OleMissCub

I love how when you say "you read" something, it's actually just Wikipedia that you read, not like you actually read a book about the topic or had a book or two, or three, or four in front of you like I have. The "I don't care if he has no feet" line comes from Al Stump's biography, which isn't considered a credible biography. But hey, you know more than me because you read a Wikipedia entry, it's not like I wrote a freaking 60 page thesis paper on the man. :roll:

First off, Cobb didn't know the guy was handicapped (he had lost a several fingers in an industrial accident), and several of his teammates, including a few teammates who hated him, went into the stands with him after the guy. Second, Cobb only pulled a knife (which was a pocketknife that didn't inflict much damage anyways) after he was struck in the head with a nightstick that split his his head open (the scars of which he carried on his head the rest of his life) Third, Ruth punched several different umpires and assaulted his manager. I don't know which behavior is worse.

Apparently you didn't, otherwise you would have recognized that fact pattern as being that of the Bambino. You said it was baseball's jesus. So I was trying to think of someone who wasn't a renowned Ahole. My whole point was that baseball's "mythology", much like that of American history myth's, aren't always 100% truth. Ruth isn't demonized 1/100th as much as Cobb is, despite them both being tremendous douchebags.

Your support would have been appreciated.

Apparently you didn't, otherwise you would have recognized that fact pattern as being that of the Bambino.

As a human being, yes. However, I don't admire Cobb as a person but as a baseball player, so that question is irrelevant.

Yup.

Anyone?

Who is trying to excuse ANYTHING? I've said the guy was a giant toolbag. My point is that people should be able to separate on the field and off the field behavior. I don't respect his violence and world outlook, but I respect him as a player and think it would have been awesome to have seen him play. My previous unidentified player basically is baseball's version of Jesus Christ, btw. In an era of steroid-abusers and jerks of athletes, you seem to have seperated Barry from other stars. That's because Barry Bonds achieved a record that I respect greatly via cheating. I don't have a great deal of respect for steroid-abusers, and this includes our "beloved" Sammy Sosa (sorry Roast) and the same will go for any future Cub that tests positive or is revealed to have taken steroids.

I'd like to just reiterate that LSU is very, very beatable.

boring

Hahaha....this is true

Who is trying to excuse ANYTHING? I've said the guy was a giant toolbag. My point is that people should be able to separate on the field and off the field behavior. I don't respect his violence and world outlook, but I respect him as a player and think it would have been awesome to have seen him play. My previous unidentified player basically is baseball's version of Jesus Christ, btw.

As opposed to the darling of so many schoolboys who constantly partook in orgies, got drunk all the time, physically assaulted three umpires, was suspended or fined for inappropriate or vulgar conduct on the field more than a dozen times, was ejected from over 30 games in his career, often played drunk, and once physically attacked and often threatened his manager with violence. You're right, let's excuse Cobb then, other guys were bad too. In an era of racists, Cobb's racism+ was barely above league average. Do you even know who I'm talking about?

As opposed to the darling of so many schoolboys who constantly partook in orgies, got drunk all the time, physically assaulted three umpires, was suspended or fined for inappropriate or vulgar conduct on the field more than a dozen times, was ejected from over 30 games in his career, often played drunk, and once physically attacked and often threatened his manager with violence.

Is that true or not? Because if it is, there you go. Partially true. The Tigers were in Cleveland to play the Naps. Cobb was 23 at the time and had gone out drinking with some of the other Tigers' players. He came back to the hotel and got into an altercation with the elevator operator, who he claimed was being "insolent" (not sure what text "uppity" comes from, as none of mine say that), because he wouldn't take Cobb and the other players up to their rooms because the elevators were shut down after midnight. He shoved and hit the elevator operator and a night watchman came up and hit Cobb in the head with a nightstick, knocking Cobb down. Cobb got up and pulled out a pocket knife and slashed at the guy (none of my books say "stabbed", even the dubious Stump text), cutting him in the ear and shoulder. At this point both Cobb and the watchman were wrestling on the ground when the watchman pulled out a revolver, which Cobb, according to witnesses, kicked across the lobby. The watchman got up and hit Cobb twice more with the nightstick in the head, knocking him out. To me, I see this as an incident moreso of Cobb's violent temper and oft ill disposition than racism. He got in fights with dozens of people throughout his life, most all of whom were white. I don't see how the situation would have been any different had the characters involved been white.

Ignore it? I flat out said he was a racist. That's not ignoring it. If I "deified" a person, I wouldn't admit that they were a douche, a racist, had mental instability, and was an overall jerk. The problem is that you have this image in your head which is just overkill. I mean, he's portrayed as if he's the Grand Wizard of the Klan or something. You still haven't shown anything that separates him from your average white American in terms of racial views at the turn of the last century. Hey, keep insulting me. It's OK.

A terrible racist? He was a racist sure, just like most people in those backward days, but I don't think it was bad enough to trump his playing skills. Cobb was a douche with some serious personality flaws, but he wasn't a psychopath like Tyson. I doubt you'd be able to find many of Tyson's contemporaries who liked him. Cobb's over the top "madman racist" myth comes directly from Al Stump's (who was an adventure journalist and not a serious biographer) 1961 written works about Cobb, which are so filled with error that Cobb's family filed a lawsuit against it. Stump once wrote about Charles Lindbergh and did such a horrible job by stretching facts and creating outright made-up stories, that the normally low key Lindbergh was furious when he read it and threatened Stump's publisher. What's most unfortunate is that Cobb wasn't even alive to challenge the veracity of the writings. These half-truths have since been embellished and stretched by Ken Burns in his Baseball documentary and by that ridiculous Cobb movie with Tommy Lee Jones. It'd be nice if you could be objective here instead of just plain belligerent and realize that sometimes things aren't always what they appear. Mythology goes both ways. The great heroes weren't always "great" and sometimes the worst villains weren't always as bad as they are portrayed.

OK, then why else is Ty Cobb apparently baseball's greatest bigot to you? Why is that the first thing that comes up? Forget the fact that he has the highest BA in history and was one of the game's greatest playmakers. First thing that comes up is "racist!!!!" Why?

Another knee slapper from the great jester of NSBB. i laughed Answer the freaking question.

Another knee slapper from the great jester of NSBB.

The original "i have black friends". I'm sure Cobb was George Wallace's hero Why is Cobb the poster boy for racism in baseball to you people? Based on what? Because he used the N-word? Then I suppose by that logic Abraham Lincoln should be the poster boy for racism in the White House? How was Cobb any more racist than other people of his time? You guys are such scholars on the man. Enlighten me.

Because Coach Orgeron is the worst coach in college football. LSU is soooooo lucky that Ole Miss is so pathetic. An interception in the endzone and a fumble on the 2 yard line on a first and goal....bloody brilliant. Arkansas can take 'em next week if we did good enough to hang with them.

ESPN absolutely adores making things about race. There's a time and a place for everything, and sports is not an area where I particularly want to watch "social justice" stories, especially when they are created from scratch like this one.

This stat doesn't mean what you seem to think it means. I know what the hell it means. But let's talk about straight slugging percentage. He led the league in slugging 8 times, was 2nd in slugging 3 times, and 3rd in slugging 3 times. If he had played in the era of the modern ball and smaller ballparks, I imagine he would have had similar power numbers to Ted Williams.