Happy Birthday to the late and great Ty Cobb. In a twenty-four-year career in which the vast majority took place in the dead ball era, Cobb established himself as one of the crown jewel greats of this game. Cobb was the best player of his time; the gap between him and the second-best player was more significant than at any given time in baseball history. Primarily a Centerfielder, Cobb had all the abilities to be great in that era, making excellent contact at the plate and being one of the greatest baserunners ever. Twenty-two years of his career took place with the Detroit Tigers, and two years saw him play for the Philadelphia Athletics. Before I go any further, this post is just about Ty Cobb’s career on the field.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1905-1928):

.366 BA 4,189 HITS 117 HR 1,944 RBI 2,245 RUNS .433 OBP

  • 1909 Triple Crown Winner
  • 1911 AL MVP

As an Offensive Player:

As a Left Handed hitter, Cobb batted over .300 in 23 of the 24 years he played and over .400 thrice. No player in baseball history has hit for a higher lifetime Batting Average of .366 or won more Batting Titles than Cobb with 12. Cobb recorded 200 or more hits in a season nine times while leading the league eight times. Cobb drew almost twice as many Walks (1,249) than strikeouts (680) in his career. He wasn’t just a singles hitter; he ranks 4th all-time in Doubles (723), leading the league four times. He trails only Sam Crawford for the most Triples in baseball history with 297, as well as leading the league four times. A single was easily a Double, and a Double was easily a Triple for Cobb. Very few players in all of baseball history ran the bases as well as Cobb did. If Cobb got on the base, even if it was a single or a walk, it was very likely that he would find his way to home plate. Stealing 897 bases in his career, Cobb led the league in Stolen Bases six times. How fast was Ty Cobb? Well, you know, the 117 Home Runs he hit in his career, well, 46 of them were Inside-the-park. 

As a Defender:

Playing the third-hardest position in the sport in Center Field, I would say Cobb was good enough as a fielder. Cobb recorded the 2nd most errors (208) of all time in Center Field. Among all-time Centerfielders, he ranks 2nd all-time in Assists with (275) and 6th all-time in Putouts with (5,156). Cobb recorded a lifetime .961 Fielding Percentage in Centerfield, the average among other CFers during his career. Cobb also spent 703 games in Right Field and 33 in Left Field. You can easily argue that he would’ve been better defensively had he played as a corner outfielder. Nonetheless, he got the job done by playing 2,181 games in Center Field.

Best Years of his Career:

Looking at his year-by-year statistics, Cobb had too many incredible statistical seasons, which isn’t shocking for a guy who only failed to bat under .300 once in his career. The two years that stand out for me are 1909 and 1911. In 1909, Cobb won the Triple Crown, leading the league with a .377 BA, 216 HITS, 9 HR, 107 RBI, .431 OBP, and 115 RUNS. His nine home runs were all hit inside the park. You can also say he won the Quadruple Crown, leading the league in Hits. His 1911 MVP season was slightly better than his 1909 season. Cobb hit for the highest average of his career .419. As well as career highs in Hits (248), RBIs (127), Doubles (47), Triples (24), and Runs (148). Also, he stole 83 bases while recording a .466 OBP. 

Legacy On The Field:

Cobb was not the most liked player on the field, playing in an era in which baseball was about intimidation. Cobb was among the few who had all the confidence in his abilities as a ballplayer and took on the game with no fear of stepping into anyone’s shoes. While it rubbed some the wrong way, it worked; no player in baseball history dominated their era the way Cobb did. Looking at his year-by-year statistics from Baseball-Reference.com between Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Stolen Bases, Batting Average, and On Base Percentage, Cobb has 50 Black/Bold Face Type, which he led the league. While he didn’t hit the number of home runs that Babe Ruth did, Cobb had the ability to hit the long ball; however, he felt that the game should be played the way he played.

Despite last playing almost 100 years ago, he ranks 2nd all-time in Hits and Triples, 4th all-time in Doubles and Stolen Bases, 7th all-time in OBP, and 8th all-time in RBIs. If you were to come up with a Mt. Rushmore of Hitters, Cobb is undoubtedly one of them. For my money, he is the 2nd greatest hitter in all of baseball history, behind Ted Williams. From a Detroit Tigers standpoint, there’s no question about who was the most outstanding player in their franchise history. While players didn’t have a number when he played his name, COBB is honored next to the retired numbers in Comerica Park. In 1936, he, along with Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson, were the first five players to receive induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, with Cobb receiving the highest vote total, 98.2%. In 1999, when the Sporting News came out with their list of 100 Greatest Ballplayers, he was ranked #3.

References:

  1. Ty Cobb via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ty_Cobb#
  2. Ty Cobb Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml