Baseball Returns In One Week

Tom Grieve's experience on Ted Williams:

"Ted Williams was debating whether to play in the "Jimmy Fund Game" in Boston, at Fenway in 1972. 

He wasn't sure until Mr. Yawkey (Thomas Yawkey Red Sox owner) asked him personally to play, so he did. 

He came into the dugout looking for a bat for batting practice. He was in the zone now, not like the rest of us. I used a W183 bat, I had no idea what it stood for, but he picked out that bat, and I later found out the W stood for Williams! 

Ted grabbed the bat and said, 'Now this is a damn good bat.'

Then he went looking for pine tar and screamed out, 'There's too much f****** oil in this pine tar, no wonder you guys can't f****** hit.'

So he walked to the plate, and Lee Stange was throwing. Ted  screamed at him, 'Now throw the ball hard, don't be throwing any shit up here.'

He took the first pitch, Ted always took the first pitch. I looked at a teammate and said, 'I hope he swings & misses 20 times.'

Ted took 15 swings, and hit every one on the sweet spot. He hit every one hard. 

I looked at Nellie Fox after the round and said, 'Nellie, that was pretty impressive…. The guy hasn't picked up a bat in five years and he hit every ball hard,''' Nellie just looked at me and said, 'Ted`s has been hitting in the cage for six weeks, just in case he decided to play today. You didn't really think he would go out there and embarrass himself?"

• The Jimmy Fund Game: The Jimmy Fund is a major fundraising event for Boston Children's Hospital, and Ted Williams was a strong supporter of the charity. 
• Williams's Appearance: Williams, who was days shy of his 54th birthday, was a special attraction for the game, and fans chanted "We want Ted!". 
• The Home Run: Williams hit a ball that was ruled to have hit the foul pole, and the official scorer ruled it a home run, which led to Yawkey donating an additional $250 to the Jimmy Fund. 

• Other Players: Ted Lepcio and Walt Dropo also hit home runs in the game. 

• Red Sox Win: Luis Tiant threw a four-hitter and the Red Sox won, 4-0. 

• Williams's Impact: Williams had a significant impact on the Jimmy Fund, and Mike Williams, the Jimmy Fund Head, stated that "If it wasn't for Ted Williams, I'm convinced that the Jimmy Fund would not be what it is today". 

• The "W183" refers toa signature model of baseball bat used by Ted Williams, a model known for its weight and length, and can be found in Louisville Slugger Professional Bat Ordering Records.