"If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me"
About this Quote
The subtext is the grind hiding inside the myth. Williams was famously obsessive about hitting as a science: eyesight, angles, plate discipline, the geometry of the strike zone. Calling it “born” doesn’t erase the hours; it reframes them as proof of nature fulfilling itself. This is a classic American sports narrative - talent as fate - but in Williams’s mouth it doubles as defiance. He had a complicated relationship with fans and the press, and the quote carries that faint bristle: I don’t need your approval; the bat is my argument.
Context matters, too. Williams’s career sits at the intersection of athletic peak and wartime interruption, with service in WWII and Korea cutting into his numbers. The line reads like an insistence that even history couldn’t edit his purpose. It’s not humility, but it’s not empty arrogance either. It’s a self-portrait of a man who believed mastery is identity.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sports |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Williams, Ted. (2026, January 16). If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-was-ever-a-man-born-to-be-a-hitter-it-91154/
Chicago Style
Williams, Ted. "If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-was-ever-a-man-born-to-be-a-hitter-it-91154/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-was-ever-a-man-born-to-be-a-hitter-it-91154/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






