How Oklahoma compared to, say, Ted Williams

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Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
OU just posted their final stats. They hit .405 on the season. The last MLB player to hit .400 was Ted Williams in 1941.

I prorated OU's team statistics to match the number of plate appearances that Williams had (606) to compare the two ...

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*Sac flies were counted as outs in 1941 MLB.
 

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Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
What were OU's stats for the WCWS starting with regionals?

Not sure of the full stats, but OU averaged 6.1 runs in the WCWS, 8.6 runs in the NCAA tournament and 10.6 runs overall.

UCLA actually scored more runs per game in the 2019 WCWS, averaging 7.4 over 5 games. UCLA in 2010 averaged 9.4 runs, which is the WCWS record. Both of those were over 5 games. What OU did was over 8 games, which is harder to sustain.

Over 7 games, Florida averaged 6.7 in 2011 and lost. FSU averaged 5.6 over 7 in 2018 and won.

Edited to note that OU played 8 games in WCWS, not 7.
 
Last edited:
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
Not sure how to interpret the BB vs HBP #'s. Maybe " less accurate" vs. "wild"? OU had 6x as many HBP's (NCAA = wild), while Ted walked 2x as much (MLB = less accurate). Or maybe - MLB = scared logical ("If I hit Ted Williams, I'm going to need a suit of armor for my next AB").
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Not sure how to interpret the BB vs HBP #'s. Maybe " less accurate" vs. "wild"? OU had 6x as many HBP's (NCAA = wild), while Ted walked 2x as much (MLB = less accurate). Or maybe - MLB = scared logical ("If I hit Ted Williams, I'm going to need a suit of armor for my next AB").
One of the knocks on Ted throughout his career (mainly by sportswriters who he despised) was that he walked too much....Also they didn't have Evoshields back then nor did they wear helmets so you made sure to get out of the way of a ball ;)
 
Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
Not sure how to interpret the BB vs HBP #'s. Maybe " less accurate" vs. "wild"? OU had 6x as many HBP's (NCAA = wild), while Ted walked 2x as much (MLB = less accurate). Or maybe - MLB = scared logical ("If I hit Ted Williams, I'm going to need a suit of armor for my next AB").

Good questions. Just guessing, but softball players are easier to hit (ball is bigger), and softball players don't really mind being hit because it's a free base, the ball's coming only 60-70 mph or less, and sometimes they're wearing body armor. Some of them seem to enjoy taking one for the team. (Jana Johns was hit 18 times in 160 plate appearances.)

Ted Williams, on the other hand, didn't even wear a batting helmet. Just a cap. So as tough as he was, chin music had to be terrifying in those days, so I doubt he ever ran to first clapping his hand after getting plunked by a 90 mph fastball.

For the walks, that's probably just an issue of a single player vs. a whole team. Williams was significantly better than those batting after him, so he was pitched around, whereas you can't pitch around a whole team. And as Pattar eluded, Williams would take a walk. Probably the most disciplined hitter ever. His famous hitting advice was: "Get a good pitch to hit."
 
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JOHNN

Just a dad of 3 girls
Aug 5, 2019
375
43
South Louisiana
One of the knocks on Ted throughout his career (mainly by sportswriters who he despised) was that he walked too much....Also they didn't have Evoshields back then nor did they wear helmets so you made sure to get out of the way of a ball ;)

If I wouldve been able to suit up in body armor back in the day like they do these days, theres no way I wouldve been dodging pitches back when I played.
 

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