The greatest hitter who ever lived died of heart failure early this morning. Though he suffered from heart problems for several years, Ted Williams' passing today was still a sad moment for baseball. He performed spectacularly as a player and contributed much to the game after his retirement and induction into the Hall of Fame.

Williams was born in San Diego, California on August 30, 1918, living there throughout his youth. He began playing baseball as a boy and was the star of the Herbert Hoover High School team, leading them to a state Championship. His mother turned down a contract for her 17-year-old son with the New York Yankees in 1936, but gave into Bill Lane, the owner of the San Diego Padres, then in the Pacific Coast League.

The Red Sox were impressed with his performance in the PCL and purchased him from the Padres for $25,000 in 1937. Williams played for Boston's AA team, the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1938, winning the league's Triple Crown. The next season Williams went to Spring Training with the major league team and made his debut on Opening Day, April 20, 1939.

Williams made his intentions known early, declaring his rookie season that when he walked down the street he wanted people to say "There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived." His performance that season supported his goal as he hit .327(seventh in the league) in 565 AB with a .436 OBP (sixth) and .609 SLG (fourth). That season he adopted the nickname of "The Kid", though as his career wore on he also became known as "The Splendid Splinter" and "Teddy Ballgame."

Many sources have documented his polarized relationship with the Boston fans. His cap tipping was well known in his rookie season with a big sweeping motion, but that was the only year he tipped his hat to the fans as a player. Despite only a slight drop in his power numbers and an actual increase in his batting average, the Red Sox fans began to boo him in 1940 and he began to fight with the fans and the media.

Williams held the grudge through 1991, when he borrowed a cap to tip to the Fenway fans on Ted Williams Day. He also tipped his hat at the 1999 ceremony honoring the All-Century Team, held in Boston during that season's All-Star proceedings.

The 1940 season wasn't all bad for Williams, as he had one of several memorable career moments that year, hitting the game-winning home run of the All-Star game.

In 1941, he achieved lasting fame when he finished the season with a .406 BA. He remains the last player to hit .400 in a full season. Williams approach to that landmark has defined him for many years, as he could have entered the record books with a .3995 BA, rounded up to .400, by sitting out the final day of the season. Instead he played both games of a double header, going 6 for 8 to raise his average distinctly above the mark.

At the time, his season was overshadowed by Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak that year. DiMaggio also stole the MVP award. The two players' rivalry continued throughout the course of their lives, with DiMaggio claiming the title of Greatest Living Ballplayer until his death in March of 1999.

He won the Triple Crown in 1942 before heading off to join the Navy reserve as a pilot. Although he could have avoided World War II with a deferment, he missed the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons while enlisted. He excelled at his new task as well as his old, setting several records during his Marine training. His records for reflexes, coordination, and visual reaction time in student gunnery still stand.

Williams returned to baseball in 1946 and resumed his formidable march into the history books, winning the MVP that season, and the Triple Crown the next. However, he suffered the greatest disappointment of his career when the Red Sox lost the World Series in 1946, especially as he performed below average during those seven games. His excellence continued over the next few years, culminating with Williams winning the 1949 MVP. The next major event in his career happened during the 1950 All-Star game. In the first inning of that game, Williams made a leaping catch and broke his elbow on the left-field wall of Comiskey Park. He stayed in the game until the ninth inning and singled to drive in a run, but his season was shortened by the injury.

In 1952, he was called back to fight in the Korean War, causing him to miss most of that season and the next. Had Williams played during the five seasons he missed due to wars, his cumulative statistics would rank much higher on the career lists than they do today. One can quite easily presume he would have hit 30 HR in each of those seasons, adding 150 to his career 521 HR and placing him second all-time as of his retirement; perhaps he could have hit .400 again as well.

While he didn't fly in active duty during World War II, he flew 39 missions in Korea. Coincidentally, he was Astronaut and Senator John Glenn's wingman for a portion of the war. Williams partially lost his hearing as a result of combat during the Korean War.

He returned again to baseball after the war and compiled seven more seasons of high-level production. Although, he slipped during the 1959 season, he regained much of his prior form in his final season. His career ended as one would expect for the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, with a home run in his final at-bat.

Williams led the league in OBP 11 times, SLG 8 times, and OPS 9 times during his 19 seasons of ball, while not qualifying in two of those seasons due to the Korean War. He holds the career OBP record and is second overall in career SLG and OPS. Williams won six batting titles and led the league in HR 4 times, RBI 4 times, Runs 6 times, BB 8 times, and 2B twice. When he wasn't leading the league, he was normally among the top 10 in every major statistical category except stolen bases. Aside from the two seasons he won the MVP, he was in the top 10 in MVP voting 10 times. Williams was an All-Star in all but his rookie and 1952 seasons. The Red Sox retired his #9 in 1984.

He took to heart advice from Rogers Hornsby, the greatest right-handed batter in history and a batting instructor with the Minneapolis Millers when Williams was there in 1938; Hornsby told him to "get a good ball to hit." In addition to practicing patience at the plate, he studied the opposing pitchers very closely. He had very good eyesight, but attributed most of his success to constant practice. By the end of his career, umpires deferred to Williams as to whether the pitch was a strike or a ball.

Williams wasn't stingy with his hitting knowledge. He freely shared his advice with any player who asked, helping many players over the years with personal instruction. In 1971 he published a book entitled "The Science of Hitting", which is considered to be one of the best instruction manuals for batters. The Society for American Baseball Research bestowed their Hero of Baseball Award upon Williams in 1997.

From 1969-1972, he managed the Washington Senators, though he retired as a manager after the Senators moved to Texas in '72. He had a losing record of 273-364 as a manager. However his team greatly improved during his first season as a manager, earning him the 1969 Manager of the Year Award.

Despite his contentious relationship with the media, he was quite generous to the public, devoting considerable time and money to children's cancer research among other charities. When he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, he used his induction speech to lobby for the inclusion of Negro League players in the Hall of Fame.

He liked to keep his personal life private, but he had three wives and is survived by three children, Bobby Jo, Claudia, and John Henry. John Henry is playing minor league baseball for the first time this season with Boston's Gulf Coast League team at the age of 33, though he broke his rib earlier this week.

In addition to baseball, Williams was an avid fisherman and also holds a place in the Fisherman's Hall of Fame. While a player, he would sometimes treat the batboys to fishing trips.

We celebrate his life and mourn his passing.