If you read his autobiography My Life in Baseball, Cobb's key philosophy was to get on base no matter what. He knew that attempting to slug the crap out of the ball would decrease the likelihood that he'd reach base. Ichiro would probably be the best modern example of what the great deadballers looked like. That's not to say that Cobb didn't have power, because he certainly was capable of hitting monster shots. There are many stories of crowds being wowed by some of his home runs. There is of course the infamous story of Cobb, nearing the end of his career and feeling overshadowed by the Babe, telling reporters that he was going to swing for the fences during a two game series against the Browns. Sure enough, on May 5th and 6th 1925, he went 9-12 with five home runs and 25 total bases.