"Batting With Ted Williams" begins with the July 25, 1966 Baseball Hall-Of-Fame inductions at Cooperstown, New York, during which both Casey Stengel and Ted were inducted. You'll hear Ted's induction speech and then see brief clips of Ted in action playing for the Boston Red Sox. The rest of the film is instructional and was shot in Fenway Park with Ted miked and in uniform at home plate. During the film, Ted talks about and demonstrates the fundamentals of good hitting. How to select a bat of the correct length and weight, knowing the strike zone, the importance of quick hands and wrists, and how to gain strength in hands and wrists are some of the topics Williams talks about. Ted defines a good swing and the dangers of unnecessary motion or a "hitch", as well as proper stride, stance and weight distribution. Williams shows the disadvantages of crowding the plate and tells how to solve this problem. Throughout the film, excellent slow-motion shots show Ted's perfect swing, as he demonstrates the basics of good batting.
The second film on this video is based on Ted's own book "The Science Of Hitting", and was made during Ted's stint as manager of the Texas Rangers. The film begins with an introduction of Ted and recognition of his greatness as a player who hit .388 in 1957 at the age of 39, and .316 his last season, which culminated with Ted hitting a home run in his last at-bat in the major leagues! Except for the scenes of star players throughout the film, most of the instructional segments are shot in Arlington Stadium, the old home of the Rangers in Texas
