[Lee]

As it was:
There have been volumes written about Ty Cobb, arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and without a doubt probably the most intense. Cobb’s shortcomings as a person are theorized to be rooted in an upbringing fraught with insecurity and his constant desire to please his Father, which shown through in his win at all costs mentality, that was present even as a young Boy. His formative years culminated in the tragic shooting death of his father at the hands of his own mother. Whatever the reasons, Cobb’s greatness on the Diamond was rivaled only by his insidious persona away from it.

Cobb began his major League career in 1905 after Detroit purchased his contract from Augusta, debuting against the New York Highlanders and ace Jack Chesbro, off a 40 win Season in 1904. Cobb doubled in his first Major League at bat but went on to hit just .240 the rest of the way, the only time he would hit under .300 in his 24 year Major League career. When he wasn’t fighting with Teammates, opponents or fans, Ty was doing what he did best….hitting the Baseball. Batting .316 in 1906, Cobb showed a portent of things to come.

In 1907 Ty hit .350 to capture the first of a record 11 batting titles, leading the Tigers to the first of 3 straight pennants. Cobb at this point formed the greatest one-two punch of the Deadball era with Wahoo Sam Crawford. The two barely spoke but had chemistry on the field, where it counted. Cobb’s Tigers failed to win a World Series in this stretch, losing twice to the Cubs and once to Honus Wagner and the Pirates and many said Ty melted in the spotlight of the World Series hitting just .262 over 65 post Season at Bats. If anything caused this sub par performance, it is likely to be that Cobb pushed too hard, when it mattered most. Though he never returned to the World Series Cobb indeed left an indelible mark on the game, batting .367 for his career, a mark that stands as one of Baseballs unbreakable records.

Ty continued to cut a swath through opposing Pitchers and Fielders alike, finishing his Career by hitting .323 for the Philadelphia A’s in 1928 at the age of 41. When he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936, Cobb accrued more votes than Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Matthewson or Honus Wagner, being named on 222 of 226 ballots…A true testament to the respect others had for him as a player, even though he was despised as a person by most in the game that knew him.


As it is now:
Ty Cobb was drafted by the lowly Washington Senators from the Augusta Tourists with the first pick of the 1905 draft. Debuting in 1906 Cobb appeared in 137 Games and led the Senators in hitting with a .317 average, garnering the American League Rookie of the Year award in the process. Cobb was a terror on the base paths as well stealing 37 Bases and leaving more than one opponent with shredded flesh from the wrath of his flying spikes.

Early in the 1907 Season Cobb earned the disdain of several Teammates, with his constant harassment of Third baseman Candy Jim Taylor, a black athlete who was well liked and another of Washington’s young Lions that the fans expected to lead the Team to greatness. Cobb hit .360 that year, winning the American League Batting Title and the Leagues Silver Slugger award as well. The Senators, however finished 5th and Cobb all but placed the entire blame on Taylor, stating that the Third Baseman’s .263 average was not worthy of a spot on his old Augusta Team, let alone any Major League squad. It seemed to matter little to Ty that only Catcher Nig Clarke (.329) and himself had a higher average than Taylor among the Teams regulars. In fact the two men who started on either side of him in the Outfield Watty Lee and Joe Martin hit just .203 and .232 respectively.

1908 went much the same way with Cobb tearing up opposing Pitchers to the tune of .359 in late July, while simultaneously wearing on the nerves of his Teammates, especially a cocksure Rookie 2B/SS named Eddie Collins, who, forced to room with Cobb, soon found the Georgian unbearable, and the two eventually came to blows. On July 22nd, with the Senators showing signs of challenging the Highlanders behind Cobb, Clarke .337 and Taylor .333, Cobb laced a pitch into the RF corner against the St Louis Browns, and rounding 2nd Base stepped on the bag at a peculiar angle, with the resulting pop being heard in the Stands. In great pain, Cobb was rushed to the Hospital, where Doctors eventually decided he had torn every major ligament in his right Ankle. They declared him finished with Baseball and explained that with the proper care, he could one day walk without a limp……reluctantly the Senators released him the next day.

Cobb, driven like never before, vowed to make the Senators pay for their actions and worked feverishly for Months to regain function. Appearing at the Detroit Tigers spring training facility in Georgia the next year, Cobb managed to secure a contract for the 1909 Season. Over the next 2 Seasons, Cobb, still hobbled appeared in only 11 Games for the Tigers, hitting just .250, still he refused to quit. Seeing action in his first game of the 1911 Season, Cobb cracked a double in his first at Bat and in the very next inning, took off after a hard hit fly Ball in Centerfield. Running at full cry, Cobb suddenly dropped as if he had been shot….Follow-up examination discovered he had completely torn his groin muscle and with surgery and a year of recovery looming, the feisty Cobb finally called it quits at the age of 25. Though he was generally despised, even Cobb’s harshest critics begrudgingly expressed empathy over a promising career gone to waste.


Epilog-His legacy was a Salad:
After finally giving up on his Dreams to become a Baseball Player, Cobb returned to Royston, Georgia. His bitterness at the fate bestowed upon him never faded, and he soon went to great pains to avoid Baseball at any cost, even chasing away the tow headed lads who often gathered to play at a park near his home. Cobb’s convoluted thought process probably justified such behavior, reasoning that if he could no longer believe in a dream, then nobody deserved to.

In later years he opened an Automobile Dealership and a Country restaurant. It was late one evening that Cobb, restless and looking to burn off some of his ever present stress, created a concoction that soon became all the rage among the fairer set during early evening dinners. The ever paranoid Cobb even went so far as to apply for a copyright for his culinary treat, forever insuring that the “Cobb salad” would bear his legacy. A legacy he would much rather have emblazoned upon the Game he once loved so much.


Side note-Still plenty to Wahoo about
While his real life Teammate saw a potential Hall of Fame career cut down like the fall harvest of Corn, Sam Crawford enjoyed a long and prosperous career that is still in progress as of this writing in 1920. Spending 17 Seasons in the Majors with Cincinnati, Detroit and finally Brooklyn, Crawford hit .294, with a single Season high of .339 with Detroit in 1911. With nine .300 Seasons overall and over 2500 hits, Crawford seems to have a shot at the Hall of fame when his playing days are done. Currently at age 40 Sam is playing in the American Association, where he has put together Seasons of .323, .348, .347 and .323 for the Syracuse Red Caps. Over his long Career Sam has garnered 4 All-Star selections, 2 World Championships with Detroit, a Silver Slugger Award in 1904 and a Gold Glove….not to mention only three short Seasons as a Teammate of the volatile Cobb.