Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Capability: Ted Williams and the Science of Hitting

“The greatest hitter in the world can fail two-thirds of the time and still be great.”

- Ted Williams

Dear A,

When discussing “Capability” in leadership, my father’s favorite baseball player, Ted Williams, provides a perfect example. Williams famously argued that hitting a baseball is the single hardest skill in all of sports - and he was probably right. Imagine the challenge: with a round bat, you must strike a round ball traveling 100 miles per hour, released from only sixty feet six inches away. On top of that, the pitcher can manipulate the ball with curves, sliders, knuckleballs, and even throw a high fastball at your head to keep you off balance.

Williams wasn’t just good at this nearly impossible task; he was extraordinary. In 1941, he accomplished what no Major Leaguer has done since - finishing a season with a .406 batting average, successfully hitting the ball more than 4 out of 10 times. That might not sound overwhelming at first glance, but in baseball, where even the best fail seven out of ten times, this level of consistency is legendary.

What makes someone excel at hitting? There are many factors - vision, reflexes, timing, strength, coordination, patience, and focus. But when blended together, they distill down to one word: capability. Williams himself taught this in his 1972 classic, The Science of Hitting. For him, the key began with self-knowledge, echoing Socrates’ wisdom: “Know thyself.” The ability to withstand failure, stay disciplined, and manage pressure was just as critical as mechanics.

Williams broke down hitting into measurable science. He ignored the pitcher’s windup, the crowd, and every distraction, locking instead onto a 15-inch imaginary window where the ball would emerge from the pitcher’s hand. He calculated that a hitter has only two-fifths of a second to decide whether to swing. To maximize his odds, Williams swung slightly upward to match the downward angle of the pitch, a fractionally small but statistically meaningful adjustment. Over the course of 600 at-bats in a season, those marginal gains meant the difference between being an All-Star or being sent to the minors.

But, Williams’ greatest piece of advice was simple: “Kid, get a good ball to hit.” That meant being willing to let pitches go by - even strikes - until the perfect one came along. He meticulously divided the strike zone into 77 squares, tracking his batting average in each. When he waited for pitches in his sweet spot, he hit .400; when he chased others, he dropped to .230. This philosophy mirrors Warren Buffet’s punch-card investing advice: if you could only make 20 investments in your lifetime, you’d choose them wisely.

As the greatest hitter who ever lived, Ted Williams proved that if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Hitting a baseball, like leadership, is as much art as science. Every leader has a different style, just as every hitter has a different stance. But the principles remain the same:

• Know yourself - Understand your strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.
• Study relentlessly - Success comes from preparation and attention to detail.
• Wait for your pitch - Discipline means passing on short-term wins to seize the right long-term opportunity.
• Handle failure - Even great leaders “miss” more often than they connect.

Ted Williams understood that capability wasn’t about perfection... it was about maximizing your odds, staying patient, and swinging with confidence when the right moment arrived. Leaders who adopt this mindset can turn pressure into performance, and like Williams, make their hits count when it matters most.

Stay safe and vigilant!

 Luke Bencie