Ted Williams Receives Pacemaker

Nov. 7, 2000 -- Former Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams is in good condition this morning after getting a heart pacemaker.

The 82-year-old underwent the hour-long operation Monday at the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla., near his home in Hernando, according to TheBoston Globe.

“He did great. It went very smoothly and quickly,” said Dr.Anne Curtis, who performed the surgery.

Williams has been hospitalized since Halloween with congestive heart failure, and the surgery had been expected to be performed today.

“The problem lately has been that Mr. Williams had a rapidheartbeat. That can lead to deterioration in the heart function,and we had to slow it down. We implanted a single chamberpacemaker,” Curtis told the Globe.

The pacemaker keeps the heartbeat at the desired level.

Hitter Didn’t Expect Surgery

Williams told the the Globe on Saturday he was “feeling pretty good” and didn’t need a pacemaker.

But the newspaper reported Monday that doctors strongly recommended to Williams’ son, John Henry, that his father receive a pacemaker to control his heart rate.

Surgery or not, the “Splendid Splinter” told the Globe he was not expecting his hospital stay to keep him from voting today.

“Who do you think is going to win?” Williams said. “I’m going to vote, don’t you worry about that. It’s the most important thing going on in the world right now.”

Invited to Spring Training

Williams suffered two strokes in the 1990s, the last one in 1994. His vision was considerably impaired by the strokes and he has had an increased heart rate and high blood pressure in recent years. He had difficulty breathing three months ago and was treated at the same hospital.

Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette said the team is following Williams’ condition closely and has been in contact with the hospital. Williams spent all of his 19 years in the majors with the Red Sox.

“We’re hopeful he has a speedy recovery,” Duquette said. “We’ve invited him to spring training and we’re hopeful he can participate in the 100th anniversary of the Red Sox.”

One of Baseball’s Greatest

Considered by many to be one of the game’s greatest hitters, Williams was the last major leaguer to hit .400 when he batted .406 in 1941. The two-time MVP won six American League batting titles, appeared in 18 All-Star games and compiled a lifetime batting average of .344.

Baseball enthusiasts say his numbers could have been even more impressive had he not lost five full seasons of his playing career to military service and major injuries. A pilot, Williams saw action in both World War II and the Korean War.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 and went on to manage the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers for four seasons, from 1969-72. ESPN.com ranked Williams No. 16 on the list of the top 50 athletes of the 20th century.

He appeared at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park as part of baseball’s All-Century Team and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.