OleMissCub

He did say he was going to swing for the fences on that particular occasion. And he did this in the era of the live ball and did it in Sportsman's Park, which wasn't one of the humongous ones of yesteryear (335 down the line).

Bob Gibson

First, that isn't the right quote. I believe it was "I hit homeruns when I need to." Regardless, in 1925 at the age of 37, he told the media that he was going to try and hit homers the next two games and he got 5 of them in those two games, a record which stood for a long, long time. So he was obviously capable of doing it. But I guess that isn't the point here. The question is whether he would have hurt or helped his team more by swinging for the fences. I think considering the era that he played the majority of his career in, with its loose ball and huge dimensions, he would have helped his team more by slapping the ball around and getting on base than trying to hit home runs, which would probably end up as fly outs in those days, resulting in him getting on base fewer, which is surely lowered his effectiveness and value. We aren't talking about some beast of a man here like Mark McGwire. This is a guy who dominated the basepaths and stole home 49 times. It's not like the guy didn't slug the hell out of the ball though. His career OPS+ is 167, which is ninth all time.

Was he a jerk? More often than not. Did he have a mental illness? Probably. Was he a racist? Yes. You sure showed me here. So to qualify as someone's favorite ballplayer, that person must have the personality of Lou Gehrig?

Keep in mind that he didn't attack the guy until after he had notified the police and stadium ushers, who did nothing about it. The guy was sitting behind the Tigers dugout, and Cobb had even stayed in the outfield sitting against the fence during one inning when he wasn't at bat just so he didn't have to hear the guy. He was also only 24 years old too at the time.

Nothing. I don't care if you like him or not. But being a baseball history nerd and after doing my own research, I feel like he is someone who has been portrayed in modern times as something other than what he really was. Try this. When he went into the stands after that fan who was insulting his wife with the most vile statements (most of his fellow Yankees fans went on record saying he deserved it), his entire team was behind him in the stands. They were protecting him while he whipped the guy. When Ty was suspended for the incident, his entire team went on strike because they felt he had a right to defend himself. It was the first player's strike in history. That's supposed to support the idea that he wasn't a douche? No, but he wasn't quite the douche he was made out to be. Despite the popular myth, he never killed anyone nor did he ever claim to have killed anyone. Much of his negative press came from New York and Philadelphia sportswriters who obviously had to vilify him because of what he did to their teams and their pitchers. Think about it, are you going to consider newspapers in the first decade of the 20th century to be trustworthy publications? He obviously brought a lot of it on himself because of his temper and big mouth, but a lot was put onto him as well. In The Glory of their Times, Lawrence Ritter went around in the mid 1960's and interviewed deadball era baseball players that were still living. He asked all of them about Cobb and not a single one said that he played dirty or was a bad person. A good many of them said he was certainly "difficult", however.

Nothing. I don't care if you like him or not. But being a baseball history nerd and after doing my own research, I feel like he is someone who has been portrayed in modern times as something other than what he really was. Try this. When he went into the stands after that fan who was insulting his wife with the most vile statements (most of his fellow Yankees fans went on record saying he deserved it), his entire team was behind him in the stands. They were protecting him while he whipped the guy. When Ty was suspended for the incident, his entire team went on strike because they felt he had a right to defend himself. It was the first player's strike in history.

Because of course baseball didn't matter until 1983. we get it, you like ty cobb. Funny, considering that nobody else liked him when he played :lol: Another stupid myth propagated by Al Stump and Ken Burns. http://baseballguru.com/bburgess/analysisbburgess06.html

You can congratulate yourself on buying hook, line, and sinker into the modern mythology of Cobb as a raving madman racist with not a single redeeming quality, most of which stems from the ridiculously absurd biography of Cobb by Al Stump and Ken Burns' baseball documentary. Was he a jerk? More often than not. Did he have a mental illness? Probably. Was he a racist? Yes. Anymore than most everyone else back then? More than likely not. Did he use the N word? Yes, and so did Speaker, Hornsby, and even Abraham Lincoln. Disregard the fact that he founded a hospital that serves a predominantly black community or that the first person he hired was a black surgeon or that he started a scholarship fund for needy Georgia youth which has given thousands of black students the chance to attend college. Forget that the Tigers' black groundskeeper in the 20's and 30's named his son after Ty. Forget that in 1926 he tried to get a black player into the MLB by passing him off as a "Cuban." Forget that he put Roy Campanella as his all time great catcher, or that his favorite player at the time of his death was Willie Mays. I don't admire the guys character, nor do I "deify" him. He was an amazing baseball player and one of the brightest baseball minds to ever play the game. He's my favorite old school ballplayer because of how interesting he was in every facet of his life. The only man I deify is Jerome Walton.

Ya, there's a few frames of it somewhere and it's pretty obvious that he's pointing to the Cubs dugout. As the Cubs pitcher at the time said "heck no he didn't point out to centerfield, if he had, I would have laid him on his ass."

Sandy Koufax

You sure about that? After that out, the players on the other team just ran into the dugout. No celebration or anything. Either way, pretty cool stuff. I'll have to look at more of them later. Yep, I imagine they ran off the field because the game was at Yankee Stadium and crowds back then were allowed to go onto the playing field at the end of the game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1926_World_Series http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Ruth1926-3.jpg

Greene's .291 OBP would definitely improve this team.

That's because pitchers only threw 25 mph back in the day.

They don't own that footage.

Because of course baseball didn't matter until 1983. we get it, you like ty cobb. Was I trying to make the point that I like him?? I wasn't trying to make anyone "get" anything, least of which you.

That would be awesome. Hendry could pay them in bums who hang around Wrigley. I imagine that Ronny Woo Woo would be first. They should eat those kids who play the buckets.

Because of course baseball didn't matter until 1983.

That doesn't happen anymore, guy. That's exactly my point. I wouldn't pay ANYONE playing today that kind of money. I bet you'd pay zombie Ty Cobb that kinda scratch. ....perhaps...Cobb's best year v. A-Rod's best year. .420/.467/.620, 196 OPS+, 127rbi, 83sb >> .314/.422/.645, 177 OPS+, 156 rbi, 24 sb

Pretty much. Get that BABIP up a little and he's looking at an .850 + OPS. Given that he K'd in 35% of his big league AB's, I'm stunned he ever got his OBP up that high. Ryan Howard says "Sup?" Adam Dunn too.

Pretty much. Get that BABIP up a little and he's looking at an .850 + OPS. Given that he K'd in 35% of his big league AB's, I'm stunned he ever got his OBP up that high.

Senior I guess if he had ever been any good he would have transferred instead of wasting away behind Dixon. Speak of the devil, INT, ballgame!

Leaf is some kind of bad. What year is he?

so .251/.370/.449 is doing good? Granted he did well with Florida for half a year, but the guy was a complete bust.