Major League Baseball

Splendid Splinter honored with stamp

Published Sep. 2, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams' likeness will grace a US postage stamp in 2012, the US Postal Service announced Friday.

Williams was selected as the last of four baseball players to be honored in the US Postal Service's Major League Baseball All-Stars series.

The Red Sox legend joins Yankee great Joe DiMaggio, Cleveland's color-barrier breaker Larry Doby and Pirates legend Willie Stargell.

Williams, the last ballplayer to hit .400 in a single season, is widely considered one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game. The 19-time All-Star finished his career with a .344 average which ranks fifth all-time.

The two-time American League MVP is one of only two players in major league history to collect baseball's elusive triple crown twice — batting .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI in 1942 and .343 with 32 home runs and 114 RBI in 1947. Both accomplishments were split, in part, due to Williams' service during World War II where he served as a US Marine Corps pilot. Williams also missed parts of the 1952 and 1953 baseball seasons to serve in the Korean War.

Williams entered the league in April 1939 and quickly established himself as a star, leading the league with 145 RBI and batting .345 as a rookie. For the next 21 years, Williams' name was synonymous with the Red Sox. "The Splendid Splinter" went on to amass 2,654 hits, 521 home runs and 1839 RBI during his remarkable career.

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