Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960)
2 time AL MVP 16 time AL All Star
6 time AL batting champ and 4 time AL rbi and home run champ
elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966
Although I admit that in the history of the franchise there are some great players at this position, there is no one as great as Ted Williams. 521 career home runs, 1839 rbi's (13th best in the history of the game), 2019 walks (4th best), .634 slugging percentage (2nd best) and a career batting average of .344 (5th best). "The Kid" was arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived. There are two great biographies that were written about Williams' life. Both delve into the complexities of his personality. Regardless of his character flaws, most notably his brashness, Teddy Ballgame was simply the best.
Like no other sport, baseball's history and the comparing of players is driven by statistics. Williams' stats as a hitter for average, power and driving in runs are better than anyone in the history of the game (Babe Ruth is the only other one in the discussion). When you take into account that Williams did not play in 1943-1945 and missed virtually all of the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to his commitment to the U.S. Navy as a pilot, it is easy to see his place in baseball history. That was five years in the prime of his career that he did not accumulate hits, runs, rbi or home runs. It is possible he could have been the all time leader in home runs and runs batted in when he retired.
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