Ted Williams: “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived” (2018)

“In spring training in the 70’s, Ted comes and sits besides me and he said, ‘you can’t write this! I’m watching the young players here, and they’re all batting .240.’ He said, ‘you know why?’ and I said , ‘No.’ And he said ‘ They’re having sex all the time.’ It’s not the phrase he used. ‘And that’ what they’re thinking about all the time.’ He said ‘Roger, I didn’t get laid for the first time until the All-Star break of my second year in the Major Leagues. I was thinking about hitting.'” – Roger Angell

Number of Times Seen – 1 (25 Jul 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Biography of one of the best hitters in baseball history, Ted Williams who was the last player t ever hit more than .400 in a season.

My Take on it – As a baseball fan, I always love watching movies and documentaries about the sport and some of its greats.

I’ve obviously heard about Ted Williams before watching this film, but I didn’t know enough about his career and his personality.

This is an amazing documentary that is able to capture the grandiose of Williams as an athlete while also showing what kind of family man he was to his wives and children.

They make the right decision to not sugarcoat his familial relationships while showing his many accomplishments along the way because it’s is truly a refreshing look at the ugly truth.

We also get to see the kind of personality that he had which obviously affected the way people thought of him throughout his career.

The film is filled with interviews with friends, family members and obviously colleagues fro both the past and present as they allow us to get a clear perspective of what kind of personal he was when he was on and off the field.

He was always his own biggest critic and that helped push him even farther because he wanted to always be the best at everything he did.

This film proves that he may not have been the best husband or father, but they are able to establish the fact that he truly was one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Bottom Line – Such a fascinating biographical documentary. We get to see how Williams’ career moved along while also getting a clear understanding how his personality was able to constantly affect what people thought of him. His personal life was a mess and this film doesn’t sugarcoat it at all which is refreshing to see. The interviews with friends, family members and baseball colleagues both past and present help give us a better perspective of what kind of athlete he was especially when it came to his ability to be his own best critic of everything that he did. He may not have been perfect as a father or husband, but he was truly one of the greatest athletes of all time. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – There is a red seat at Fenway Park, among all the green seats, to commemorate a famous home run of Williams’ – the longest homer ever hit at the park. The home run, which traveled 502 feet, punctured off the straw hat of Joe Boucher, knocking him unconscious. Hit a homerun in Fenway Park. The ball bounced away from Boucher, who later said, “…after it hit my head, I was no longer interested [in getting the ball].” The seat is located in section 42, row 37, seat 21 of the park. Reportedly, Williams later met Boucher and apologized for hitting him, but Boucher told Williams that, since Williams didn’t intentionally try to hit him, no apology was necessary. Boucher also interpreted the incident as a sign to become a Red Sox fan, as he’d been a Yankees fan before; the Boston Globe headline the next day said “Bullseye!: Williams Knocks Sense Into Yankees Fan.” (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)