Solid Substitute

When baseball's mightiest hitter, Ted Williams, shattered an elbow in the July All-Star game, the Boston Red Sox went on a glum search for a substitute leftfielder. The first man they tried, utility Outfielder Clyde Vollmer, was far from Ted's class. As the hard baseball saying goes, he couldn't even carry Williams' glove. Then scrawny (148 Ibs., 5 ft. 11 in.) Billy Goodman got a chance. It turned out that Billy could not only carry the Williams glove, he was pretty handy at hefting Williams' bat. This week, Billy Goodman's .360 batting average led the American League.

At various times this season, Billy has played all over the infield. He has performed ably, if not brilliantly, at first, second and third bases and shortstop. But it is only since he took over Williams' leftfield post that Goodman has begun to get recognition for what he is: the best one-man bench in baseball. Red Sox Manager Steve O'Neill, who has been around the game for 40 years, calls him. "the best utility player I ever saw."

There was a time when 24-year-old Billy was a regular. In 1948, after three years in the minors (Atlanta and Louisville), he joined the Red Sox as their first baseman. Early this season, in a characteristic slashing slide, Billy chipped a bone in his left leg. The Red Sox had to call up Walt Dropo from the minors. Dropo hit so well (TIME, July 24) that Goodman found himself without a regular job. He soon made one for himself: filling in for injured regulars. Says Billy: "I don't care where I play. Of course, it may take a few days for me to get to feeling at home in a new position."

Billy always feels at home in the batter's box. He chokes up a bit on his 34-in., 34-oz. Ted Williams model bat, holds his elbows high, and figures confidently that he can hit all pitchers and all pitches equally well. Sometimes, he admits, "a baseball is hard to hit. There's a lot of luck in it." Luck or not, Ted Williams' substitute* seemed likely to be the 1950 batting champ of the American League.

*Last week, for the first time since his injury, Williams broke into a game as a pinch hitter. The Yankees walked him.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.