Ted Williams Was Right About Everything. This Lost Footage Proves It.

In October 1987, on the banks of Oregon's Rogue River, two Hall of Famers settled a half-century argument. Ted Williams vs. Bobby Doerr. Hitting purist vs. conventional wisdom. And thanks to footage lost for decades, we finally get to witness the masterclass.

The video—found in the home of late Red Sox teammate Dave "Boo" Ferriss and shared with ESPN—captures Williams and Doerr on a fishing trip, trading 10-minute manifestos on the art of hitting. The result? A 45-minute Ted Williams clinic that sounds like it was recorded in 2026, not 1987.

Joey Votto, the modern game's ultimate Williams disciple, calls "The Science of Hitting" his holy book. Now he's here to translate the master's words for today's launch-angle, bat-speed-obsessed world.

Point 1: "Quickness. This is a quick game and a strong game."

Williams preached quickness before it was cool. Votto says that quickness isn't just bat speed—it's swing decisions. The quicker your swing, the more time to decide what to swing at. Groove your swing for the center of the plate, and the edges become taking pitches, not chasing them. It's the modern approach, straight from a guy who never saw a force plate.

Point 2: "Everything you do, hips ahead of hands."

Williams never said "kinetic chain," but he lived it. His entire swing was a violent, sequential coil—hips firing before hands ever got to the zone. Today's hitters spend millions on tech to measure what Ted just felt.

Point 3: "You cannot have good hip action without a slight upswing."

Decades before the launch-angle revolution, Williams was the original fly-ball hunter. Votto explains why pulling the ball in the air is the "holy grail" of hitting—and why so many hitters die trying to do it. Fly ball rates are up. Ted saw it coming.

Point 4: "The more stroke you have, the more chance you have to build up power."

Translation? Bat speed. Longer swing path equals more momentum at contact. Williams didn't need a juiced ball. At 6'4", 225 pounds, with a vice grip, he was launching dead balls out of Fenway. Votto's point: bigger, stronger hitters should absolutely sell out for fly balls.

Point 5: "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."

Nothing has changed. Grounding out to the right side still makes left-handed hitters lose their minds. Votto feels it. Williams felt it. Sinker usage is at its highest since 2018 because pitchers know it. Some things never change—including the rage.

Williams was right. Doerr fought valiantly, and the fishing buddies called it a tie. But anyone watching knows: Ted was operating on another plane. And now, 40 years later, we're all just catching up.