By Ben Bradlee Jr.
Little, Brown and Company
864 pages
“When Williams broke into the majors, the big sluggers were all using heavy bats – between thirty-six and forty ounces. When Ted ordered lighter bats, John Hillerich, then the head of Hillerich & Bradsby [bat makers], tried to talk him out of it. Ted insisted, arguing that the speed of his swing, its torque and whip, would generate more power than Hillerich’s heavier bats alone. A lighter bat also gave him more control. It allowed him to wait a fraction of a second longer before he committed to swinging at a pitch: if he could wait longer, he would not be fooled as often.
“Williams had made his first visit to the factory in Louisville in the spring of 1941, with Bobby Doerr. They arrived half an hour before the plant gate opened, and Ted couldn’t wait to get inside, examine the wood, and quiz the lathe operators who actually fashioned the bats from billets. He met an old-timer on the factory line named Fritz Bickel, who presented him with a choice billet from which he promised to construct a nice bat. Bickel pointed out that the wood had two knots in it, which helped make it harder. Ted gave Bickel $25 and would send him other gratuities over the ensuing years. Bickel would reciprocate by prowling the factory line looking for only the best wood for the Kid.”
