Ted Williams: The Seasons of the Kid

by Richard Ben Cramer

Uses photographs to trace the life and career of Ted Williams, and attempts to depict his complex personality

Genres: Sports

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Richard Ben Cramer was an American journalist and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1979 for his coverage of the Middle East. His work as a political reporter culminated in What It Takes: The Way to the White House, an account of the 1988 presidential election that is considered one of the seminal journalistic studies of presidential electoral politics.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ted Williams is arguably the best hitter of all time. He led the American League is several offensive categories for many years. There were some full seasons where his on base percentage was over 50%. He was a rare combination of hitting for power and average and averaged roughly one base-on-balls per game played. He also led the league every season in being the most irascible personality. He was a perfectionist in his hitting performance and did not easily tone that down when dealing with others. However, some of his response to the press was justified. There were some writers that refused to give Williams the benefit of any doubt.
This book is largely a pictorial history of the baseball life of Ted Williams. Many of the images are of him in mid-swing. It portrays him as he was, oversensitive to the criticism of fans, and frustrated at not having his statistics accepted for what they were. He had one of the best eyes that ever stepped into the batter’s box, yet he was criticized for taking too many walks. People often forget that Williams was on a team that had some very good hitters. He led the league in runs scored seven seasons, averaging almost one run scored per game. Scoring over one hundred runs in a season that were not due to home runs means that teammates sent you around the bases.
This is a very even-handed, visually oriented book about Ted Williams. It is the kind of book you read, put on the shelf and then read over again every few years.

[Ken Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Ben Cramer's profile is right up there with Updike's "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" as the best thing ever written about Ted Williams. The only way to determine which is number one is to base it on which one I'm reading currently. So right now, RBC is the greatest writer about Teddy Ballgame who ever lived.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really almost more of a "coffee table" book, with lots - lots! - of photos and somewhat sparse text. I think, knowing that there have already been several well-regarded books about Ted Williams' life (including his autobiography!), that Cramer felt he could take an almost more poetic tone. I have always appreciated Cramer's work, and this book, for what it is, does not disappoint.