The man stopped playing baseball fourteen years before I was born, but not a season goes by without someone comparing the hot hitter at the time to Ted Williams. He was the last man to hit over .400 for a season, and his career average was an astounding .344. There were the 521 home runs, the .460 on-base-percentage, and winning the triple crown twice (a feat not considered attainable in baseball anymore). Even if you don't understand what these stats mean, the one thing you need to know is that Ted Williams was the greatest hitter in baseball.

There are legendary stories. Going into the final two games (a doubleheader) of the season in 1941, Williams had a batting average of .3996. If he sat out the game, his stats would round up to the forever sought .400. He refused to sit out, went 6 for 8 in the double header to finish at .406. No one has had a better season average since. On his last at-bat as a player in 1960, he went out in style with a final home run.

For all of his accolades, the most amazing move he ever made in baseball was not to play the game. Twice during the prime of his playing days, Williams put his number 9 jersey in the locker and put on a fighter pilot helmet. During WWII and the Korean War, he flew combat missions instead of smacking baseballs. Michael Jordan "retired" twice in his prime, and he played baseball and golf. Williams "retired" twice in his prime, and he went to war. Even with the most modest of assumptions of what Williams would have done in those years, there is no doubt his home run total would have rivaled Babe Ruth.

For all of his success, he still left the game with unfulfilled dreams. He played for the Boston Red Sox his entire 19-year career, and anyone who knows anything about baseball knows how the Red Sox always play second fiddle to the Yankees. Williams played in one World Series, and the Red Sox lost that year to the Cardinals. Williams hit .200 in the series and Sox never returned while he played. He also happened to play in an era with a man named Joe DiMaggio, and again usually came up as second fiddle. It was DiMaggio who won the MVP the year Williams hit .406. Their friendly rivalry lasted throughout their playing days.

The older I get, the more I realize how unique many people are to their place and time in life. They live life on their own terms, never concerned about how they fit into the grand scheme of things. Baseball has its share of these mold breakers, and Williams is up there with any of them. Today's modern athletes are treated like national treasures, and their hefty paychecks ensure them immunity from fighting for their country. I doubt we will ever see the likes of Ted Williams again.

People compared Williams to another mold breaker--John Wayne. Back then, they said 'He was a man's man' without any sexual connotation. At the 1999 All-Star game played in Boston, all of the modern day superstars of the game stood around the aging giant like autograph-seeking fans. His mere presence commanded respect and adoration, partly because he could hit a baseball better than anyone else and partly because he continued to thrive in life despite all that talent.

In life, Ted Williams could not break the curse of the Bambino and bring a World Series championship to Boston. Maybe now, the spirit of Williams stands more of a chance of topping the Yankees. Right now, however, it looks like business as usual. Boston is having a great season, and New York is still two games better. Time will tell if Williams has one more accomplishment in him.

Another legend gone, and they will continue to fall by the wayside the longer we live. All we can do is learn from them, respect them, emulate them, and become our own version of a legend.

Chris Jungle failed to get a hit in his one-plus season of little league baseball.