#9 & #5

Spring has not sprung in my neighborhood yet, but it has in Arizona and Florida. My Royals may stink again, but they have to be better. Right? Baseball will be here for real in just a few weeks. I can’t wait. One thing I wonder is will we ever see players like #5 & #9? My two favorite players of all time. One was my childhood hero and the other I never saw play.
#5 George Brett was the greatest Royal ever. KCs only Hall of Fame player. He played hard every game and had an unequaled respect for the game. My greatest baseball memory is the 85 World Series. #5 almost put himself out of the game sliding into the dugout for a foul ball. Cards fans can whine about game 6 until the end of time, #5 and the Royals won. #5 was one of the greatest hitters ever and he hit .390 to win the batting title the closest any player has come to #9s .406 in 41. Like #9 he could have sat to protect his batting average, but he played.
#9 Ted Williams was the greatest hitter ever and the last player to hit over .400. That is not why I love Teddy Ballgame. He missed 5 years of his prime to WWII and Korea. He did not have cushy P.R. duty he was a fighter pilot. He was not only a pilot, but a by God U.S. Marine. He could have ducked out of Korea, but he went and flew combat missions. When he hit .406 he could have sat to protect his average, but he played a double header and went 6 for 8 and increased his average. Ted’s numbers may not reflect how great of a player he was, but they were still enough to put him in the Hall of Fame. He always listed being a Marine fighter pilot as one of his greatest achievements.
I hope I see players like these two again, but I doubt I’ll see that kind of heart again. Thank you #5 for the memories and #9 thank you for so much more.