Ted Williams vs. Ty Cobb

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Ted Williams vs. Ty Cobb

In the August 30, 1905 edition of Detroit’s Free Press, the sportswriters ran a small blurb announcing the arrival of a Detroit Tigers rookie, Ty Cobb. They stated, “Cobb left the South Atlantic League with a batting average of .328. He will not pile up anything like that in this league, and he doesn’t expect to” (Allen 177). Their prediction ironically rung true. Cobb hit better than their projected .328 batting average twenty times in his twenty four seasons (McCallum 217). Tyrus Raymond Cobb’s prolific career leads many fans and historians to believe that he deserves the title of greatest hitter of all time. However, some critics would argue that Ted Williams warrants this distinction. Unfortunately for Williams and his fans, the hitting prowess of Williams falls short of Cobb’s. While Williams arguably displayed a great hitting ability, Cobb remains the better batsman.

When asked to name great hitters, fans would probably mention the likes of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. It would not come as a surprise if they forgot to include the Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, on their list. The reason for their forgetfulness stems from the era in which Cobb played. Beginning his career in 1905, Cobb played baseball through the period dubbed “the dead ball era.” During this era (1900-1919), players hit marginally fewer homeruns than players from other eras. The reason for this homerun shortage resulted from the baseball used at the time. Indeed, the ball had no life. Loosely wound, one baseball often served throughout an entire game. Moreover, larger ball fields also kept the homerun totals down (“1900-1919”). Legal pitches also included the spitball, a terrib...

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...est Players: A Celebration of the 20th Century’s Best. St. Louis: The Sporting News Publishing Co., 1998.

Williams, Ted. My Turn at Bat. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1969.

“Ted Williams: By the Numbers.” Statitudes. Sports Illustrated. 21 Oct. 2003.

<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/statitudes/news/2001/01/31/tedwilliams_btn/>.

“Ty Cobb.” Historic Baseball. 19 Oct. 2003 <http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/ cobb_ty.html>.

[1] Cobb: (4191 hits)/(3033 career games/ 150 games) Williams: (2654 hits)/(2292 career games/ 150 games)

[2] Slugging % equals (total # of bases for a hit)/(total at-bats)

[3] (4191 hits –x hits) / (11429) = .344

[4] total hits/total at bats.

[5] (7706 at-bats) / (19 seasons) = 406 at-bats/season (2654 hits + x hits) / ((406 * 4) + 7707) = .366 x = 760.78 hits (760.78 hits) / (406 * 4) = .468

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