Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. Williams was the last player to hit .400 in a single season, and “The Splendid Splinter” had one of the sweetest swings in MLB history.
Williams once famously said that “I think without question the hardest single thing to do in sport is to hit a baseball,” a quote that many a Little League coach has relied upon to help calm a struggling young baseball player after a strikeout. This I know from personal experience.
Now Little League coaches have something else to drive that point home, thanks to Kendrick Perkins.
Perkins was a first-round selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, coming right out of high school, and played 16 seasons in the league. Perkins won a title in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, and is currently an analyst for ESPN.
Tuesday night Perkins stepped into the batter’s box at Fenway Park — where Williams played much of his career — to take some swings during batting practice.
It did not go well:
Perkins struggled to make contact, fouling a few pitches off and dribbling one grounder towards down the third-base line. The session ended with Perkins tossing his bat down and walking off, in apparent frustration.
As you might expect, social media was not too kind regarding his performance.
A few notes for Perkins if he wants to take another crack at batting practice. First, he might need a bigger bat, as that piece of lumber looks like a toothpick in his hands. A bigger piece of wood would give him some more plate coverage, and some confidence to get to the outside corner of the plate.
Second, as the old saying goes “nothing good happens until the front foot gets down.” But with Perkins that front foot is landing well ahead of the swing, causing a break in the entire swing mechanism. That is something that can be corrected with more swings in the cage.
Provided Perkins wants another shot at batting practice …
