One of my friends posted this on Facebook, and it's a fascinating baseball story that I had never heard before. http://jameslincolnray.suite101.com/ty-cobbs-ugliest-scandal-a29891.html
Why anyone, much less a guy with no hands, would pick a fight with Ty Cobb is beyond me. That guy was 6' 1" of mean.
Next time anybody starts b****ing about steroids, or Barry Bonds, or Alex Rodriguez....or anybody in sports....remind them of what an a-hole Ty Cobb was and how people bend over backwards to understand him. The fact that this guy is *celebrated* makes me sick. Screw him.
The difference is that Ty Cobb's faults were personal, while the others' faults were related to their performance. You can hate Cobb as a person, but Cobb being a racist ******* didn't make him hit better. The same cannot be said of those who used performance enhancing drugs. Unless someone can prove he used performance enhancing dickishness, his on field accomplishments are easier to celebrate than those of Bonds et al.
Deadball era guys were way more interesting, mostly because the major leagues were essentially made up of hobos and drifters back then. Consider Rube Waddell: I'd say Bonds' dickery is one of the biggest reasons why people hate him as much as they do. If it turns out Junior was juicing, people would be disappointed, but I doubt anyone would turn on him.
Cobb sharpened his cleats, using them as weapons, and purposefully slid into opponents. He tried to permanently maim his opponents, for the sin of playing a child's game professionally. Forget the racism for a moment. How much more of a cheat do you need?
Where have you seen anybody celebrating Ty Cobb? People acknowledge that the guy was a great hitter, but I rarely see that mentioned without also mentioning what a total a-hole he was as well.
"Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-b*&^ when we were alive, so we told him to stick it!"
I don't know if my favorite Cobb story is true or not, but it should be. At some point during the '09 World Series, Cobb's on first and yells to Pirates SS Honus Wagner, "Hey, Krauthead! Next pitch, I'm comin' down and I ain't slidin'!" Wagner yells back, "Well, c'mon then!" Next pitch, Cobb takes off for second and sure enough, he goes after Wagner...who punches him dead in the face. And the enire Tigers bench stood up and cheered.
