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Tucked away in the corner of the home dugout of Tiger Stadium, the Detroit City police officer spent nine innings with a towel wrapped around his head. Had he not, his ears would have rung from the chirping that came from behind him. It wasn?t a bird, but The Bird that chirped incessantly, relentlessly, and LOUDLY throughout the ballgame.

Mark Fidrych had the day off. But his famous beak didn?t.

It was July of 1976, the Summer of The Bird. When Fidrych, the 21-year old rookie, was on the mound – actually IN the game – he was the center of attention. He couldn?t help but be. The spotlight found him, and it was for the simplest of reasons. He was himself. Refreshingly so.

Back in April, before he captivated the city and ultimately the entire baseball world, Fidrych made his big league debut without expectation, without fanfare. He was just another hard-throwing right-hander, a gangly kid from New England who said things like ?Pahk yuh cah in the yahd.? He was a late addition to the roster out of spring training, a new face on an aging team that had collapsed the previous season on the way to 102 losses, including an embarrassing 19 in a row.

It was nearly a month before he made his first start, facing the Indians at Tiger Stadium on a Saturday afternoon in front of less than 15,000 fans. Less than two hours later, Fidrych was finished, having tossed nine nearly perfect innings. He set down the first 14 batters he faced before issuing a walk, and took a no-hitter into the 7th inning, before surrendering a pair of scratch singles. A groundout, a strikeout, and a flyball later, he was out of the inning, nursing a 2-1 lead. Four groundouts and a pair of strikeouts followed in the 8th and 9th, and that was it. The rookie had his first victory, a complete game two-hitter. It was the first of his league-leading 24 complete games. An unheard of total for a rookie hurler.

He quickly became ?The Bird? in large part because of his slender build (his knees almost popped out of his uniform pants, stork-like) and curly blonde locks. Less than two months later Fidrych had a 9-1 record, and adoring female fans were bribing his barber for strands of his famous mane. He was big-time. There was the cover of Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. There was an appearance on the Donny & Marie Show and Flip Wilson. At least two biographies were published mid-season. There was the City of Detroit passing a resolution recommending that the Tigers give Fidrych a pay raise. Five years before Fernanado Valenzuela spawned Fernandomania in Los Angeles, there was Birdmania in Motown.

And there were fannies in the seats. Lots of fannies.

There?s no evidence that Tigers General Manager Jim Campbell made an effort to pitch Fidrych at Tiger Stadium as much as possible, but during one 13-start stretch at the peak of The Summer of The Bird, the right-hander made 10 starts at the Corner of Michigan and Trumbull and just three on the road. Draw your own conclusions.

Opposing teams salivated at the opportunity to have The Bird on the mound in their ballparks. In Cleveland, where they normally drew about 10,000 fans, 37,000 showed up for The Bird in July. More than 30,000 flocked to see Fidrych and the Tigers in Minnesota. Even in The Bronx, home of the Yankees, Fidrych was a draw. Oakland, which finished 11th in the 12-team league in attendance, drew more fans to see The Bird than they did for a three-game series the previous week.

Why did fans around the country clamor for The Bird? It was his refreshing antics, something rarely seen on a diamond before or since. When The Bird was between the lines, it was a Show. He didn?t take the mound, he pranced on it. He didn?t have a pitching motion, he had a rhythmic, almost hypnotic ritual. Dipping his shoulders toward the ground, bending, leaning, bobbing and weaving as he addressed the plate. And he spoke. He talked – was it to the baseball? Was he telling it where to go? What was this Harpo of the hill up to? Did he have a special relationship with the magical sphere? It seemed he did. He waved his hands in the air, gesturing the ball toward the plate, coaxing it to do his bidding. And it did. He fired 94-mile-an-hour fastballs at the knees like lasers. He carved the corners of the plate. Opposing batters shook their heads, trudged back to their bench, and wondered what had just happened. The Bird fired a four-hitter, two five-hitters. He pitched an 11-inning shutout. 11 innings!

It didn?t seem to matter who was at bat, in fact he didn?t notice, and rarely even knew who they were. He was playing catch. He was hurtling the baseball toward the catcher?s mitt, firing it to a target that he was intensely focused on. The manner in which he pitched – the talking (which was never TO the ball, but rather a dialogue for himself, to help him stay focused on his mechanics), the gesturing, the handshaking of his teammates after they made a fine play behind him, the tossing balls out of play which had resulted in a hit, because they needed to ?learn to be an out? – it was never contrived. It wasn?t for the cameras, it wasn?t to get his name on billboards. It was mop-haired Markie Fidrych, the funny looking bundle of energy from Massachussetts who knew only one way to play baseball. And the people loved it.

He started the All-Star Game. He defeated the New York Yankees on national television on Monday Night Baseball, earning praise from the curmudgeon Howard Cosell. In August, Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles went to the plate and talked to his bat, trying to psych out The Bird. Fidrych laughed, smiled that famous, infectious smile, put his arms out in a ?I can?t believe it? manner, and proceeded to strike Nettles out with another knee-high heater.

He won 19 games, led the league in ERA and complete games, and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award easily. He finished second in the Cy Young Award voting and 11th in MVP voting despite playing for a team that was hopelessly out of contention. None of the attention fazed him. He wore ragged blue jeans, drove a rusty pickup, and drank cheap beer.

The following spring he was still Mark, still that character, care-free and youthful. He was playing around in the outfield during spring training, shagging flies with his teammates. A ball sailed toward him and The Bird leaped in the air in a futile attempt to snare it. But he wasn?t a bird, and he didn?t have wings – he couldn?t fly. When he landed, he wrenched his knee. He continued to pitch, and with that bum knee, he altered his motion, tearing the muscle. But he didn?t know that then, no one did. He started the ?77 season with two losses, then strung together six Bird-like victories: crisp, two-hour games with plenty of knee-high fastballs, cheering fans, and antics on the mound. But by July his wing was dead.

He was never an effective big league pitcher again. He was always ?attempting a comeback? or ?poised to return.? He was still ?The Bird? when he pitched, but it wasn?t as glamorous when he couldn?t win like he had in the Summer of 1976. It wasn?t until the mid-1980s, after he had been released by the Tigers and failed in a comeback with his hometown Red Sox, that doctors (with new technology) recognized the severity of the damage to his famous right arm. The rotator cuff was nearly torn clean through. But by that time he was a truck driver, a farmer, a former ballplayer.

And that?s the way Mark Fidrych spent his years after baseball, and that?s the way he died on Monday. It?s tempting to see his end as tragic. But Mark Fidrych stopped being tragic decades ago, when the failed promise of his fantastic start was exceeded by that amazing rookie season. He played baseball the way he lived life – with a genuine heart and carefree abandon. He lived his post-baseball life the exact same way. His death is sad, but The Bird will always be remembered for his breath of fresh air back in the Summer of 1976.

When Ty Cobb arrived in Royston, Georgia, on August 10, 1905, his father was dead from a shotgun blast and his mother was facing arrest for involuntary manslaughter. The small community was abuzz over the shocking death of their most influential and prominent figure, while Ty was in a state of shock at the loss of his father.

It soon became apparent what had happened the evening of August 8 at the Cobb residence. Contrary to Cobb’s description of a “shooting accident??? in his autobiography, there was more to the story. Suspicious that his young, attractive wife was having an affair, W. H. Cobb had set a trap. Telling his wife that he was going out to their farm for a few days, he hitched his horse to his buggy, left their home, and made a plan to catch his wife in the arms of her lover. That night, as he quietly made his way back to his home, W.H. Cobb was seen walking in Royston alone. Shortly after midnight, he climbed to the top of the roof above his porch and crept to their bedroom window, finding it locked. Amanda Cobb was awakened by the sound of footsteps on the roof and retrieved a shotgun which she kept within reach when she was left alone. According to the neighbors, two shots were fired, though not in quick succession. Amanda Cobb had shot her husband twice, once in the abdomen, and once in the head. Joe Cunningham, a neighbor and friend of Ty’s, heard the shots and made his way to the Cobb residence. When he arrived, he found Amanda Cobb kneeling over her husband, who was still holding on to life, despite massive bleeding from a large hole in his stomach and from the side of his head. Cunningham called it “the worst thing I ever saw.??? A doctor was summoned, but W.H. Cobb was pronounced dead at 1:30 AM.

Despite her explanation that she had mistaken W.H. Cobb for an intruder, from the beginning Amanda Cobb was suspected of having murdered her husband. The authorities found a revolver in his pocket, and the testimony of eyewitnesses in Royston who had seen Mr. Cobb walking toward his home, led them to speculate that the cause of death was a domestic squabble. On August 9, Amanda Cobb testified to a coroner’s jury as to what had occurred. On August 11, with Ty and her other children at home, a funeral was held at the Cobb residence for William Herschel Cobb. The following day, the sheriff arrested Amanda Cobb and set her bail at $7,000, a portion of which she was able to post to receive her release.

Ty spent a week at home with his mother and two siblings before returning to Augusta to join the team. The fact that he wasted little time in returning to his playing career is an indication that Cobb desired to be away from the gossip of Royston and the overwhelming anguish of his father’s death. Though he rarely spoke of his father’s death the remainder of his life, Cobb was greatly affected in many ways. The suspicious circumstances of the death cast a dark cloud over his family’s otherwise respectable name. It soon became evident that many people in Royston had suspected that Amanda Cobb was having an affair, and it may have even been brought to W.H. Cobb’s attention by a friend. At 33 years of age, Amanda Cobb was nearly 20 years younger than her husband, and she was described as “beautiful and radiant.??? 18-year old Ty, though he was not close to his mother, didn’t suspect her of wrongdoing, at least not outwardly. “This isn’t the kind of people Cobbs are,??? he said at the time.

Back with the Tourists, Cobb returned to the lineup on August 16, collecting two hits in the first game of a doubleheader against Charleston. Three days later, Charles D. Carr, the president of the Augusta club, informed Cobb that he his contract had been purchased by the Tigers and that he would be expected to report to Detroit by the end of the month. The 18-year old Cobb was excited by the news but weakened by the thought that his father would never know of his accomplishment. Cobb played the next week for Augusta and appeared in his final game at home on August 25, in front of a large crowd. In the bottom of the first inning, as he made his way to the plate, Cobb was intercepted by several well-wishers, including the mayor of Augusta, who presented him with a watch and a a bouquet of flowers. Cobb collected two hits in the game, stole a base, and recorded an assist from left field in his farewell to the Augusta faithful. His final average of .326 would stand up as the best mark in the league, and his 40 stolen bases ranked third. Though he was the youngest player on the Augusta team, Cobb would be the first to make it to the big leagues. Pitcher Eddie Cicotte would follow him a few days later, while Clyde Engle, Nap Rucker, and Ducky Holmes would make it in subsequent years.

After a brief stop back in Royston, Cobb was on his way north to Detroit. He had never been above the Mason-Dixon Line, and now he was on his way to a city larger than any he had ever seen. After a few missed connections, Cobb arrived in Detroit by train on August 29, and checked in to a hotel within walking distance of Bennett Park. Detroit’s Bennett Park was located on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the heart of the city in a section called “Corktown,??? because of the predominance of Irish immigrants living there. Cobb reported to the park on the August 30, just over three weeks after the death of his father. He was ready to start his big league career. The Detroit Free Press, writing of his arrival and his minor league batting success, speculated that the young Georgian “wouldn’t pile up anything like that in this league.???

Cobb saw action immediately with the Tigers, who were hosting the New York Highlanders in the second of a three-game series. Bennett Park was named for Charlie Bennett, a star for the National League’s Detroit Wolverines in the 1880s. A catcher, Bennett’s career was ended abruptly when he lost both of his legs in a terrible train accident in 1894. Bennett had been tremendously popular in Detroit, and in 1900, when the city earned a team in the Western League (later to become the American League), their ballpark was named in his honor.

The Highlanders, later to be known as the Yankees, started ace “Happy Jack??? Chesbro, a master of the spitball. The previous season, Chesbro had won an amazing 41 games and pitched more than 400 innings for the New York club. The Tigers, managed by Bill Armour, countered with “Big George??? Mullin, a fidgety right-hander from Wabash, Indiana. In front of an afternoon crowd of approximately 1,200 fans, Cobb hit fifth in the lineup, playing center field. Armour’s Tigers, due to injury, had a shortage in the outfield. In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers hit Chesbro hard, putting together a double, single, and a sacrifice bunt to plate one run and move another runner to third. With one out, the left-handed hitting Cobb strolled to the plate for his first major league at-bat. Using the hands-apart grip that he’d perfected as a boy in Georgia, 18-year old Ty Cobb peered out at Jack Chesbro and tried to overcome the nerves that were causing his stomach to twist and turn. The first pitch he saw was a high fastball that he swung through and missed. The next offering from Chesbro was a spitter that fooled Cobb for strike two. Chesbro then returned to his fastball, sending a pitch into the heart of the strike zone that Cobb met with a flick of his bat. The ball soared into the left-center field gap where it was retrieved by New York left fielder Noodles Hahn, whose throw to second base was a split second too late to catch the sliding Georgian. “Pinky??? Lindsay, the Tigers’ runner on third, trotted home to make the score 2-0. Ty Cobb had his first hit, first run batted in, and first double in the big leagues, having victimized one of the best pitchers in the league. Ty walked against Chesbro his next time up, and with Sam Crawford in front of him on second base, Cobb was out on the backend of a double steal attempt, but it did little to dampen the day for the Tigers, as they vanquished the Highlanders, 5-3. In center field, Cobb handled two putouts without incident and his first big league game was under his belt.

Today, December 18, is Cobb’s birthday. He was born 122 years ago on this date- the greatest baseball player of all-time (sorry Babe Ruth).

This is an excerpt from my book, Ty Cobb: A Biography, taken from chapter three, titled Jealousy and Persecution. To order the book, follow this link: Ty Cobb: A Biography

Like him or hate him, Bud Selig is presiding over the most financially prosperous era in baseball history. Some of the commisioner?s most controversial decisions – interleague play and the the wild-card format, for example – have proven wildly successful and popular with fans. Other controversial decisions – expansion and league realignment, and his reluctant ?pursuit? of steroid users – have yet to fully play out, but they haven?t stopped the ballpark turnstyles from spinning, and Bud has survived any stain of credibility, earning what is essentially a lifetime stamp of approval from the owners. Even the Players Union seems to tolerate Selig, and never has such an uninterrupted peace between the players and owners existed.But one of Bud?s biggest gaffes occured six years ago at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee when he ordered the game to stop when each team ?ran out of players.? The resulting tie caused a furor and a backlash that prompted the commissioner to make a decision that hangs like a cloud over two of the National Pastime?s most celebrated traditions. Selig decreed that the winner of the All-Star Game would determine which league would have home field advantage in the World Series. Beneath the dreadfully ignorant tagline of ?This Time it Counts!? Major League Baseball tried to repackage the midsummer classic from a in-season exhibition into a war between two leagues.

This ?experiment? has been a failure and it should be abandoned.

The irony is that Selig?s decision marginalized baseball?s All-Star Game, which has always been the very best all-star contest in sports. For many years since it began in 1933, the two leagues have had a very real rivalry, but when Selig plunked down a contrived reason to win, the participants shrugged it off.

?It?s a joke,? one Hall of Famer said in 2005. ?No one is going to risk any injury to win that game, and [the players] are not in favor of it [deciding home field advantage for the Series].?

In an article for the AP recently, Tom Glavine agreed. ?I?m not a big fan of the home-field advantage thing. I don’t think most players are.? Glavine should know, he?s a player representative to the union and he?s been involved at the highest levels in negotiations with the owners for more than a decade.

?I just think that in an effort to continue the goodwill that was going on between the players and the owners, this is something that we agreed to do because Fox really wanted it. So it was kind of an olive branch thing. We agreed to do it, but I don?t think any of us agrees with it per se,? Glavine said. ?We?re basically doing it because other people want us to. And so we do. In a perfect world, we would all love the team with the best record to have home-field advantage. But we keep being told that we can?t do that. I?m not quite sure why.?

In 2002, when the two managers – Joe Torre and Bob Brenly – misused their rosters, leaving them without pitchers for an extra-inning game, the media and fans were outraged that the game was ended in a tie. The poor planning by the league to foresee this possibility was the fault, not efforts of the players. Tying the game to the World Series isn?t going to make fans want to watch it. Fox Sports, who were left to explain the outcome of the 2002 game to their audience, has demanded the connection, thinking it draws viewers. Yet, in both 2004 and 2005, the All-Star Game drew the lowest ratings in its? history.

Great players, exciting plays, and drama make for a good All-Star Game. That will occur naturally (as it has in recent years). There?s no need to manufacture it, and the unfairness of rewarding one league the home field advantage because of an exhibition game outcome (the American League has won every game since the ruling) is evident. Why should a National League team (say the Cubs) who may post baseball?s best record, have to play a deciding Game Seven of the Fall Classic on the road because a member of the Seattle Mariners drove in the winning run in the All-Star Game back in July?

Mr. Selig, wipe away this absurd decision and give us back the All-Star Game and World Series the way they used to be.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Detroit Tigers World Series Championship team. To celebrate that magical season, the Mayo Smith Society and other Tigers’ organizations have collaborated on a book titled Sockit’ To ‘Em, Tigers. The 400-page, paperback book will be the most comprehensive ever written on that team and season. From what I have seen, it will be fantastic – a must-have for Tiger fans. I wrote three chapters of that book, and I’m very proud to have been a part of the project. Look for the book (or request it if your bookstore doesn’t carry it) this March.

Here’s a PDF flyer that promotes the book and allows you to order it now at a special discounted price: one-page flyer for Sockit’ To ‘Em, Tigers’

New Year’s Day is Hank Greenberg’s birthday. Greenberg was one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, and also one of the most heroic athletes in American history. In the 1930s, in many ways, Hank faced the racism and adversity that Jackie Robinson later faced in the 1940s. I strongly recommend his autobiography, co-authored by Ira Berkow, Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life. If you can find it anywhere, buy it. It’s an important book for any baseball fan.

Read an excerpt from my book, Ty Cobb: A Biography. This is taken from chapter three, titled Jealousy and Persecution

When Ty Cobb arrived in Royston, Georgia, on August 10, 1905, his father was dead from a shotgun blast and his mother was facing arrest for involuntary manslaughter. The small community was abuzz over the shocking death of their most influential and prominent figure, while Ty was in a state of shock at the loss of his father.

When Ty Cobb arrived in Royston, Georgia, on August 10, 1905, his father was dead from a shotgun blast and his mother was facing arrest for involuntary manslaughter. The small community was abuzz over the shocking death of their most influential and prominent figure, while Ty was in a state of shock at the loss of his father.

It soon became apparent what had happened the evening of August 8 at the Cobb residence. Contrary to Cobb’s description of a “shooting accident??? in his autobiography, there was more to the story. Suspicious that his young, attractive wife was having an affair, W. H. Cobb had set a trap. Telling his wife that he was going out to their farm for a few days, he hitched his horse to his buggy, left their home, and made a plan to catch his wife in the arms of her lover. That night, as he quietly made his way back to his home, W.H. Cobb was seen walking in Royston alone. Shortly after midnight, he climbed to the top of the roof above his porch and crept to their bedroom window, finding it locked. Amanda Cobb was awakened by the sound of footsteps on the roof and retrieved a shotgun which she kept within reach when she was left alone. According to the neighbors, two shots were fired, though not in quick succession. Amanda Cobb had shot her husband twice, once in the abdomen, and once in the head. Joe Cunningham, a neighbor and friend of Ty’s, heard the shots and made his way to the Cobb residence. When he arrived, he found Amanda Cobb kneeling over her husband, who was still holding on to life, despite massive bleeding from a large hole in his stomach and from the side of his head. Cunningham called it “the worst thing I ever saw.??? A doctor was summoned, but W.H. Cobb was pronounced dead at 1:30 AM.

Despite her explanation that she had mistaken W.H. Cobb for an intruder, from the beginning Amanda Cobb was suspected of having murdered her husband. The authorities found a revolver in his pocket, and the testimony of eyewitnesses in Royston who had seen Mr. Cobb walking toward his home, led them to speculate that the cause of death was a domestic squabble. On August 9, Amanda Cobb testified to a coroner’s jury as to what had occurred. On August 11, with Ty and her other children at home, a funeral was held at the Cobb residence for William Herschel Cobb. The following day, the sheriff arrested Amanda Cobb and set her bail at $7,000, a portion of which she was able to post to receive her release.

Ty spent a week at home with his mother and two siblings before returning to Augusta to join the team. The fact that he wasted little time in returning to his playing career is an indication that Cobb desired to be away from the gossip of Royston and the overwhelming anguish of his father’s death. Though he rarely spoke of his father’s death the remainder of his life, Cobb was greatly affected in many ways. The suspicious circumstances of the death cast a dark cloud over his family’s otherwise respectable name. It soon became evident that many people in Royston had suspected that Amanda Cobb was having an affair, and it may have even been brought to W.H. Cobb’s attention by a friend. At 33 years of age, Amanda Cobb was nearly 20 years younger than her husband, and she was described as “beautiful and radiant.??? 18-year old Ty, though he was not close to his mother, didn’t suspect her of wrongdoing, at least not outwardly. “This isn’t the kind of people Cobbs are,??? he said at the time.

Back with the Tourists, Cobb returned to the lineup on August 16, collecting two hits in the first game of a doubleheader against Charleston. Three days later, Charles D. Carr, the president of the Augusta club, informed Cobb that he his contract had been purchased by the Tigers and that he would be expected to report to Detroit by the end of the month. The 18-year old Cobb was excited by the news but weakened by the thought that his father would never know of his accomplishment. Cobb played the next week for Augusta and appeared in his final game at home on August 25, in front of a large crowd. In the bottom of the first inning, as he made his way to the plate, Cobb was intercepted by several well-wishers, including the mayor of Augusta, who presented him with a watch and a a bouquet of flowers. Cobb collected two hits in the game, stole a base, and recorded an assist from left field in his farewell to the Augusta faithful. His final average of .326 would stand up as the best mark in the league, and his 40 stolen bases ranked third. Though he was the youngest player on the Augusta team, Cobb would be the first to make it to the big leagues. Pitcher Eddie Cicotte would follow him a few days later, while Clyde Engle, Nap Rucker, and Ducky Holmes would make it in subsequent years.

After a brief stop back in Royston, Cobb was on his way north to Detroit. He had never been above the Mason-Dixon Line, and now he was on his way to a city larger than any he had ever seen. After a few missed connections, Cobb arrived in Detroit by train on August 29, and checked in to a hotel within walking distance of Bennett Park. Detroit’s Bennett Park was located on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the heart of the city in a section called “Corktown,??? because of the predominance of Irish immigrants living there. Cobb reported to the park on the August 30, just over three weeks after the death of his father. He was ready to start his big league career. The Detroit Free Press, writing of his arrival and his minor league batting success, speculated that the young Georgian “wouldn’t pile up anything like that in this league.???

Cobb saw action immediately with the Tigers, who were hosting the New York Highlanders in the second of a three-game series. Bennett Park was named for Charlie Bennett, a star for the National League’s Detroit Wolverines in the 1880s. A catcher, Bennett’s career was ended abruptly when he lost both of his legs in a terrible train accident in 1894. Bennett had been tremendously popular in Detroit, and in 1900, when the city earned a team in the Western League (later to become the American League), their ballpark was named in his honor.

The Highlanders, later to be known as the Yankees, started ace “Happy Jack??? Chesbro, a master of the spitball. The previous season, Chesbro had won an amazing 41 games and pitched more than 400 innings for the New York club. The Tigers, managed by Bill Armour, countered with “Big George??? Mullin, a fidgety right-hander from Wabash, Indiana. In front of an afternoon crowd of approximately 1,200 fans, Cobb hit fifth in the lineup, playing center field. Armour’s Tigers, due to injury, had a shortage in the outfield. In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers hit Chesbro hard, putting together a double, single, and a sacrifice bunt to plate one run and move another runner to third. With one out, the left-handed hitting Cobb strolled to the plate for his first major league at-bat. Using the hands-apart grip that he’d perfected as a boy in Georgia, 18-year old Ty Cobb peered out at Jack Chesbro and tried to overcome the nerves that were causing his stomach to twist and turn. The first pitch he saw was a high fastball that he swung through and missed. The next offering from Chesbro was a spitter that fooled Cobb for strike two. Chesbro then returned to his fastball, sending a pitch into the heart of the strike zone that Cobb met with a flick of his bat. The ball soared into the left-center field gap where it was retrieved by New York left fielder Noodles Hahn, whose throw to second base was a split second too late to catch the sliding Georgian. “Pinky??? Lindsay, the Tigers’ runner on third, trotted home to make the score 2-0. Ty Cobb had his first hit, first run batted in, and first double in the big leagues, having victimized one of the best pitchers in the league. Ty walked against Chesbro his next time up, and with Sam Crawford in front of him on second base, Cobb was out on the backend of a double steal attempt, but it did little to dampen the day for the Tigers, as they vanquished the Highlanders, 5-3. In center field, Cobb handled two putouts without incident and his first big league game was under his belt.

To order the book, follow this link: Ty Cobb: A Biography