The 5 greatest Boston Red Sox hitters in franchise history

1. Ted Williams

Was there ever a doubt about who would be #1 on this list? The Splendid Splinter is not only the greatest Boston Red Sox hitter of all-time… He’s the greatest hitter of all-time, period.

You name it, Teddy Ballgame had it. Power? Check. Average? Check. Some of the best nicknames in the history of the game? Check. Missed part of his prime due to military service and still has one of the most impressive stat sheets ever? You bet.

In his career, Williams batted an insane .344 with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBIs. He has the highest on-base percentage of all time (.482) and the second highest slugging percentage of all-time (.634).

In 1941, he batted .406, marking the last time anyone has ever batted over .400 over an entire season. 16 years later, in 1957, Williams batted .388 just to show off his longevity. His other 4 batting titles came in 1942, 1947, 1948, and 1958.

In addition to his statistics, Williams had a top notch approach. He, much like his colleagues on this list, studied their swings endlessly to achieve perfection. Ted knew what he was good at and he knew what he was looking for when he stepped up to the plate.

In Ted Williams’ “The Science of Hitting”, the slugger estimated that he hit .400 on balls that were belt-high and down the middle. On low and outside pitches, he was more of a .230 hitter. His refined approach allowed him to hit the pitches that he wanted to hit.

He was way before his time in terms of hitting philosophy, and it allowed him to excel. Put Ted Williams in the Bigs right now (with some time to adjust and all of today’s technology) and I bet he hits .340. He isn’t referred to as “the greatest hitter of all time” for no reason.

So there you have it. The greatest Boston Red Sox hitter of all time. There’s not much else to say on the matter.