During our tour of the Louisville Slugger facility we heard a very interesting story about a visit Ted Williams paid to the factory back in his playing days. Apparently, he’d placed an order for bats and as was customary at the time he stopped by Slugger during a tour his ballclub was making to the area.
Ahead of his visit a factory worker checked all the bats for size, shape and weight and found nine of the ten were identical on all counts. One weighed slightly more than the other nine (it was one tenth of an ounce heavier). The worker made an indistinguishable mark on the one “off” bat and waited for Mr. Williams’ arrival.
When Ted came to the factory and handled the bats, he quickly decided one wasn’t right. The worker took the bat back and shuffled it in with the other bats and asked Ted to prove he could sense the difference a second time. Sure enough, after handling all the bats he handed one to the worker and said, “This one’s a little off.” And he was right!
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Proof once again that he lived up to the moniker he sought: the greatest hitter that ever lived. I only wish more of us today could’ve seen him play. Two tours of duty, he was Manny with a conscience.