Quote:
Originally Posted by Hankphenom
You can read what those who played with and against him had to say about him long after he is gone and they are now old men with nothing to prove or hide in "The Glory of Their Times." Even better is to hear it directly from them on the audio edition. In general, Cobb was not well liked at all by his contemporaries, got into a lot of fights on and off the field, and had some old-fashioned racial ideas--"Still fighting the Civil War" is how Sam Crawford put it. However, to a man they also defend his base-running as hard-nosed and aggressive, not cheating or dirty.
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+1 as to what is said by his contemporaries in "The Glory of Their Times." The reviewer is also totally off base with regard to his contention that Cobb played in a time when high averages were common. In actual point of fact, Cobb played throughout the heart of the greatest pitchers' era of all time. He is, in fact, just one of 8 players who created more than 200% of the runs an average player would create during the same playing era, a Bill James stat which I consider the best yardstick to compare players across eras, playing their careers under vastly different conditions. Interestingly enough, when you utilize the "neutralization" factor at baseballreference.com, under neutral conditions, to perform up to the equivalent standards of the Georgia Peach, a player would have to hit .400 or better not 3, as Cobb did, but seven times, with an additional 3 seasons of .390 or better!
His legend is growing, and deservedly so.
May your collecting fill you with joy,
Larry