Ted Williams : Do gods really not answer letters ?
- Makio Mukai
- May 30
- 5 min read
Wednesday, September 28, 1960, at Fenway Park. If you get what I'm talking about from this, you must be a big MLB fan.
That day, a 42-year-old great man who had played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox played his final game. That man was Ted Williams, the only major leaguer I have ever loved from the bottom of my heart. In that game, something happened that can only be described as divine providence. That divine providence is as follows: A 28-year-old young writer was watching the game from the infield seats behind third base. That young writer was John Updike, who would later be recognized as an excellent writer and win the Pulitzer Prize twice. About a month after the game, on October 22, 1960, Updike wrote a column for the famous magazine “The New Yorker” that delved into the essence of Ted Williams through the game. Even today, it is widely known as a masterpiece of sports columns. I also think it is a great masterpiece, and I would even say it is the best column in baseball columns.
Before I get into the content of this column, let me first talk about the title. "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu." It's really cool that it's a string of short words that doesn't seem like English, and it's also great that the last three words contain the letter "d" to rhyme. You can really understand how great it is by reading it aloud. ...By the way, Kid is the nickname of Ted Williams. Hub is Boston. There are two Japanese translations of this column, and both are excellent, but neither of them can convey the elegance of this English title in Japanese. No matter who translates it, I don't think it's possible, because there are some insurmountable differences between English and Japanese.
There's another reason I mentioned the title: if you search the Internet now for this title, you can instantly access the full text of this column, because “The New Yorker” has made it available online for anyone to read for free. I think this is because it's a great column and they want as many people as possible to read it.
Now, there is a famous passage in this column that strikes a chord with readers.
Ted Williams hit a home run in his last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning of his last game as an active player. However, Ted Williams quickly circled the bases as usual and quickly retreated to the dugout. The enthusiastic fans expected Ted Williams to come out of the dugout and respond to their cheers. The other players also asked him to do the same, but Ted Williams remained in the dugout and did not respond to the cheers of the fans. After describing this situation in detail, Updike wrote, "Gods do not answer letters". This famous passage is known as a wonderful sentence that expresses Ted Williams, a lone batting genius who went his own way, in a very elegant way. I also think this is a very elegant and wonderful passage, and I love it.
However, some people criticize Ted Williams for this attitude. They say he is cocky, rude, and has problems with his humanity.
Ted Williams was often criticized for his problems with his humanity. It is true that he was sometimes rude, such as appearing at official events without a tie. He was not good at socializing, and he did not always get along well with the press. However, we should not forget that everyone has many facets. Of course, Ted Williams also had many facets. I would like to briefly introduce just two of them here.
First, his contributions through the Jimmy Foundation. This foundation was established in Boston with the aim of advancing research and treatment of childhood cancer. It is widely known that Ted Williams spared no effort for the Jimmy Foundation, always led fundraising efforts, and fought to save children's lives.
Next is the speech Ted Williams gave when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. In the days when Major League Baseball was closed to blacks, blacks had no choice but to play in the "Negro Leagues", no matter how good they were. Ted Williams argued that such black players should be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This speech is said to be one of the catalysts that led to many outstanding black players being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
I cannot conclude that Ted Williams, who has these facets, is cocky, rude, or has problems with humanity. And do gods who have these facets really not answer letters? Something that seems to answer this question happened in Ted Williams' last game.
After hitting a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, Ted Williams took his defensive position in left field in the top of the ninth inning. However, he was immediately replaced by another player at the manager's instruction and returned to the dugout. If he was going to do something like that, you would think that he should not have been in the defensive position from the beginning of the inning, but the manager created an opportunity for the audience to see Ted Williams one more time and say their final farewell.
Updike calmly wrote about Ted Williams returning from his left field defensive position to the dugout, but he didn't write about what happened after he arrived there. However, there is a book that goes into detail about it. "Baseball's Great Moments"(1974, A Rutledge Book Crown Publishers, Inc.) by Joseph Reichler, who is well-known as both a sports writer and a baseball historian. This is a classic that has had several new editions. This book says, “When Ted reached the dugout, he turned, and for a moment it seemed he would acknowledge the fans with a tip of cap. He hesitated, then ducked his head under the roof.” In other words, Joseph Reichler’s book shows us a touching facet of the lone batting genius, who looks and hesitates. I think that if this is true, then Updike's famous passage may be an oversimplification of the man Ted Williams was, and may not capture his essence. However, some people may wonder if what Joseph Reichler’s book says is true, since John Updike never mentioned it. But I believe it is true. Considering the many facets of Ted Williams, it can only be considered true.
If I were to write about Ted Williams, I’d like to write, " Gods wonder whether they should answer letters" or, "Gods do not answer letters in a way that anyone can understand". I have to admit that these are not as elegant or wonderful as Updike's famous passage, but I'd like to think they get closer to the essence of Ted Williams.
( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)