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This is Tim Tmaras of Sports Illustrated. My guest is manager Ted Williams of the Washington Senators.
Ted, with what you've seen of the pitching today, how do you feel you'll do against some of the pitchers now?
Well, I've got to be perfectly honest and tell you that I've seen some good pitching for sure.
But I've also seen a lot of pitchers in the last 30 games, which comprises spring training in the season.
I've seen a lot of pitchers that are pretty hittable.
And so I think the overall is not that much different one way or another.
I think that there's pitchers just like when I played that were extra tough,
and pitchers that I hit against then that were pretty nice.
And I think the same thing applies today.
How many players do you feel live up to their potential,
and how much do you feel a player could improve my intense practice and concentration?
Well, I think that it's safe to say that the majority of players don't live up to their potential.
And I think that probably all of such a high percentage would look back after their career is over and say,
boy, I missed a boat, some more than others, of course.
And so I think that there's just plenty of players that are not living up to their potential.
Ted Williams, how do you think you will feel when you step onto the field at Fenway Park for the first time in a foreign uniform?
Well, I'm going to feel kind of mixed.
I can assure you one thing, we're going to try to beat them.
And I have a tremendous amount of friends in New England and Boston,
and I suppose that maybe some of them might be a little bit doubted to really hear the root for,
but it will be great to be in Fenway.
My fondest moments and fondest memories are with Boston,
and it will just be great to be up there again.
Your life has been such that your main associations have been with baseball, the military, and fishing.
In which of these three areas have you found the strongest personal relationships?
Well, that's a tough question. I really don't know.
But I think that when everything's said and done,
that baseball has to be certainly the most important thing that ever happened to me.
I'm sure that, and probably the thing I enjoy the most, because it just meant everything to me,
everything that I've seen, everything I've done, everything I've been able to do, including fishing,
baseball is responsible.
Well, Ted Williams, I've known you for about 15 years now.
We've been great friends, and I'm glad to see you back in baseball.
Thank you very much, Keith. I appreciate that.
This is Keith Morose of Sports Illustrated.