What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?: A Remembrance

Ted Williams lived the kind of irrepressible life that Hollywood tried to invent for its toughest actors; old-skool masculinity personified, he was the finest baseball player of a generation (if not all time), a fisherman worthy of Hemingway's prose, and a lifelong Marine who served his country in not one but TWO deadly wars, the second of which nearly cost him his own life. He was the eternal paradox, the New England sports hero with the "When Guns Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Guns" bumper sticker on his pick-up truck, the all-time All-Star outfielder who practiced his swing while playing defense, the surly bane to those in the sports press charged with selling his image to the Boston public, and the eternal cynic who could never fully give himself to the public's adoration because he would always hear the 2 or 3 boos among the thousands of cheers his very presence on the field generated. This book does a fine job of encapsulating the highlights of Williams' career, covered sparingly among a (then) current interview of the man as living legend approaching his 70's. But the real joy and success of the book is the author's capturing the essence of the magnitude of Williams to the point that you can't possibly help but feel that you are listening to the man thunder away in your own living room, rather than from a far-off house in the Florida Keys (or from the more appropriate peak of Mount Olympus). Most enjoyable to me is the author's penchant FOR PRINTING WILLIAMS' QUOTES IN ALL CAPS (wherein I can't help but read them aloud -and at suitable volume- to my fiancee', much to her dismay). We have a suitable account of Williams' life after his time as an active player and manager, but before his health began to rapidly deteriorate. It is a full portrait, balancing the more infamous qualities of the man with those that Williams fiercely guarded during his lifetime; that he was, beneath the callous exterior, as warm and giving a soul that baseball would be far more fortunate than it deserves to have as an ambassador today. It's a joy to read, seemingly almost an afterthought in its brevity, but when considered that it was only ever supposed to be an article for Esquire magazine, it surely ranks among the finest sports writing of all time.

This book is deceptively short, yet like Ted Williams swinging at a baseball in his prime --- it packs one hell of wallop! Amazingly, the reader gets a very well-rounded picture of Williams the man, Williams the out-sized legend, Williams the S.O.B. and of course in his most famous guise as baseball's "greatest hitter who ever lived." The last man ever to hit .400 for a season with 521 career home runs to his credit (including one on his last ever time at bat), he was also the only man ever elected to both the baseball and fly-fishing halls of fame. His life was extremely rich and full and reads like it was five lifetimes rolled into one. A fighter pilot during WWII, many argue he may have even forfeited some of his best years in baseball to serve his country.... Considering his well-established contributions to the science of hitting, that's a scary thought! Anyway, if you're looking for a short and breezy read on one of baseball's all-time-greats look no further than this book by Richard Ben Cramer.

Some new material is sandwiched around it, but the core of this small book is one of the finest pieces of sports journalism ever, Richard Ben Cramer's justly famous profile of Ted Williams which appeared in Esquire in 1986. This extended essay was also published in a fine photo collection about Williams, Seasons of the Kid. Williams' passing has brought it back into print, and with good reason. For all the millions of words expended during and after Williams' lifetime trying to explain him, I doubt that none came closer to the heart of the man than Cramer.Cramer is also author of a much-praised and much criticized biography of Williams' contemporary and rival, Joe DiMaggio. Although his book about the Yankee Clipper was subtitled "The Hero's Life," Cramer found very little heroic in DiMaggio beyond the baseball field. Not so in the case of Williams. Revealed here is a true American original, loud, brash, profane, stubbornly independent, courageous in two tours of service to his country, the man who set out to earn the title of Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, and who, in the eyes of many fans, made good on that lofty objective.It's interesting to note that Williams inspired not one, but two absolute classics of sportswriting. (The other being John Updike's famous account of Ted's final game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.") Other books may give you more details about Williams' exploits, both on and off the field. But none will come as close to capturing the essence of the man.--William C. Hall

I read this book in one sitting! I couldn't put it down. It's a slim volume, but gives you the "meat" of who the real Ted Williams was. If you're a Williams fan you gotta have this one!

"What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?" by Richard Ben Cramer is a wonderful paean to the greatest hitter who ever lived.You can almost hear Ted's booming voice vroom off the pages. Mr. Cramer absolutely makes him come alive.This is short, sweet, swift and pleasant read. It gets right to the point of this larger than life character.A must for any Ted Williams or Red Sox fan, and a delightful treat for any baseball fan.