John Kerry: “Senator Kennedy and I are delighted to join in a resolution paying tribute to a unique American who passed away last…”

“Senator Kennedy and I are delighted to join in a resolution paying tribute to a unique American who passed away last Friday at the age of 83--a fighter to the end, and really a rather remarkable and fascinating individual--Ted Williams. Over the span of 21 amazing years with the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams redefined baseball's greatness. Everyone knows about his .406 batting average in 1941. Not everyone knows that he had an option to settle that year for a less than .400, or that he would have been rounded up to a .400 batting average. It was about .399. In the last day of season, with the doubleheader, a day that he was offered the opportunity to sit it out so he wouldn't lose his .400 if he had a bad day, there was no way he would do that. It was not his style. He stepped up to bat, and hit 6 for 8 and took his average up to the .406, which now stands as a memorable and unequaled batting average since that period of time. He had 521 career home runs; a .344 lifetime batting average; 2 of the 4 Red Sox Triple Crown Awards, twice the American League's Most Valuable Player; 6-time American League Batting Champion, 18 American League All-Star appearances; and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was quite literally the father of the Red Sox nation, and, for millions of us, he came to live out what was his greatest wish--that if people ever saw him walk down the street they would say, There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived.”