9. Ted Williams
Along with Mays, Ted Williams is considered by many to be the the greatest baseball player of all time and, by and large, the best hitter ever. What’s significant about Williams’ service is that he not only served as a Naval Aviator in World War II, but also in the Korean War.
Before he was drafted into the Navy in 1942, just four seasons into his major league career, Williams was averaging approximately 187 hits, 135 runs scored, 32 home runs, and 129 RBI to go along with a ridiculous .356/.481/.642 slash line. But instead of using his exemption (due to his mother’s financial dependence on him), Williams decided to serve, and even lost endorsements because of it.
While in the Navy, instead of accepting a cushy assignment to play for their baseball team, Williams entered the V-5 program and was considered to a highly gifted pilot, setting many records and receiving praise from his commanding officers. Following his commission as a Second Lieutenant, Williams trained pilots to fly fighter planes at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. He was at Pearl Harbor awaiting deployment orders when the war ended in 1945.
Williams returned to baseball and continued to dominate the American League until he was called to action again in 1952, this time to Korea. Though he was offered again to serve his time playing for the Navy baseball team, Williams opted for combat and deployed to South Korea where he flew 39 combat missions before losing his flight status due to pneumonia.
It was during this time that Williams served as the wingman to future astronaut and first person to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, who stated that Williams was one of the best pilots he’d ever seen.
Like Mays, Greenberg, and Feller, Williams stats would have been far greater had he not devoted five years to the military. Despite that, he won 2 MVP awards, was elected to 19 all-star games, won 6 batting titles, and 2 triple crowns to go along with 2,654 hits, 521 home runs, 1,839 RBI, and .344/.482/.634 slash line. His .482 on-base percentage is the highest in baseball history. Williams was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966.
