Ty Cobb and the hobby

[robw1959]

Don't forget that Cobb was a terrific outfielder as well. I think the answer to the OP has been pretty well summed up here. In 1936, he garnered more votes than any of the other Hall of Fame inaugurals including Ruth, who tied with Honus Wagner for second place.

[jsfriedm]

Originally Posted by robw1959

Don't forget that Cobb was a terrific outfielder as well.

What's the evidence for Cobb having been a terrific outfielder? I don't necessarily love WAR's defensive metrics, especially going that far back, but Baseball Reference has Cobb as being worth negative defensive WAR almost every year of his career, and -10.8 total.

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by jsfriedm

What's the evidence for Cobb having been a terrific outfielder? I don't necessarily love WAR's defensive metrics, especially going that far back, but Baseball Reference has Cobb as being worth negative defensive WAR almost every year of his career, and -10.8 total.

I believe in Charles Leerhsen's thorough research on Cobb, whom he credits as being an excellent fielder. He details Cobb as having had a tremendous arm, a good glove, and of course outstanding speed in tracking a baseball. Those WAR numbers don't always tell the correct story. Oddball rules and misinterpretations of errors could have accounted for those.