Decoding the GOATs: Ted Williams & Joey Votto’s Hitting Secrets
Ted Williams’ Timeless Hitting Wisdom: The 1987 River Debate That Predicted Modern Baseball
Imagine this: Two baseball legends, sitting in canoes on a peaceful Oregon river, arguing about how to hit a baseball. It sounds like a tall tale, but it really happened in 1987—and what they discussed changed how we understand hitting forever.
The Story Behind the Debate
Two Teenagers Who Became Legends
- Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr first met in 1936 when they were just 17 and 18 years old
- Both went on to have Hall of Fame careers with the Boston Red Sox
- Even as teenagers, they disagreed on how hitting worked
The Great River Debate
- Date: October 9, 1987
- Location: Banks of the Rogue River, Oregon
- Setting: A three-day fishing trip with former teammates
- Format: Each got 10 minutes to explain their hitting philosophy, then 5-minute Q&A sessions
- The Twist: It was all caught on video—footage lost for decades until found in Dave "Boo" Ferriss’s home and shared with ESPN
Why This Matters Today
Key Insight: Listening to Williams in 1987 sounds exactly like a modern MLB hitting coach in 2026. He was decades ahead of his time.
Even his debate opponent admitted it:
"He was so much ahead of anybody else." — Bobby Doerr
The 5 Pillars of Ted Williams’ Hitting Philosophy
Modern MLB star Joey Votto (6-time All-Star, former MVP) calls Williams’ book "The Science of Hitting" his "holy book." Here’s how Williams’ five key points from the river debate apply to today’s game:
1⃣ Quickness Is Everything
"Now, there’s two things about hitting that I want to stress. Quickness. This is a quick game and a strong game. You wanna be as quick and strong as you can be."
What This Means (ELI5)
- Quickness ≠ just swinging fast
- Quickness = TIME TO DECIDE whether to swing
- A quick swing lets you wait longer to see the pitch
- More time to decide = better choices = more walks, better hits
How Players Have Changed
| Era | Average Player Size | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s-50s | 6’0", 180-185 lbs | Contact, put ball in play |
| Today | 6’1", 210 lbs | Size + Speed = Power |
Votto’s Take
"Quickness is another term for: I have the option as the ball’s approaching to read and react… The goal is to create a positive feedback loop with your swing and swing decision. Center of the plate, swing. Center of the plate, the goal is to almost groove your swing so you’re only comfortable in the middle of the plate."
Translation: Train your swing to crush pitches down the middle. If you’re only comfortable there, you’ll naturally lay off bad pitches → more walks → higher on-base percentage.
2⃣ Hips Lead, Hands Follow
"Everything you do, hips ahead of hands."
The Science (Simplified)
- Williams didn’t know the term "kinetic chain"—but he understood it perfectly
- Kinetic Chain = Your body moves in a specific order to create maximum power
- Correct Order: Feet → Hips → Torso → Shoulders → Arms → Hands → Bat
- Williams’ Cue: "Hips ahead of hands" = Simple way to remember the sequence
Modern Tools Confirm This
- Today’s hitters use force plates (fancy scales that measure power from the ground up)
- Williams figured this out without any technology—just by watching and feeling
Votto’s Take
"Watching him stand up and demonstrate it throughout the 45-minute video helped me better understand where his mind was… to see him articulate it physically is a whole ‘nother world."
3⃣ Swing UP to Hit the Ball in the Air
"You cannot have good hip action without a slight upswing."
The Fly Ball Revolution
- 2015: 33.8% of balls hit were fly balls
- 2026: 39% are fly balls
- Williams knew this 70 years ago!
Why Fly Balls Win
- Almost every extra-base hit (doubles, triples, homers) is a fly ball
- Ground balls → usually outs
- Line drives → great, but hard to control
- Fly balls in the air = damage
The "Pull Side" Challenge
Votto explains: "The hardest thing to do, as a hitter, is to pull the ball in the air… the face of the barrel gets smaller. Combine that with the speed of the pitching… to be strong enough and quick enough to accurately match barrel to ball and hit it on the easiest side and put it in the air is the trinity. It’s the holy grail of hitting."
Translation: Hitting a home run to your pull side (left field for righties, right field for lefties) is the ultimate difficult skill—but it pays the biggest rewards.
4⃣ Longer Swing = More Bat Speed
"In order to be quick and strong, you have to have a certain length of stroke… The more stroke you have, the more chance you have to build up power and speed in this bat."
The Physics (Simple Version)
- Think of a whip or a golf swing
- Longer path = more time to accelerate = faster bat at contact
- Meeting the ball out in front of the plate = bat has traveled farther = maximum speed
Trade-offs
- Pros: Maximum power, highest exit velocity
- Cons: Harder to control, more strikeouts
- Williams knew: Opposite-field hitting has its place, but for pure damage, pull-side fly balls win
Votto’s Take
"Every time you swing, you have to max out the potential return… now that guys are bigger, now that guys are stronger, now that guys are more comfortable striking out, hitting a fly ball is absolutely the right move because it turns into a ball off the fence or over the wall. It turns into immediate points that the team needs."
5⃣ Ground Balls to the Pull Side Are the Enemy
"I wanna puke and get a knife in my throat when I’m out in front and hit a f—ing ground ball at first."
Why This Drives Hitters Crazy
- You timed it perfectly (swung early/out front)
- You swung hard with good mechanics
- Result: Weak roller to first base
The Pitcher’s Counter-Attack
- Sinker usage at highest rate since 2018 (16.6%)
- Pitchers want you to hit ground balls to your pull side
- They throw inside sinkers → you roll over → easy out
Votto’s Relatable Frustration
"There is nothing more infuriating than grounding a ball to the right-hand side as a left-handed hitter… I’d spend the entire series snapping bats and losing my cool in the dugout identically to what Ted Williams is describing in this video."
Important Takeaways {.callout}
WILLIAMS WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING
- Launch angle revolution? Williams preached it in the 1940s
- Bat speed obsession? "Length of stroke" = same concept
- Swing decisions? "Quickness" = time to read the pitch
- Kinetic chain? "Hips ahead of hands" = perfect cue
- Pull-side fly balls? The "holy grail" he identified decades early
PLAYERS EVOLVED TO MATCH HIS VISION
- Bigger, stronger athletes
- Willing to strike out for power
- Technology now proves him right
THE DEBATE FORMAT WAS GENIUS
- 10 minutes each = forced clarity
- Fishing buddies as audience = real-world test
- Result: Even with a "tie" vote, Williams’ ideas won the future
Summary: Why a 1987 River Chat Still Matters
| Williams’ 1987 Point | Modern Baseball Term | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Quickness | Swing Decision / Plate Discipline | Wait longer, choose better pitches |
| Hips Ahead of Hands | Kinetic Chain Sequencing | Maximum energy transfer |
| Slight Upswing | Launch Angle / Attack Angle | Fly balls = extra bases |
| Length of Stroke | Bat Speed / Deep Contact | Longer acceleration = harder hits |
| Hate Pull-Side Grounders | Avoiding "Rollover" / Sinker Defense | Don’t give pitchers what they want |
The Bottom Line: Ted Williams didn’t just guess—he reverse-engineered hitting through obsessive study and self-experimentation. The video proves he saw the future of baseball 40 years before it arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who was Ted Williams, and why should I care?
A: Ted Williams (1918-2002) is widely considered the greatest pure hitter in baseball history. He’s the last player to hit .400 in a season (.406 in 1941), won 2 MVP awards, 6 batting titles, and 2 Triple Crowns—all while missing 5 prime years serving as a fighter pilot in WWII and Korea. His book The Science of Hitting is still studied by MLB players today.
Q: What’s the "launch angle revolution" mentioned in the article?
A: For decades, coaches taught "swing down on the ball" to create backspin. Around 2015-2017, data showed fly balls and line drives produce much better results than ground balls. Hitters started intentionally swinging upward (positive attack angle) to lift the ball. Home runs and extra-base hits skyrocketed. Williams advocated this exact approach in the 1940s.
Q: What does "pull side" mean?
A: The pull side is the side of the field matching your batting stance:
- Right-handed hitter → Left field is pull side
- Left-handed hitter → Right field is pull side
Hitting the ball hard to your pull side in the air produces the most home runs—but it’s also the hardest skill to master.
Q: What’s a "sinker" and why do pitchers throw it?
A: A sinker is a fastball that drops sharply as it reaches the plate. It’s designed to make hitters hit the top of the ball, creating ground balls. Since ground balls are usually outs (especially to the pull side), pitchers love sinkers. Usage is at a 8-year high (16.6%) because modern hitters are so dangerous in the air.
Q: How did Joey Votto use Williams’ ideas?
A: Votto carried The Science of Hitting throughout his entire career (minors to majors). He focused on:
- Plate discipline (led league in walks 5×, OBP 7×)
- Swing decisions (only swinging at "his" pitches)
- Controlled aggression (damage on hittable pitches)
- Result: .294 career average, .409 OBP, 342 HR, 2010 NL MVP — a modern Williams disciple.
"I travel with the holy book. ‘The Science of Hitting’ was always with me at every major league stop… the more you play, the more you realize how special that book is."
— Joey Votto, 6-Time All-Star & Former NL MVP