William Ted Cox is a former shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 who played in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 from through for the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 (1977), Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 (1978–1979), Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

 (1980) and Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 (1981). He batted and threw right-handed.

Cox was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first-round of the 1973 draft ahead of Fred Lynn

Fred Lynn

Fredric Michael "Fred" Lynn is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Baltimore Orioles , Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres .Fred Lynn was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in and to the College Baseball Hall of Fame...

. Listed at 6' 3", 195 lb., Cox was heralded as a skilled hitter with a major league swing. He spent five years in the Boston minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 system, stepping up a class every year, that was hastened by a phenomenal season in 1977 with Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox

Pawtucket Red Sox

The Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...

. In 95 games, he hit .334 with 14 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 81 RBI

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

, which was highligted by an All-Star

All-star

All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

 selection, helping Pawtucket to clinch the regular season championship. After the season he won both the Topps

Topps

The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...

Minor League Player of the Year and the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

 MVP

Most Valuable Player

In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

 awards, and was promoted to the big team.

Cox debuted with the Red Sox on September 18, on Brooks Robinson Night

Brooks Robinson

Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...

 at Baltimore

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

. Robinson had just retired, finishing a 23-year career with the Orioles, one of the longest major-league careers with one club. Spoiling Robinson's celebration, Cox went 4-for-4 in his first major league game, a 10–4 victory over Baltimore. After the game, reporters told Cox he had tied the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 record for most hits in a first game. Casey Stengel

Casey Stengel

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....

, Willie McCovey

Willie McCovey

Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

 and Mack Jones

Mack Jones

Mack F. Jones , nicknamed "Mack The Knife", was a Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves , Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Jones was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as a...

 also share the mark. Boston returned to Fenway Park

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

 to face the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 the next day. In his first at-bat against the Yankees, Cox hit a single

Single (baseball)

In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...

 to tie a record held by Cecil Travis

Cecil Travis

Cecil Howell Travis was an American shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1947 who spent his entire career with the Washington Senators. He led the American League in hits in before missing nearly the next four seasons due to military service in World War II...

 with the Washington Senators

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

. Travis set the record of five consecutive hits at the start of a major league career in 1933. Then, in his second at-bat Cox singled off Ed Figueroa

Ed Figueroa

Eduardo Figueroa Padilla , is a former Major League Baseball player. He holds the distinction of being the only pitcher from Puerto Rico to win twenty games in a season.-USMC:...

. This assured him a place in major league history for his unique 6-for-6 hitting streak.

Cox ended 1977 with a .362 average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 (21-for-58), and drew considerable attention to himself. Before the 1978 season he was sent by Boston along with Bo Díaz

Bo Diaz

Baudilio José Díaz Seijas was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds between and...

, Mike Paxton

Mike Paxton

Michael De Wayne Paxton is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed....

, and Rick Wise

Rick Wise

Richard Charles Wise is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for 18 seasons...

 to the Cleveland Indians in the same transaction that brought Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...

 and Fred Kendall

Fred Kendall

Fred Kendall was a catcher for parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox....

 to the Red Sox. After two years in Cleveland as a backup outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 and playing all four infield positions, Cox joined the Seattle Mariners in 1980 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, his last major league season.

In a five-season career, Cox was a .245 hitter with 10 home runs and 79 RBI in 272 games.

Currently, Cox works with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in raising money for worthy causes and charities.

Highlights

• On April 9, 1980, became the first designated hitter
  Designated hitter
  In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
  
  to collect a game-winning RBI, a statistic that was only official from 1980-88.
• As of 2006, holds the major league career record for most consecutive hits to begin a career.

Sources

• Baseball Library
• The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3