-Dix will be making another visit to Ann Arbor for the Illinois game with Dee and the Dr. Phillips crew (WR Chris Gallon, LB Darryl Monroe, S Roderick Ryles, 2012 QB Nick Patti).  If I had to guess, Michigan is trying to put together a Miami Heat-like package (no not money!) for the Dr. Phillips guys that would include them all playing together next year.  Dee Hart is already verbally committed and now Clinton-Dix could be re-considering his verbal to 'Bama.  There are a number of other Dr. Phillips prospects that Michigan is looking at as well.  There were Michigan coaches at their high school just this week.  It seems Michigan would be one of the only schools that could take three or four Dr. Phillips players.  Let me tell you that with a lot of certainty that Clinton-Dix would be starting right now for the Wolverines.

• Offensive lineman from Chicago, Chris Bryant, will be visiting Ann Arbor again in December. 

• TomVH from Mgoblog says that some Michigan coaches will be at Anthony Arnett's football game on Saturday.  Anthony is a State of Michigan player who dropped U of M from his list a number of months ago.  Maybe the young man is reconsidering Michigan and his future with Dee and Denard?

• There is a lot of Michigan negative recruiting going on in the recruitment of Anthony Zettel.  Michigan still remains the leader but State and PSU are a close second.

• Sam Webb has an update on the 2012 Chris Wormley Michigan offer.

• It seems Michigan might be slow playing QB Kevin Sousa from Florida.  Kevin is setting up other visits this Fall.   Michigan had QB Marquise Williams in for an official visit as well (who is currently verballed to NC).

• Iowa visitor Tim Jernigan is one of the top DT in the 2011 class and will be seriously considering Michigan.  The rumor that he is a lock to Florida is not correct.  He will be visiting Florida, FSU and LSU as well. 

• Dallas Crawford and Sammy Watkins have both Miami and Michigan very high on their list.  We know Michigan leads for Dallas and most insiders expect that Clemson leads for Sammy.

• Like we expected A.J. Jordan committed to Wisconsin on Wednesday.  It seems Michigan feels confident with some of the WRs that are still in the fold.

“I’m sure Korea is going to present some surprises. We certainly expect the track surface to be quite low-grip because it’s only recently been laid. We already have basic information on gear ratios and rear wing levels from simulation work, but the other aspects of mechanical and aero setup will need a lot of quick thinking during Friday practice.

"All the teams are in the same position of not knowing the track, so it’s an opportunity for us to make the best of a level playing field. Having a new venue on the calendar is always welcome, and the team are definitely looking forward to experiencing something different.”

He’s right, however, in that all the teams are facing the same unknowns, and as Grace suggested in our latest podcast, this could be a time where the smaller teams can claim some valuable points with the grand equalizer, which is the uncertainty of a new circuit. Even circuit designer Herman Tilke thinks the track will be slippery and provide some exciting racing as we discussed here.

A lot of that will depend on the drivers, and in the case of Williams F1, neither of the drivers are too confident of their upcoming task due to the unfamiliarity of the circuit. Rubens Barrichello is uncertain, but this isn’t his first rodeo. He’s faced new tracks before, and he is remaining positive.

“I’m very open minded going to Korea. All I know about the circuit is that there is a long straight and some tight corners, that’s it. We haven’t been able to do much preparation, so we will just have to go there and get on with it. I will be walking the circuit on Thursday and will then probably go round it on a moped later. I’ll also be going through any data my engineers may have, but that’s all we can do.

"It’ll be the same for everyone; we’ll just learn it as we go along. You know how to drive a Formula One car, you know how to drive fast, so you just hook it up. I’ve never been to Korea before, so I don’t know what to expect, but I’m looking forward to seeing the country and finding out what it’s like.”

Nico Hülkenberg is also reticent about the circuit, but feels the leveling nature of a new circuit will have everyone facing the same challenge, and that is where he plans to excel.

“Well, I don’t know too much about the track like everybody else, but as a rookie that has had to compete on some other circuits that the drivers know really well, the fact that none of us have completed a lap in Korea makes it a great leveler for me.

Although I don’t expect the overall championship order to be greatly affected, I think we go to this race knowing we have just as much chance as anyone else. And of course it will be a great adventure for us all to discover more about this new Formula One host country and I am looking forward to it immensely”.

Before you say, “You’re crazy,” check this out:

Porsche plans to launch a hybrid version of every model in its range in a bid to reduce its fleet average CO2 emissions.

This is according to the firm’s development chief Wolfgang Dürheimer. “In the future we will have hybrid drive in every model,” he told Auto News.

That comes from Autocar, and while it doesn’t mention the Williams flywheel KERS system, that is what’s on Porsche’s hybrid racer, so why not the Cayenne and Panamera?

And if so, then Williams suddenly has a nice new stream of revenue coming in. It has, after all, been grabbing more tightly onto the hybrid part of the business.

So… here’s what we have. Either Williams can up its development budget nicely or it can up its development budget nicely and have a best-in-F1 KERS system all ready and well tested when F1 brings KERS back.

On second thought, how about Williams ’013?

Well, that’s unless Porsche returns to F1 and doesn’t partner with Sir Frank.

What are we Formula 1 fans to do between races and during slow news weeks? We had a test of our fortitude this week. Santa and his elves must be busy building PlayStations and XBoxes, and burning copies of the F1 2010 game, to fill the Christmas stockings of good little Formula 1 boys and girls. Anything to keep us entertained and well-behaved as we endure the upcoming winter.

But never fear. Even during weeks of slow news there is at least some news — and a few interesting topics for this week’s #F1Chat. So here we go:

The inaugural Korean Grand Prix is Sunday. A “rush job” to say the least. No doubt we (or 88%+ of “we”) agree about that. So could Korea crumble? Literally? Are you nervous about the condition of the circuit itself? Or do you anticipate a successful first run and a race that will begin to separate the best from the rest?

It seems that McLaren is now focused on 2011 and The Car of Next Year. Your thoughts? Is this a good strategy? Or is hope alive with Lewis or Jenson surprising us in the home stretch?

What? The incredible “Hulk” without a seat next year? “Williams delaying final decision”. Do you anticipate Pastor Maldonado winning the seat as rumored? Does Nico H. have a future in F1?

Lots of interesting chatter about Mark Webber. Will he or won’t he? A seat in a Red Bull next year? A reversal of 1 and 2? Or more contention on and off circuits with RBR’s “golden boy”?

And what about Virgin Racing? Richard Branson renews his commitment to the team. Lotus is coming into its own. We understand, excuse and forgive HRT. But what about the Virgins?

You are invited to join our weekly #F1Chat on Twitter this evening at 4:00 p.m. Eastern US/Canada, 5:00 p.m. Brazil, 9:00 p.m. UK. Follow and participate in the chat by including the hashtag #F1Chat in your tweets. Or you are invited to share your comments and opinions below and follow the feed here.

Williams F1 had a points-scoring weekend in Japan. Unfortunately Nico Hulkenberg was taken out on the first lap leaving Rubens Barrichello to bring home the points. If I’m honest, I was really expecting a great weekend for the team. They looked terrific all weekend long but the race seemed to elude them for myriad reasons least of which was a vibration Barrichello was experiencing.

The team have released a Q&A with Technical Director Sam Michael, and here it is in its entirety:

Q: You had an upgrade package on the FW32 at Suzuka. Did the new parts perform as you expected?
SM: We ran new front and rear brake ducts on the FW32s in Suzuka. These items were the last of our upgrade components that we will deliver this season. The new parts worked well so we ran them on both cars for the race.

Q: How did the wash-out on Saturday affect the team’s preparations for qualifying and the race?
SM: Not having the usual time available to us in third practice reduced the amount of time we had running with lower fuel loads to prepare for qualifying. That would have been the same for the other teams as well, however.

Q: The car was very competitive in qualifying, with both cars making it through to Q3, but Rubens wasn’t happy with the performance of his car in the race. What issues did he have?
SM: Rubens reported that the car was bouncing during the race; he also experienced a vibration problem as well. We are working our way through all of the data now to determine the cause and to ensure that it does not happen again.

Q: Nico made a poor start and was then hit by another car on the approach to Turn One. Did he have any technical issues leaving the grid?
SM: Unfortunately, Nico released the clutch too early at the start. He realised in time so as to avoid a jump start, but he obviously lost start performance trying to recover.

Q: Rubens’ ninth place moves AT&T Williams to within two points of Force India in the Constructors’ Championship. How important is that sixth place to the team and what developments are in the pipeline for the remaining three races?
SM: It’s always important to finish as high as possible in the Constructors’ Championship because it determines the income you receive from FOM for the following season. Sixth position is therefore what we are aiming to achieve in the final rounds. We have no further developments planned for the FW32 for the remainder of the season.

Q: The inaugural Korean Grand Prix comes next. How have you prepared for the race at Yeongam?
SM: We have done a simple lap time simulation based on a map of the circuit. This allows us to determine start wing levels and gear ratios.

Q: Finally, the team will be at Kemble Airfield on Wednesday of this week. What work will be carried out there?
SM: We will be doing straightline aero running at Kemble in order to test some components planned for 2011.

As we countdown to Mason Madness and the official start to the season, we will be taking a look at this year's 2010-2011 George Mason squad on a class by class basis. Feel free to chime in to praise or tear apart my analysis if you see fit.

Previous Previews:
Part I: The Freshmen

Luke Hancock

Luke Hancock was a pleasant surprise to Mason fans last season, but definitely no surprise to the coaching staff.  His extra year prepping at Hargrave Military Academy did wonders for his transition to division I basketball.  A lot of his contributions don't show up on the stat sheet but he there were so many times he looked like a seasoned veteran, especially late in important games.  His late game dunk to power the Patriots to victory over Creighton was probably one of his best moments last season, the kid has no fear. Apparently he's been working on his three-point shooting, which was good percentage wise last season (.324) but he needs to not shy away from the perimeter shots.  He's also an unselfish player, which I am sure Larranaga loves, and at times last season you would have thought he was the team's point guard or "point forward". Hancock is kind of a jack of all trades player every good team needs, who doesn't do anything particularly great but does many things well (think Gabe Norwood). Hancock will log a lot of minutes this season and although I think he's better as a 6th man I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself in the starting lineup at times this season.

Sherrod Wright

The 2010-2011 doesn't exactly start off with great news as we found out last month that Sherrod Wright will be out for the season. The coaching staff isn't going to say much about it, because frankly they don't have to, redshirts are not named until the end of the season.  Barring any unforseen circumstances we won't see Wright this season because even after successful arthroscopic shoulder surgery he's got months of rehabilitation ahead of him.  The only chance we could possibly see him this season would be if at the end of the year the team is devastated by injury and basically the coaching staff just needs the extra body to compete but even that is a long shot given that he will be eligible for a medical redshirt and not lose a year of playing. It's really a shame because I would have predicted Wright to break out this season scoring wise and be a large part of the Patriots offense. He has the skills to beat you in a variety of ways but on defense he was exposed a bit at the beginning of last season.  Although I think Mason will miss his scoring ability this year, an extra season of him and Bryon Allen in the same backcourt will be something fans will grow to love.

Johnny Williams

Before last season started I would have thought Johnny Williams would see more minutes because he has the big body frame the team was lacking.  He didn't quite produce in the rebounding area in the limited action he saw last season which is an area he can really help this team.  Aside from his season high 18 points against College of Charleston we didn't see much of him but we did see that the talent is there when given the chance. Last year senior Louis Birdsong kept Williams on the bench, which fans didn't like, but Birdsong was a veteran in Coach L's system and a better post defender.  This year look for Williams to be used more off the bench in what hopefully amounts to a solid three-forward rotation between he, Pearson, and Morrison.  Rebounding and low-post defense will get him on the court more and let's hope it happens sooner rather than later because this team's depth at the post player position is shallow. The Patriots need him to be a physical presence in the middle this season.

Rashad Whack

Rashad Whack is not a name you heard a lot of last season either, except when the Washington Post revealed that he injured himself last January slipping in the shower.  The injury to his shoulder kept him out for a little bit in January and February last season but still was able to log some minutes in the Patriots crowded shooting guard spot.  Back in the beginning of the year he started in place of Andre Cornelius against Villanova in one of the best games we saw the Patriots play. He will need to show the coaching staff he can routinely hit the outside jumper if he wants to earn more minutes this season and Sherrod Wright's absence might provide him with more time to showcase himself.  The Patriots need him to come off the bench and help defend the CAA's top guards, which is another area he could excel in this year to see more time.

Paris Bennett

It's tough being injured your freshman year but Paris Bennett at least got some minutes in before getting hurt and ultimately earning a medical redshirt. Bennett has a tough task ahead of him this year trying to battle with Luke Hancock and a bunch of other talent on this team for minutes.  He's a true small forward on this team but mostly played power forward in high school. While lanky he doesn't really have the muscle to bang on the inside and I'm not sure he has the perimeter game to play successfully at the off forward position.  I compare him a lot to Louis Birdsong as being somewhat of a "tweener" meaning he's a between two positions kind of player.  Paris is not a selfish player and his athleticism, hustle and ability to run the floor well could get in him more involved this season.

Vertrail Vaughns

We already know he can dance, but how much will we see of him this season? Vertail Vaughns suffered the same setbacks Paris Bennett did last year injuring his wrist after only playing six games and now faces a tough challenge of competing for minutes against a crowded roster of combo guards.  He brings a solid mid-range game, quickness and the ability to create well in open space but I think he will hard pressed for minutes this season with the addition of true freshman Bryon Allen.  Vaughns made a name for himself in high school as a stellar passer and great facilitator for his teammates.  This could give him an edge over some of the guards on this roster but you can't help but remember he turned over the ball seven times in the last 19 minutes we saw him play last season. There's a lot of talent ahead of him at the guard position so I don't think he will get much action this season but after Cam Long and Isaiah Tate graduate there will be opportunity for him.