Posted By:
JimB"Babe Ruth fundamentally transformed the game of baseball, whereas Cobb was "merely" the best hitter of all-time "
Babe Ruth just hit a lot of home runs. Ty Cobb transformed the whole game when he played. Opponents feared getting anywhere near him. He not only had the physical skills and the numbers to be feared, he psychologically intimidated his opponents. I do not want to take anything away from Ruth, but Cobb had a much larger effect on the actual play of the games he was in. There is a difference between saying, "Oh ****, is Ruth going to hit another home run." and a second basemean, or third baseman, or shortstop hoping he doesn't try to steal because they are scared.
JimB