Burgess seems sincere. He could use an editor, not to mention a little more coherent thought. But hey – he does his homework.

On the basis of Burgess’s articles alone, I would conclude that Ty Cobb was, um, to avoid stronger language, a bad person. Burgess is an apologist for Cobb for reasons I find hard to fathom.

April 25, 1919 – Hotel Pontchartrain, Detroit, MI – Miss Ada Morris was working as a chambermaid at the Hotel, when she claims that Mr. Cobb called her a “nigger”. When she took offense at this slur, and flared back and sassed him, Mr. Cobb knocked her down, kicked her in the stomache [sic], and knocked her down the stairs. She had sustained a broken rib and had been hospitalized until at least June 1, 1919. She filed a law suit for $10,000.

This story was carried in the Chicago Defender, and also appeared in the Baltimore Afro-American, on the front page. The incident is very credible and is definitely racist.

So Ty Cobb probably didn’t murder anyone and probably didn’t fix any games. The above incident alone seems enough to remove him from the list of people I’d care to defend. Burgess’s overall defense amounts to excusing Cobb as a guy who didn’t kick black chambermaids down stairs any more than your average early 20th-century Georgia-born man. Nice. A product of his times?

Ty Cobb, great hitter in a bygone era of baseball. That’s about all you can say without getting into Cobb the man. Why try to make him seem better than Willie Mays (or whoever) or better than baseball players today? Why try to redeem him? Admiration for baseball talent is one thing, but why idolize a guy like Cobb when there have been great players who also managed to be reasonably decent human beings? Because he was a Detroit Tiger? Because when we were kids and only knew the baseball part, Cobb was God in Tigers lore? Right.

And now I’m done with Cobb. Rebut away, David.

David: Read the Al Stump biography on Cobb. Interesting read, and pretty much confirms the racist a-hole aspects of his personality. Also the murderer part. And gambler. Other than that, he was great.

That was my first ever Ty Cobb book that I read

(if you are talking about the second one he published)

I’ve since found out (after studying him) that a lot of it was gross misinterpretation, outright lies, and slander

Check out the link I gave to Loon if you want to know the truth, if not oh well

That book made for albeit an interesting read

Good case, big caveat.

Can I get unserious again? Good.

Those who cannot remember George Santayana are condemned to reading quotations attributed to him.

Those who cannot remember the past are

Thanks for the Ty Cobb link, David. Yes, I was kidding around. I’ll try to be serious if I have any comments on the baseballguru thing.

yes David, i’ve heard/read it, frequently and most often in my political science and ROTC classes. but, as the quote itself suggests, you study history in order to avoid past mistakes and improve upon previous methods, and its only rarely the case that the old-ways are better than the new-ways.

that having been said, there are examples in both history and, i’m guessing, sports where going back to basics helps. in any case, i just thought it was funny to see so many dead chaps quoted in a baseball blog…but for my part:

“Make your plans to fit the circumstances”
-George S. Patton

I guess I’m all for getting a guy like Hardy, good but short track record and not terribly expensive, with or without Iorg. Just don’t see why the Brewers would want to part with him. Good shortstops aren’t exactly growing on trees these days. I didn’t think he was on the table, to be honest. Can’t see what the Brewers might want that the Tigers have, either. Galarraga might be a bit much.

I’m still thinking the Tigers should go “bargain” on SS and C and put the money in the bullpen. A guy like Hardy makes you waver, though.

“He [Ausmus] would be a great teacher for Ryan.”

Jim Leyland was a catcher, and is only slightly older.

Well at least Ausmus could have been the best defensive catcher we’ve had in the last two decades at least

Leyland on the other hand…

On to your other comment about Ty

I know your kidding around, but if you ever want to know about the man himself, here is an excellent website

http://baseballguru.com/bburgess/

The links on the left along with the spreadsheets help to paint a very accurate (usually unbiased) picture of him IMO.

The movie that was based on him, was basically a bunch of fallacies combined together to create a myth of a racist sob, who cheated his way around.

IT makes for a good story(therefore sells), but in REALITY isn’t true at all.

Here is another quote for you, maybe you’ve heard it

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

I think I might trade Galarraga in a “cheap with potential shown by one fine season” for “proven, a bit expensive, but only 1-2 years” pitcher swap. But that would probably be about it.

I don’t think Verlander would be getting any kind of Zito-like contract unless he goes to another team. I was thinking more along the lines of what the Pads did with Peavy when the time comes. http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....adres.html