Editing Boston Red Sox (section)

===1939–1960: The Ted Williams Era===
[[File:Ted Williams, NPG 95 403 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Ted Williams]] in 1940]]
In 1939, the Red Sox purchased the contract of [[outfielder]] [[Ted Williams]] from the minor league [[San Diego Padres (PCL)|San Diego Padres]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]], ushering in an era of the team sometimes called the "Ted Sox". Williams consistently hit for both high power and high average, and is generally considered one of the greatest hitters of all time. The right-field bullpens in Fenway were built in part for Williams' left-handed swing, and are sometimes called "Williamsburg". Before this addition, it was over {{convert|400|ft|m}} to right field. He served two stints in the [[United States Marine Corps]] as a pilot and saw [[active duty]] in both World War II and the [[Korean War]], missing at least five full seasons of baseball. His book ''The Science of Hitting'' is widely read by students of baseball. He is currently the last player to hit over .400 for a full season, batting .406 in 1941.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ted Williams Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/willite01.shtml |access-date=October 31, 2013 |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Williams feuded with sports writers his whole career, calling them "The Knights of the Keyboard", and his relationship with the fans was often rocky as he was seen spitting towards the stands on more than one occasion.

With Williams, the Red Sox reached the [[1946 World Series]] but lost to the [[1946 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] in seven games in part because of the use of the "Williams Shift", a defensive tactic in which the shortstop moves to the right side of the infield to make it harder for the left-handed-hitting Williams to hit to that side of the field. Some have claimed that he was too proud to hit to the other side of the field, not wanting to let the Cardinals take away his game. His performance may have also been affected by a pitch he took in the elbow in an exhibition game a few days earlier. Either way, in his only World Series, Williams gathered just five singles in 25 [[At bat|at-bats]] for a .200 average.

The Cardinals won the 1946 Series when [[Enos Slaughter]] scored the go-ahead run all the way from first base on a [[Hit (baseball)|base hit]] to left field. The throw from [[Leon Culberson]] was cut off by shortstop [[Johnny Pesky]], who relayed the ball to the plate just a hair too late. Some say Pesky hesitated or "held the ball" before he turned to throw the ball, but this has been disputed.

Along with Williams and Pesky, the Red Sox featured several other star players during the 1940s, including second baseman [[Bobby Doerr]] and center fielder [[Dom DiMaggio]] (the younger brother of [[Joe DiMaggio]]).

The Red Sox narrowly lost the AL pennant in 1948 and 1949. In 1948, [[1948 Boston Red Sox season|Boston]] finished in a tie with [[1948 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland]], and their loss to Cleveland in a [[one-game playoff]] ended hopes of an all-Boston World Series. Curiously, manager [[Joe McCarthy (baseball manager)|Joseph McCarthy]] chose journeyman [[Denny Galehouse]] to start the playoff game when the young lefty phenom [[Mel Parnell]] was available to pitch. In 1949, the [[1949 Boston Red Sox season|Red Sox]] were one game ahead of the [[1949 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]], with the only two games left for both teams being against each other, and they lost both of those games.

The 1950s were viewed as a time of tribulation for the Red Sox. After Williams returned from the Korean War in 1953, many of the best players from the late 1940s had retired or been traded. The stark contrast in the team led critics to call the Red Sox' daily lineup "Ted Williams and the Seven Dwarfs". [[Jackie Robinson]] was even worked out by the team at Fenway Park, however, owner Tom Yawkey did not want an African American player on his team. [[Willie Mays]] also tried out for Boston and was highly praised by team scouts. In 1955, [[Frank Malzone]] debuted at third base and Ted Williams hit .388 at the age of 38 in 1957, but there was little else for Boston fans to root for. Williams retired at the end of the 1960 [[1960 Major League Baseball season|season]], famously hitting a home run in his final at-bat as memorialized in the [[John Updike]] story "Hub fans bid Kid adieu." The Red Sox finally became the last Major League team to field an [[African American]] player when they promoted [[infielder]] [[Pumpsie Green]] from their AAA [[farm team]] in 1959.