Who was better, who would you take, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams?

[sycks22]

Teddy ballgame. Fun fact: during his '41 campaign he obviously hit .406 in 606 plate appearances, nobody talks about how he only struck out only 27 times.

[mr2686]

Same year Dimaggio had 622 plate appearances and only 13 strikeouts

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Same year Dimaggio had 622 plate appearances and only 13 strikeouts

They were both incredibly efficient hitters, I don't think that can be denied by anybody.

Ted walked about 2-3 times more often then Joe D. however, and got on base at a clip of about 80+ percentage points higher.

One of the things that makes Ted so amazing. Most low strikeout guys, don't walk a lot either. They are so afraid of striking out, they will swing and hit pitches out of the zone just to make contact. Ted never swung at anything he didn't think was a strike, and he was almost always right, according to the Umps anyways.

Ted has a career walk to strikeout ratio of almost 3 to 1. Joe D. is a little better then 2 to 1, though with a lot more "contact" outs. Joe has almost as many HR's as strikeouts.

Both are pretty amazing.

[mr2686]

I think the only bad thing I can say about Ted is that he wouldn't expand his strike zone to take advantage of the Williams shift (I believe he even mentioned it later in life). If he had, he probably could have hit .600,

[ullmandds]

Ted was one of the best hitters ever...maybe the best...would have given the babe's hr record a run if he hadn't lost so many years to the war effort. JOe was smooth...and played for the yankees...Ted was the better ballplayer...and I too...am a yankees fan!!

[Iron Horse]

For me Ted Williams, but i take Joe D. on my team
To me Ted is the greatest hitter of all time. What a swing. Only if he had not missed those years...

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Same year Dimaggio had 622 plate appearances and only 13 strikeouts

And he hit 50 points lower than Ted!

Ken

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

And he hit 50 points lower than Ted!

Ken

and hit in 56 straight games.

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by mr2686

and hit in 56 straight games.

And still didn't get as many hits as Cecil Travis!

[SteveMitchell]

Excellence and longevity wins for me! If I were a club owner or general manager, I'd take the guy who was outstanding for the longest period. In this debate, it would clearly be Ted Williams. In another posting, Willie Mays (over Mickey Mantle).

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by sycks22

Teddy ballgame. Fun fact: during his '41 campaign he obviously hit .406 in 606 plate appearances, nobody talks about how he only struck out only 27 times.

Since you are on the topic of strikeouts, additional facts: in 1941 when Joe D. hit in 56 straight games he only struck out an incredible 13 times! Over his career, Joe D. struck out only 369 times in 6,821 official at bats (AB) for an amazing "1 strikeout per 18 AB" (unheard of for a power hitter!). Ted Williams struck out 709 times in 7,706 lifetime AB for an average of "1 strikeout per 11 AB" (also very impressive). Willie Mays always said he never saw a player swing the bat so consistently hard as Joltin Joe without missing many pitches.

Regarding Joe D. vs. Teddy Ballgame it just may be too close to call. While Ted was certainly the premier hitter, Joe D. was the classic "5 tool" player, and also a great hitter during his peak years. You also have to remember how many balls DiMaggio hit into "Death Valley" between the 407 and 457 sign that were simple fly ball outs. My dad told me a story about a doubleheader he attended at Yankee Stadium where DiMaggio hit 4 home runs and flied out 3 other times on or near the warning track in left-center field. He would have hit 7 home runs in any other ballpark! At peak value I would take DiMaggio because of his additional skillsets, but I honestly feel it's a coin toss.

Great Debate!
Joe T.