The jury was out less than 90 minutes, which included their lunch, after the month-long trial. [115], Leonard accused former pitcher and outfielder Smoky Joe Wood and Cobb of betting on a TigersIndians game played in Detroit on September 25, 1919, in which they allegedly orchestrated a Tigers victory to win the bet. Spending most of his career in the outfield, Cobb helped the Tigers win three American League pennants from 1907-09 and served as player-manager of the Tigers from 1921-1926. [5] Landis allowed both Cobb and Speaker to return to their original teams, but each team let them know that they were free agents and could sign with any club they wanted. Yeah, the game was a little different back then. He is going to be a great baseball player and I won't allow him to be driven off this club."[53]. "[153] Many of baseball's greatest players were friends with Cobb. In that historic book, Richter selected the greatest players in each position in each decade: Ty Cobb | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1936 (HOF), In 1909, Ty Cobb led the American League in home runs, RBIs, and batting average, capturing a Triple Crown, the second instance in league history. 4,192 was a single, giving the Cincinnati Reds'. During 1917 spring training, Cobb showed up late for a Dallas spring training doubleheader against the New York Giants because of a golf outing. Primarily an outfielder, Rowe pitched a complete game on July 24, 1882, giving up 35 runs on 29 hits. [88] This occured in the same year where Cobb had allegedly grown pesimisstic and was quoted as saying: "It seems I am a burden to the Detroit club, as a trespasser of its rules. He played only 79 games that year, but this 273-plate-appearance sample is still good for an incredible 0.7% strikeout rate. Could Ty Cobb have been a big-time home run hitter had he decided to? [46][47], In 1911, Cobb moved to Detroit's architecturally significant and now historically protected Woodbridge neighborhood, from which he would walk with his dogs to the ballpark prior to games. In August 1908, Cobb married Charlotte ("Charlie") Marion Lombard, the daughter of prominent Augustan Roswell Lombard. The fight finally ended when the watchman produced a gun and struck Cobb several times in the head, knocking him out. The greatness of Ty Cobb was something that had to be seen, and to see him was to remember him forever. Cobb was hazed as a rookie while trying to process his grief and tend to family matters. [No one has] the combined power and eye of Ruth. This incident has often been retold with the elevator operator and the watchman both being black. Of major league stars of the 1940s and 1950s, Cobb had positive things to say about Stan Musial, Phil Rizzuto, and Jackie Robinson, but few others. He hit .320 or better for 22 consecutive seasons including over .400 three times. Induction ceremony in Cooperstown held in 1939. Who do you think was the better all-around player, Ty Cobb . After one game in which the Tigers fielded a team of semipro and amateur players, Cobbs suspension was reduced to 10 days. [126][unreliable source?] Self-guided tour or VIP experience. [101] All of these men were assigned to the Gas and Flame Division, where they trained soldiers in preparation for chemical attacks by exposing them to gas chambers in a controlled environment,[101] which was eventually responsible for Mathewson's contracting tuberculosis, leading to his premature death on the eve of the 1925 World Series. That guy was superhuman, amazing," said Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel. [99] Based on a story by sports columnist Grantland Rice, the film casts Cobb as "himself," a small-town Georgia bank clerk with a talent for baseball. [34] In August 1905, the management of the Tourists sold Cobb to the American League's Detroit Tigers for $750 (equivalent to $22,619 in 2021). [5] It was performances like this that led Branch Rickey to say later that Cobb "had brains in his feet."[71]. [5] Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis held a secret hearing with Cobb, Speaker and Wood. He declared Cobb the rightful owner of the title, but car company president Hugh Chalmers chose to award one to both Cobb and Lajoie. Cobb had spent the previous year defending himself on several occasions from assaults by Schmidt, with Schmidt often coming out of nowhere to blindside Cobb. [132] Even so, he was known to help out young players. [80] The current post-1900 record for most hits in a nine-inning game is 31, set in 1992 by the Milwaukee Brewers against Toronto; however, the Blue Jays used six pitchers. [61] In the offseason between 1907 and 1908, Cobb negotiated with Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, offering to coach baseball there "for $250 a month, provided that he did not sign with Detroit that season." The following day Cobb hit two more homeruns and was 3 for 6 at the plate . In 1907, Cobb reached first and then stole second, third and home. In particular, he hated slugger Babe Ruth and how the Bambino had transformed the game. [54] He never hit below that mark again. [111] The 16 total bases set a new AL record, which stood until May 8, 2012, when Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers hit four home runs and a double for a total of 18 bases. He hit .400 three times. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1936. Join our linker program. Some onlookers shouted at him to stop because the man had no hands, to which Cobb reportedly retorted, "I don't care if he got no feet! Among those still standing are his career batting average (.366), combined total runs and runs batted in (4,065), and batting titles (11). All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. But even though he wasnt exactly the most popular player in his own clubhouse, his teammates stood up for him, refusing to play until he was reinstated. https://www.tiktok.com/@baseballhall?lang=en. So Cobb was declared the winner. "[168], When asked about the feud, Cobb attributed it to envy. He set 90 different records during his 23-season career, with some still standing to this day. [100] Broadway critic Ward Morehouse called the movie "absolutely the worst flicker I ever saw, pure hokum. [176] All of these round to .366. Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. [126][127] The elder Cobb subsequently traveled to the Princeton campus and beat his son with a whip to ensure against future academic failure. [107][108][109] Perhaps what angered him the most about Ruth was that despite Babe's total disregard for his physical condition and traditional baseball, he was still an overwhelming success and brought fans to the ballparks in record numbers to see him challenge his own slugging records. Ty Cobb Position: Centerfielder Bats: Left Throws: Right 6-1 , 175lb (185cm, 79kg) Born: December 18, 1886 in Narrows, GA us More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame MVP Triple Crown 12x Batting Title Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. He expected his sons to be exceptional athletes in general and baseball players in particular. Not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it." All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. During that World Series, Cobb's last, he stole home in the second game, igniting a three-run rally, but that was the high point for him, finishing with a lowly .231, as the Tigers lost to Honus Wagner and the powerful Pirates in seven games. At the time of his retirement, he was attributed as the holder of more than 90 career or season records, including the all-time batting average mark of .366. MLB LONGEST STANDING RECORDS (SINCE 1900) Single Season Records: 1. Ty Cobb had 117 home runs over his career. Second place didn't interest me. He finished 1907 season with a league high .350 batting average, 212 hits, 49 steals and 119 runs batted in (RBI).At age 20, Cobb became the youngest player to win a batting championship and held this record until 1955 when fellow Detroit Tiger Al Kaline won the batting title when he was twelve days younger than Cobb had been. At the end of the sixth inning, after being challenged by teammates Sam Crawford and Jim Delahanty to do something about it, Cobb climbed into the stands and attacked Lucker, who it turned out was handicapped (he had lost all of one hand and three fingers on his other hand in an industrial accident). Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:21AM. [52][140], It was also during his final years that Cobb began work on his autobiography, My Life in Baseball: The True Record, with writer Al Stump. His timing is perfect. He died there on July 17, 1961, at age 74.[52][143]. Still, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson led him by .009 points in the batting race late in the season. When his Tigers showed up in New York to play the Yankees for the first time that season, writers billed it as a showdown between two stars of competing styles of play. During his 24-year big league career, Cobb captured a record 11 (or 12) batting titles, batted over .400 three times and won the 1909 Triple Crown. During the fight, Cobb produced a penknife and slashed the watchman across the hand. One of the people who had reportedly heard Ty Cobb predict his power surge, Sid Keener, was a respected sports journalist. [24] Cobb's father was a state senator. "(Ty) Cobb lived off the field as though he wished to live forever. [146][147][145] Family in attendance included Cobb's former wife Charlie, his two daughters, his surviving son Jimmy, his two sons-in-law, his daughter-in-law Mary Dunn Cobb and her two children. On Aug. 8, 1905, W.H. [120], Cobb knew that another way he could share his wealth was by having biographies written that would both set the record straight on him and teach young players how to play. Lajoie hit safely eight times in a doubleheader but six of those hits were bunt singles. Cobb's impact on the game went much further than just the numbers he put up. Crawford recalled that, if he went three for four on a day when Cobb went hitless, Cobb would turn red and sometimes walk out of the park with the game still on. Later in the game, he launched a ball over the pavilion in right and added another "over-the-fence" homer in the 8th. All these years after his death, as his personal legacy continues to be batted back and forth, Cobb remains an utterly fascinating figure. "He didn't outhit and he didn't outrun them, he out thought them," said Hall of Fame teammate Sam Crawford. One could easily see Cobb making such a boast and then having the talent (along with a little bit of luck) to pull it off. [95], In 1917, Cobb hit in 35 consecutive games, still the only player with two 35-game hitting streaks (including his 40-game streak in 1911). He was (probably) not the monster hes often depicted to be. [180][181] However, because Major League Baseball Enterprises, Inc. does have some official legal rights and responsibilities concerning major league baseball enforcing copyrights on team logos, making the official rules used by the teams, and so forth and because Major League Baseball does empower the Elias Sports Bureau with "official provider of MLB statistics" status - confusion sometimes arises and thus a few sources can still describe Cobb's major league batting average as being "officially" .367. [69], Cobb has been judged by some historians and journalists as the best player of the dead-ball era, and is generally seen as one of the greatest players of all time.[154][155]. He hit .377 and drove in 107 that year. . In any event, Cobb received an indefinite suspension for his actions. Keep up with headlines and events at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and see who will be taking their place in history next. Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886[1] July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Thats about $112 million in todays dollars. Cobb led the AL that year in numerous other categories, including 248 hits, 147 runs scored, 127 RBI, 83 stolen bases, 47 doubles, 24 triples and a .621 slugging percentage. But I never tried anything foolish when a game was at stake, only when we were far ahead or far behind. The game then was Cobbs game, and he left it clutching the career records for games played (3,305), at-bats (11,429, 11,434 or 11,440, depending on the source), runs (2,246), hits (4,189 or 4,191, depending on the source), total bases (5,854) and batting average (.367 or .366, depending on the source). On Oct. 4, 1925, he pitched the final inning of the Tigers 11-6 victory over the St. Louis Browns in the nightcap of a doubleheader and retired all three batters he faced. [62], The following season, the Tigers finished ahead of the Chicago White Sox for the pennant. Cobb refused to speak any further of the issue. The Georgia Peach is a nickname for Ty Cobb. In the winter of 1930, Cobb moved into a Spanish ranch estate on Spencer Lane in the affluent town of Atherton located south of San Francisco, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. Cobbs Tigers teams reached (and lost) the World Series three consecutive seasons from 1907-09, but finished far from first for most of the 1910s. The competition between the two was intense. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. The Highlanders catcher vehemently argued the safe call at second base with the umpire in question, going on at such length that the other Highlanders infielders gathered nearby to watch. In interviews with Al Stump, Cobb told of studying Crawford's base-stealing technique and of how Crawford would teach him about pursuing fly balls and throwing out base runners. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Page 68. He then suddenly broke into a run and slid into home plate for the eventual winning run. us, Died: Some historians, including Wesley Fricks, Dan Holmes, and Charles Leerhsen, have defended Cobb against unfair portrayals of him in popular culture since his death. [26] By most accounts, he became fascinated with baseball as a child, and decided he wanted to play professional ball one day; his father was vehemently opposed to this idea, but by his teen years, he was trying out for area teams. Charles Leerhsens 2015 biography, Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, which we covered at length, made a particularly strong case that many of the most outrageous stories attached to Cobb were invented by an author trying to make a buck. Seven decades later, he still holds many. Cobbs disdain for the post-1920 proliferation of the long ball was well-documented. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Tyrus Raymond Cobb was the greatest hitter of them all, his .366 lifetime average over 23 1/2 seasons still the highest ever recorded. He also once stole home when Yankees players had crowded around home plate protesting a call. This has since been matched by Stan Musial, Tony Gwynn and Ichiro Suzuki. This game went 17 innings to a tie, and a few days later, we clinched our first pennant. [145] Baseball's only representatives at his funeral were three old-time players, Ray Schalk, Mickey Cochrane and Nap Rucker, along with Sid Keener, the director of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but messages of condolences numbered in the hundreds and included notes from Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. [130] His 98.2% stood as the record until Tom Seaver received 98.8% of the vote in 1992. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family, highest career batting average in baseball history, most hits in a career in the American League, Franklin County High School (Royston, GA). But she was acquitted at trial in March 1906. Exceeded rookie limits during 1905 season, View Player Bio [16], In September 1907, Cobb began a relationship with The Coca-Cola Company that lasted the remainder of his life. I believed in putting up a mental hazard for the other fellow. ty cobb records still standing. Eventually, Rice wrote a small note in the Journal that a "young fellow named Cobb seems to be showing an unusual lot of talent. Approximately 150 friends and relatives attended a brief service in Cornelia, Georgia, and drove to the Cobb family mausoleum in Royston for the burial. December 18, 1886 Childhood & Early Life. And from 1909-1919, he never hit lower than .368. He could have gone 0-for-his-last-2,541 and still had a .300 career average. Stump would claim say that the collaboration was contentious, and after Cobb's death Stump published two more books and a short story giving what he said was the "true story" One of these later books was used as the basis for the 1994 film Cobb (a box office flop starring Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb and directed by Ron Shelton). "I never could stand losing, he said. [Answer]. I worked out all the angles I could think of, to keep them guessing and hurrying. The save was not an official stat until 1969. Cobbs mother was arrested on the charge of manslaughter and indicted by a grand jury. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. When Cobb had gotten out of the car to confront the men, they had asked for money and instigated a physical fight, with Cobb defending himself from one of the men by punching him in the chin as another had fled the scene. [39] Other sources may have slightly different figures. [135][136] Their childless marriage also failed, ending with a divorce in 1956. Lueker had lost two fingers on one hand and all five on the other in a printing press accident, so the incident is often described as Cobb attacking a handicapped person (even though it's likely he had no idea how many fingers the man had when he went after him). The reporter was aghast. SUMMARY Career WAR 151.5 AB 11440 H 4189 HR 117 BA .366 R 2245 RBI 1944 SB 897 OBP .433 SLG When Cobb, who is said to have had nine different variations of his slide, retired, his 892 stolen bases overall were a 20th century record. Batting Average: .367 - Ty Cobb (retired 1928) Long-standing Records that were broken: 1. . And during a game on May 15, 1912, the relentless heckling of a fan named Claude Lueker prompted Cobb to head into the stands and attack him. Crawford was an established star when Cobb arrived, and Cobb eagerly sought his advice. Ogden Nash, Sport magazine (January 1949)[134], At the age of 62, Cobb married a second time in 1949. )[178] According to former Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Major League Baseball continues and will continue to report the incorrect value on the basis of it being grandfathered in ("The passage of 70 years, in our judgment, constitutes a certain statute of limitation as to recognizing any changes. [38][64][124], Cobb's children found him to be demanding, yet also capable of kindness and extreme warmth. Wins: 41 - Jack Chesbro (1904) 3. . Tyrus Raymond, Jr. flunked out of Princeton[125] (where he had played on the varsity tennis team), much to his father's dismay. [81], The strike ended when Cobb urged his teammates to return to the field. So, as the legend goes, he took time in St. Louis to show that, if he had wanted to, he could hit a lot of homers, too. Triples. Cobb, named him after Tyre, an ancient city in what is now modern-day Lebanon. On May 12, 1911, playing against the New York Highlanders, he scored from first base on a single to right field, then scored another run from second base on a wild pitch. Cobb was the only player in history with 10-plus homers and a save in the same season until the Orioles Stevie Wilkerson pulled off the feat in 2019. You can understand what it meant for a 20-year-old country boy to hit a home run off the great Rube, in a pennant-winning game with two outs in the ninth. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. [170], Cobb has the highest batting average in major league history, .366. As of April 2021, the Ty Cobb Educational Foundation has distributed $19.2 million in college scholarships to needy Georgians.[149]. The closest Cobb came to winning another pennant was in 1924, when the Tigers finished in third place, six games behind the pennant-winning Washington Senators. This helped to make the other side hurry the play in a close game later on. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. In all Cobb collected a total of 16 bases, establishing a new major league record for most bases in a single game. In 2010, an article by William R. "Ron" Cobb (no relation) in the peer-reviewed The National Pastime (the official publication of the Society for American Baseball Research) accused Stump of extensive forgeries of Cobb-related documents and diaries. Prior to the game against the Browns on May 5 of that year, the Georgia Peach supposedly told St. Louis Star Sports Editor Sid Keener and Detroit News Sports Editor Harry Salsinger: Gentlemen, pay close attention today. Cobb is said to have stolen second, third and home on consecutive pitches. 15. "[45], Cobb was initiated into Freemasonry in 1907, earning the 32nd degree in 1912. Wesley Fricks August 2, 2008. On November 3rd, the club announced that he was stepping down as manager, soon followed by Cleveland's player-manager, and fellow legend, Tris Speaker. [39] At age 20, he was the youngest player to win a batting championship and held this record until 1955, when fellow Detroit Tiger Al Kaline won the batting title while twelve days younger than Cobb had been. After being moved to right field, he led the Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants in 1907, 1908 and 1909. Baseball (the sport) does not have official statistics. Cobb was selected on all but four ballots cast, or 98.2%. "[52] Tigers manager Hughie Jennings later acknowledged that Cobb was targeted for abuse by veteran players, some of whom sought to force him off the team. The single his first time up gave him nine consecutive hits over three games, while his five homers in two games tied the record set by Cap Anson of the old Chicago NL team in 1884. When Cummings' wife tried to defend him, Cobb allegedly choked her. MLB.com lists Cobb's lifetime average as .367 (4,191 hits in 11,429 at-bats),[177] the number that had been reported and believed true from Cobb's retirement until the late 20th century. "I never saw anyone like Ty Cobb. In 1936, the first balloting was held for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. A. That doesnt necessarily mean he wasnt a racist, but the truth about Cobb has long been difficult to pin down. "Official" in that sense of the word means merely "from the office[182]" of Major League Baseball, the corporation. A total of 42 players on that initial ballot would eventually get inducted into the Hall. "[162] Cobb also stated that Willie Mays was the "only (then-current) player I'd pay money to see. Do you have a blog? He felt that Crawford was "a hell of a good player," but he was "second best" on the Tigers and "hated to be an also ran." During his career, Cobb set dozens of records, including lifetime batting average, which still remains unbroken. They became one of the most successful double steal pairings in baseball history. Cobb was pursued by demons. He was loved by some fans, and hated by the majority of fans, who were overwhelmed by the chronicles of journalists from the first half of the 20th century and by Cobb's own words, which was defined as a kick in the lower abdomen. This article on Cobb's final months, written in 1961 . Tons of people (including plenty of sportswriters) hated Cobb at the time and spinning glowing, untrue pieces about a major pain-in-the-butt was not part of the eras zeitgeist. September 11, 1928 At the time in which Babe Ruth played, some of baseball's modern awards did not exist. "[58], Despite great success on the field, Cobb was no stranger to controversy off it. [167], In retirement, Cobb wrote a letter to a writer for The Sporting News accusing Crawford of not helping in the outfield and of intentionally fouling off balls when Cobb was stealing a base. As a result of the incident, AL president Ban Johnson was forced to arbitrate the situation. Ty Cobb weighed 175 lbs (79 kg) when playing. Was it worth risking his career to perpetrate such a big lie? He had led them to a respectable 79-75 record that year while hitting .339/.408/.511 in part-time play. [ Answer] [27] He played his first years in organized baseball for the Royston Rompers, the semi-pro Royston Reds, and the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League, who released him after only two days. Cobb had enough good in his heart to fund his Royston, Ga., hometowns first hospital. Chesbro had won 41 games the previous season. Ruth hit two homers, a triple, and two singles during the series, compared to Cobb's two hits of a double and a single. Retrieved March 1, 2007. [63] In the offseason, the couple lived on her father's Augusta estate, The Oaks, until they moved into their own house on Williams Street in November 1913. He never got to see me play but I knew he was watching me, and I never let him down. Cobb played regularly in 1927 for a young and talented team that finished second to one of the greatest teams of all time, the 11044 1927 Yankees, returning to Detroit to a tumultuous welcome on May 10 and doubling his first time up to the cheers of Tigers fans. [158], Cobb's father was a noted advocate for racial equality. Cobb retaliated by spiking Herzog during the second game, prompting a bench-clearing brawl in which Cobb ground Herzog's face in the dirt. If that be the case, let Mr. Navin put a price on me and I'll take a chance on being able to negotiate my own release. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ty Cobb baseball stats page. "[58] In the same interview, Cobb talked about having noticed a throwing tendency of first baseman Hal Chase but having to wait two full years until the opportunity came to exploit it. [110], On May 5, 1925, Cobb told a reporter that, for the first time in his career, he was going to try to hit home runs, saying he wanted to show that he could hit home runs but simply chose not to. Ty Cobb was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1936. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Year Team League; 1936: Detroit Tigers: AL: League Rankings. Cobb again won the batting title with a .324 average, but Detroit suffered another loss in the World Series. [96] He had six hitting streaks of at least 20 games in his career, second only to Pete Rose's eight. [111] By the end of the series Cobb had gone 12 for 19 with 29 total bases, and afterwards reverted to his old playing style. It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. However, just because they were on good terms doesn't necessarily mean he helped fabricate such an incredible story. He played in more than 3,000 games in that span, recording 4,189 hits with a staggering .366 batting average, 117 home runs, and 1,944 RBI; he also stole 897 bases. Ty Cobb died on July 17, 1961, at age 74, and Doubleday rushed to get his autobiography onto bookshelves two months later. It was a deal, I signed the contract, and I hit .408. [5] A second secret meeting among the AL directors led to the unpublicized resignations of Cobb and Speaker; however, rumors of the scandal led Judge Landis to hold additional hearings[5] in which Leonard subsequently refused to participate. Cobb was known for his aggressive base running style and his ability to hit to all fields. While Ty Cobb did never win a title, he did win the MVP and the Triple Crown. Nobody has yet . Born: What Is His Lifetime Batting Average? In Cobb's time, major league records were kept very well, but not with the absolute accuracy seen later and since.