A Little Baseball History
by Ray Page
September 28th will mark the 49th anniversary of one of baseball’s most historic events, Ted Williams’ last time at bat. In that last at bat he did something no one else has accomplished before or since-- hitting a home run in what he knew would be his final appearance in a major league game.
Only 10,454 fans were in attendance at Fenway Park to witness this historic event. Other than watching Williams hit one last time, there was little reason to be there. The Red Sox were securely mired in 7th place, in what was then the eight-team American League. In addition, the day was dark and dreary, with a light mist falling intermittently.
Williams walked in the first inning against Baltimore Oriole lefty, Steve Barber. Barber was gone by the third, when Williams flew out to center field in his second at bat. Batting again in the fifth, Williams hit a long fly ball to right field. It looked like it would go out, but died in the mist and was caught by right fielder Al Pilarcik, with his back against the Oriole bullpen wall. Now it was the eighth, as Williams came to the plate one last time. With the count 1 and 1, Oriole right hander Jack Fisher came with the fast ball, and the classic Ted Williams swing sent it soaring over the Red Sox bullpen.
By hitting a home run in his last at bat, Ted Williams had done what had not been done before. Or had he? As Paul Harvey would say; “this is the rest of the story”.
Let’s flash back eight years and three months, to another Wednesday afternoon, June 30, 1952. It was Ted Williams Day at Fenway Park. Following the game against the Detroit Tigers, Williams would report for active duty as a U. S. Marine fighter pilot, to fly combat missions in a place called Korea. No one knew if the war in Korea would last another six months or another six years. At almost 34 years of age, it was not likely that Williams would ever appear in another major league game. This was the back drop as he came to the plate with two out and a man on first, in the seventh inning of a tie game, to face Detroit fight hander, Dizzy Trout. As Red Sox radio announcer Curt Gowdy was reminding his listeners that “this might be Ted Williams’ last time at bat in a major league uniform”, Ted Williams got all of Trout’s fast ball and deposited it in the right field stands for a game winning home run.
As it happened, Ted Williams would return to the Red Sox late in the 1953 season, and play another eight years, but no one, least of all Williams, knew that at the time. As far as he or anyone knew, Ted Williams had just hit a game winning home run in his last major league at bat.
So there you have it--Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of his time, is the only player to hit a home run in his last at bat. And now you know--he did it twice!