DW_ZXi^kZh t Ask questions, clear up anything you don’t understand, and look for facts and details. Support your answers with details from the text. t Explain the difference in point MY TURN AT BAT The playground director of view between a biography and autobiography. was a man named Rodney HdX^VaHijY^Zh^cGZVY^c\ The Story of My Life Luscomb, and Rod Luscomb

Ted Williams was born in ^ci]ZÄghieZghdc i]Zhidgnd[VeZghdc¼h day they inducted me into 1918. His mother, May Venzer, was a Salvation ed^cid[k^Zl4  a^[Zlg^iiZcWni]Z the Hall of Fame Rod Luscomb was one of 6jidW^d\gVe]n eZghdcl]da^kZY^i# Army worker. She was part Mexican and part French. His father, Samuel Stuart Williams, was the people on my mind, one of the people I 6jidW^d\gVe]^ZhVgZ felt made it possible. That should tell you lg^iiZc^ci]ZÄghi a soldier, U.S. marshal, and photographer. He eZghdc!jh^c\>!bZ! was part Welsh and part Irish. something about how much a coach can VcYbn# mean to a kid. I]ZZkZcih^cVc Their son, Ted, came to VjidW^d\gVe]nVgZ have several nicknames, I suppose the first strong VXijVaZkZcihVcY including “Teddy Ballgame,” influence I had to continue in ZmeZg^ZcXZh^cV “The Splendid Splinter,” baseball, to make it my life’s work, eZghdc¼ha^[Z# and “The Kid.” was my coach at Herbert Hoover High 6hndjgZVY! in San Diego, a wonderful man named i]^c`VWdjii]Z Y^[[ZgZcXZ^ced^ci Wos Caldwell. d[k^ZlWZilZZc I’ll never forget one day I hit a ball i]ZVjidW^d\gVe]n VcYi]ZW^d\gVe]n they say went 450 feet, between the right hZXi^dchd[¹BnIjgc and center fielders. I fell down rounding Vi7Vi#º Ted recalls his childhood: third—a big skinny kid, all arms and legs— Wilber Wiley was my first real boyhood and I got thrown out at home plate. pal. Wilber had a job delivering the Evening San Diego was a ballplayer’s town, year- Tribute, and when he’d get through about an round, and by the time I was a pitcher at hour before dark, we’d go to the playground, Herbert Hoover High I was hooked. As a just the two of us, and hit, hit, hit, and throw, pitcher-outfielder, I batted .583 and .406 my throw, throw. )+ last years in high school, .430 for three years. ), Ted recalls his baseball career: BASEBALL HISTORY TIME LINE I signed my first professional contract with Sept. 28, 1941 - Williams goes the San Diego Padres at age 17 and discovered 6-for-8 in a doubleheader and finishes with the joys of paychecks and train rides. I never a .406 average.

had so much fun. L]n^hVi^bZa^cZ 1947 - Williams wins the Triple Crown V\ddY\gVe]^X by batting .343 with 32 homers and hdjgXZidjhZ^cV W^d\gVe]ndg In 1937, the Padres sold Ted 114 RBIs. VjidW^d\gVe]n4  >ci]^heVgV\gVe]! to the Boston Red Sox. In 1938, 6jidW^d\gVe]n ?d]cJcYZglddY 1948 - Williams wins the American League at the Red Sox’s farm club in YZhXg^WZhIZY¼h batting title with a .369 average. XVgZZg#=dl^hi]^h Minneapolis, Williams led the Y^[[ZgZci[gdbIZY¼h dlcVXXdjci^ci]Z league in hitting. He moved 1949 - Williams drives in a career-high eVgV\gVe]hWZ[dgZ up to the Red Sox team 159 runs. He leads the league with VcYV[iZg4  6jidW^d\gVe]n the next year. career-high 150 walks and wins the American League MVP award. 1951 - Williams hits .318 with 30 homers That spring I was a nuisance to everybody, and 126 RBIs. He scores 109 runs asking questions about hitting … I quizzed for the season. every player on the team, and they all had July 23, 1955 - Williams hits a 450-foot something to say, and the weight of the home run onto the right-field roof at evidence pretty much proved out. I can’t Comiskey Park. imagine anyone having a better, happier first July 29, 1958 - Williams hits the year in the big leagues. I used to send Rod 17th and final grand slam of his Luscomb diagrams showing how the parks career in an 11–8 win over Detroit. were laid out and where I had hit my home runs, telling him how happy I was. I hit a Sept. 28, 1960 - The final game of home run in every park, completing the list Ted Williams’ baseball career as a player. in Yankee Stadium on the last day. July 25, 1966 - Williams is inducted )- into the Hall of Fame. ). Baseball Hall of Fame

In 1941, only his third A man has to have goals—for a day, for a lifetime—and that was mine, to have people season in the majors, say, “There goes Ted Williams, the greatest Williams chased a hitter who ever lived.” Jh^c\i]ZWVhZWVaa .400 batting average. XVgYdci]^heV\Z! adXViZ[VXihVcY YZiV^ahVWdjiIZY L^aa^Vbh¼ha^[Z# L]Vidi]ZgiZmih b^\]indjjhZid Ted Williams \Vi]Zg^c[dgbVi^dc VWdjiIZYL^aa^Vbh4 Rod Luscomb used to LF 1939-1942, 1946-1960 6jidW^d\gVe]n say that in seven years on Class of 1966 =dl^hi]Zed^cid[ the playground I never broke k^Zl^ci]^heVgV" \gVe]Y^[[ZgZci[gdb a bat hitting a ball incorrectly, Theodore Samuel Williams i]Zed^cid[k^Zl that all my bats had the bruises in the same Born: August 30, 1918, San Diego, CA ^cI]ZBVcL]d >ckZciZY spot, like they were hammered there by a careful Died: July 5, 2002, Crystal River, FL 7Vh`ZiWVaa4L]Vi carpenter, right on the thick of the hitting Bats: Left Throws: Right Zk^YZcXZ[gdbi]Z iZmihhjeedgihndjg surface. That might be an exaggeration, but I VchlZg4  Played for: Boston Red Sox 6jidW^d\gVe]n believe it is true that when you put in as much GZVY^c\6Xgdhh time as I did you get results. (1939-1942, 1946-1960) IZmih =dlVgZ Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers: 1966 ?VbZhCV^hb^i]VcY IZYL^aa^VbhVa^`Z4 A hitter can’t just go up there and swing. 282 votes of 302 ballots cast (93.38%) =dlVgZi]Zn He’s got to think. Listen, when I played I knew Y^[[ZgZci4 the parks, the mounds, the batters’ boxes, the Lg^i^c\6Xgdhh Hitting Stats IZmih 8gZViZV backgrounds. I studied the pitchers. I knew what AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG KZccY^V\gVbid was going on at that plate. It used to kill me to XdbeVgZVcY .344 2292 7706 1798 2654 521 1839 24 .634 XdcigVhii]ZXVgZZgh strike out, but when I struck out I knew what it d[?VbZhCV^hb^i] was that got me and what I was going to try to do VcYIZYL^aa^Vbh# about it. *% *&