Difference between revisions of "Ty Cobb"
(Cobb was opposed to the emphasis on home runs that began with Babe Ruth and continues to this day. Cobb felt that a hitter should swing down on a ball, not upwards as Ted Williams advocated.) |
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Revision as of 03:28, November 11, 2015
Ty Cobb is considered by many to have been the greatest baseball player ever, garnering more votes for his induction in the first batch of players to the Hall of Fame than any other player, including Babe Ruth. But Cobb was also one of the dirtiest players in an era when baseball was a far more brutal sport than today. Later in life Cobb reportedly converted to Christianity and was anonymously very charitable in his donation of wealth that he earned outside of baseball.
Cobb was opposed to the emphasis on home runs that began with Babe Ruth and continues to this day. Cobb felt that a hitter should swing down on a ball, not upwards as Ted Williams advocated.
Later in life, Cobb explained in a handwritten note to a reporter of the Christian Science Monitor:[1]
| “ | One run has no value today with the lively ball. Baseball was still baseball when we had the bunt, sacrifice bunt, hit and run, and the squeeze play. The outfield was part of the overall defense, meaning that the outfielders didn't play so deep that they had to relay the ball to an infielder to set up a play at the plate. | ” |