Ted Williams squares off against Jason Varitek in the second round of the Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
Is there any baseball hero more beloved than Teddy Ballgame? His on-the-field honors are still unparalleled. He led the American League in batting six times, won two Triple Crowns and two AL MVP awards. Over his 21-year career, he batted .341 — the highest average of any player who played his entire career in the live-ball era. Plus, he never played for anyone except the Red Sox. Now that’s loyalty – something he also felt for his country. He forwent baseball twice to serve in the U.S. military, as a pilot in World War II (1942-46) and the Korean War (1952-53). The infield shift was practically pioneered in his name, and in his final career at-bat, he went out with a bang in front of the Fenway faithful, hitting his 521st career home run. He owns MLB’s best career on-base percentage and the second-best slugging percentage. “If I was being paid $30,000 a year, the very least I could do was hit .400,” Williams once said. Tough to argue with a Hall of Famer.
Imagine it’s still July 24, 2004, and Jason Varitek has just shown Alex Rodriguez what a catcher’s mitt tastes like. Tek forever became a legend in Red Sox Nation at that moment. Forget the subsequent world championship, the contract extension and the accompanying “C” on his jersey. From the day he came to Boston from Seattle in a package with Derek Lowe, Varitek has been the one constant in the franchise’s jarring metamorphosis from losers to winners. The three-time All-Star has been the unheralded anchor of Boston’s pitching staff for 13 years, and he has caught the most games in franchise history, breaking Carlton Fisk’s record of 990 in 2006. He’s also the first Red Sox catcher to ever win a Silver Slugger and one of two players in baseball history to have played in a Little League World Series championship game, a College World Series championship game and an MLB World Series.
« 5. Adam Vinatieri vs. 13. Terry Francona | 2. Red Auerbach vs. 10. Curt Schilling »
