Ty Cobb

For the Washington, D.C. lawyer, see Ty Cobb (attorney). For the Soundgarden song, see Ty Cobb (song).
"The Georgia Peach" redirects here. For other uses, see Georgia Peach (disambiguation).

Ty Cobb
Cobb with the Detroit Tigers in 1913
Center fielder / Manager
Born: (1886-12-18)December 18, 1886
Narrows, Georgia, U.S.
Died: July 17, 1961(1961-07-17) (aged 74)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 30, 1905, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 11, 1928, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.366
Hits4,189
Home runs117
Runs batted in1,944
Stolen bases897
Managerial record479–444
Winning %.519
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1936
Vote98.2% (first ballot)

Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886[1] – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Cobb third on its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."[2]

Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career.[3][4][5][6] His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs) is still the highest ever produced by any major league player. His .366 career batting average was officially listed as the highest-ever until 2024, when MLB decided to include Negro Leagues players in official statistics.[7] Cobb still holds the highest career batting average on balls in play at .372[8] and most batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source).[9] He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source),[10][11][12] most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001,[13] most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974,[14][15] and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977.[16] He still holds the career record for stealing home (54 times) and for stealing second base, third base, and home in succession (4 times), and as the youngest player ever to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs. Cobb ranks fifth all time in number of games played, and committed 271 errors, the most by any American League (AL) outfielder.

Cobb's legacy, which includes a large college scholarship fund for Georgia residents financed by his early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors, has been somewhat tarnished by allegations of racism and violence, primarily stemming from a couple of mostly discredited biographies that were released following his death.[17] Cobb's reputation as a violent man was fanned by his first biographer, sportswriter Al Stump, whose stories about Cobb have been discredited as sensationalized, and have largely proven to be fictional.[18][19][20][21] While he was known for often violent conflicts, he spoke favorably about black players joining the Major Leagues and was a well-known philanthropist.[17][22][23]

  1. ^ "Ty Cobb". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "Baseball's 100 greatest players". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Peach, James (June 2004). "Thorstein Veblen, Ty Cobb, and the evolution of an institution". Journal of Economic Issues. 38 (2): 326–337. doi:10.1080/00213624.2004.11506692. S2CID 157860611. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007. (Abstract Only)
  4. ^ Zacharias, Patricia. "Ty Cobb, the greatest Tiger of them all". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2007. (Abstract Only)
  5. ^ Wolpin, Stewart. "The Ballplayers – Ty Cobb". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
  6. ^ Schwartz, Larry. "He was a pain ... but a great pain". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  7. ^ Treisman, Rachel (May 29, 2024). "The Negro Leagues are officially part of MLB history—with the records to prove it and most career". Sports. NPR. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  8. ^ https://www.mlb.com/stats/babip/all-time-totals?expanded=true
  9. ^ "Most Times Leading League". Sports Reference, Inc. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
  10. ^ Soderholm-Difatte, Bryan (2018). America's Game: A History of Major League Baseball through World War II. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 27. ISBN 9781538110638. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "Career Leaders for Hits (Progressive)". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  12. ^ Holmes, Dan (2004). Ty Cobb: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 0-313-32869-2. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
  13. ^ "Career Leaders for Runs (Progressive)". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  14. ^ "Career Leaders for Games (Progressive)". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  15. ^ "Career Leaders for At Bats (Progressive)". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  16. ^ "Career Leaders for Stolen Bases". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  17. ^ a b King, Gilbert (August 30, 2011). "The Knife in Ty Cobb's Back". Smithsonian.
  18. ^ "Ty Cobb history built on inaccuracies". MLB.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  19. ^ "How Ty Cobb the truth got lost inside Ty Cobb the myth".
  20. ^ "How Ty Cobb the truth got lost inside Ty Cobb the myth". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  21. ^ "The Softer Side of Ty Cobb | The Saturday Evening Post". www.saturdayeveningpost.com. July 18, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  22. ^ Miller, Glenn (September 24, 2015). "The Curious Case of Ty Cobb". Naples Herald. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  23. ^ Lipsett, Peter (April 6, 2016). "Ty Cobb's Philanthropy Has Lessons for Us All". DonorsTrust. Retrieved August 26, 2021.