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Just how good with the bat was Ty Cobb? There was once a story that during a game, the opposing team was heckling Cobb while he was at the plate. Cobb hit the first pitch foul, right into the visitors dugout. He did the same thing on the second pitch...and the third pitch...seven consecutive times he shot the ball at his hecklers. Needless to say, the heckling stopped.
Ty Cobb began his big league career in 1905 at the age of 19. Cobb once admitted that he was far from being a great athlete, but that he was so good because of his strong desire to win. That desire made him a very unlikable person among many other major league players, as he often slid into bases with his cleats high and was hostile toward everyone who crossed his path.
Ironically, despite that winning desire, Cobb never won a World Series in his 24-year career. But he did hold almost every batting and base-running record after his retirement. He won 10 batting crowns, and still holds the record for career batting average at .366. He led the league five times in runs scored, four times in RBI, eight times in slugging percentage, and six times in on-base percentage. He’s third in history in stolen bases with 892, and second to Pete Rose in hits with 4191.
Cobb played for Detroit through most of his career, including player-manager for the Tigers in 1926. He signed for a brief time with the Philadelphia Athletics and retired after the 1928 season. “The Georgia Peach” was a member of the first class of inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, receiving 222 of a possible 226 votes.
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