Teddy’s new ballgame

Hall of Fame hitter Ted Williams officially becomes neophyte manager Ted Williams 56 years ago today as he makes his managerial debut with the Washington Senators.

The 1969 opener at Washington’s RFK Stadium, though, does not go well for Williams and the Senators as they fall 8-4 to the New York Yankees before a Monday afternoon crowd of 45,113.

Williams ends up having a terrific rookie season as a manager with the Senators’ finishing 86-76.

“Despite what you’ve heard, I’m not a hard guy to get along with,” Williams, then 50 years old, tells the media as he takes over the Senators.

“That was a very, very small segment (of writers) I had trouble with. I hope I’ve matured a little more.”

Williams manages the Senators for two more seasons before the team moves after the 1971 season to Texas and becomes the Rangers.

Ted Williams, left, with the Rangers in 1972

Williams, though, never is able to match the success of his first season in the dugout as the Senators drop from 86-76 in 1969 to 70-92 in 1970 and then 63-96 in 1971 before stumbling to a 54-100 record as the transplanted-to-Texas Rangers in Williams’ final season in the dugout.

Remarkably, the oft-temperamental Williams lasts 637 games as the franchise’s manager without ever being ejected by the umpires over his four seasons in the dugout.

For Williams, though, there is no coming back for a fifth season.

“This is my decision alone,” Williams says at the time of his resignation. “It has been in my mind for quite a while … The change will be better for everyone.

“Losing has had a tough effect,” Williams says. “Winning, as a manager, makes you as exalted as you can get. Losing, you’re in the depths.”