Kuzul

The New York Yankees were hosting the Chicago White Sox on July 28, 1962. A Saturday afternoon crowd of 53,199 was on hand, but the game between the two rivals was not the primary attraction. It was Old Timers’ Day

The 1937 American League All-Stars faced the National League All-Stars in a two-inning game before the regularly scheduled contest. In 1937, the American Leaguers triumphed by a score of 8-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

Joe DiMaggio retired after the 1951 season because he realized that he was no longer “Joe DiMaggio.” The second-greatest center fielder in history, right behind Ty Cobb, was appearing in his 11th old timers’ game, batting third.

In the first inning, with Earl Averill on first and one out, DiMaggio faced Van Lingle Mungo, who used to throw aspirin tablets for the Brooklyn Dodgers. DiMaggio worked the count to three balls and two strikes.

Mungo peered in to get the signal from his catcher, Ernie Lombardi, nodded assent, went into the wind-up and fired. DiMaggio connected.

The ball soared into deep center field, where the fence was 461 feet away.

To those fans who had seen DiMaggio play, the shot brought back many memories of drives that traveled over 450 ft. only to become outs.

Former New York Giants center fielder Jo-Jo Moore started racing back as almost all the fans rose to their feet. In a vain effort, Moore backpedaled and then fell to the ground as the ball landed beyond his reach and rolled to the wall.DiMaggio was at second base when Moore picked himself up and started after the ball. The crowd screamed for DiMaggio to keep going, which he did.  When Moore finally picked up the ball at the base of the wall, DiMaggio was about to touch third.

He was huffing and puffing as the crowd kept yelling for him to go for it. DiMaggio rounded third and headed for home.

Shortstop Dick Bartell caught the relay from the outfield, whirled and fired a strike to Lombardi that DiMaggio barely beat. The fans went berserk—especially the older ones.

In the dugout, a winded and grinning DiMaggio (yes, he did smile on occasion) told his teammates that he was retiring for a second time.

The day was filled with irony.

Dizzy Dean, whose career was cut short when Averill hit a line drive back to box that struck Dean in the foot, fracturing his toe, was injured in the old timers’ game.

Dean started the game and lasted one batter. Charlie Gehringer hit a sharp ground ball to the right of first baseman Johnny Mize. Dean went to cover first and tripped over the bag, ending his day.

In the regular game, the White Sox led the Yankees 3-0 when Mickey Mantle, the center fielder many modern fans rank ahead of DiMaggio, more than matched the Yankee Clipper’s feat.

Mantle broke up knuckle baller Eddie Fisher’s shutout bid with a seventh-inning home run into the upper deck of the right field stands.

It was a special day. Fans could say that they were at a game in which DiMaggio and Mantle each hit a home run.

It’s been asked thousands of times, but it will always be worth asking again: How many home runs did Yankee Stadium take away from Joe DiMaggio?

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As a player, Yogi Berra has been on 14 pennant winners and 10 world champions. He managed the New York Yankees to the 1964 pennant, was a coach on the world champion 1969 New York Mets and led the 1973 Mets to an improbable pennant.

Berra is one of seven managers to win pennants in both leagues (Joe McCarthy, Alvin Dark, Dick Williams, Sparky Anderson, Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland are the others).

On Aug. 5, 1975,  the Mets relieved Berra of his managerial duties. It was the second time that a New York team had fired him.

Berra took over as Mets manager in April 1973 following the untimely death of Gil Hodges. The Mets did poorly in 1974 after taking the Oakland A’s to seven games in the 1973 World Series.

Some “experts” criticized Berra for starting Tom Seaver in the sixth game of that series and Jon Matlack in the seventh game. Each pitcher had three days’ rest, but this was 1973, when it was the norm for starters to work on three days’ rest.

The “experts” thought that George Stone should have started the sixth game in an effort to close out the series. When Stone lost, Seaver would start the seventh game on full rest.

It was the Mets that instituted the five-man rotation because Seaver, Matlack, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman and Gary Gentry threw so hard. Pitching coach Rube Walker and Hodges didn’t want their young pitchers to burn themselves out.

Berra wasn’t surprised that he had been fired.

“I could sort of see the handwriting on the wall. Mr. Grant was saying there was a lack of communication on the team. But lack of communication? I’ve managed four years and won two pennants,” Berra said.

M. Donald Grant, the Mets chairman of the board, attempted to explain.

“The performance of our team this year was the criterion. I personally thought at the start of the year we were a very strong team. It’s up to the players now to produce.”

When Roy McMillan replaced Berra, the Mets were 56-53. They finished third at 82-80.

Firing Berra really made the team play better.

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After sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series, the New York Yankees had a 12-game winning streak in the Fall Classic.  Previously, the Yankees had swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1928.

The “experts” were certain that the Yankees would repeat as pennant winners for the next few years, but as is often the case, the experts were wrong.

It wasn’t until 1936 that the Yankees returned to the World Series. The New York Giants stopped the Yankees’ World Series winning streak with a convincing 6-1 victory in the opener at the Polo Grounds.

The Yankees won the 1936 Series in six games.

The next season, the Yankees and Giants met again, and once again the Yankees prevailed, this time in five games. The Yankees won the first three games, lost Game 4 and finished off the Giants in the fifth game.

The Yankees swept the Cubs for the second time in seven seasons in 1938. They followed that with a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in 1939 to bring their World Series winning streak to nine game.

The Detroit Tigers won the 1940 pennant, but the Yankees came back with a vengeance in 1941 to win the pennant by 17 games over the Boston Red Sox. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the National League champions.

The Yankees won the Series opener to bring their streak to 10 consecutive World Series games, but Brooklyn won the second game to snap the streak.

Very few of us today saw those great Yankees teams, but most of us saw the team that was better than any of them. The 1996-99 Yankees were greater than the 1927-32 teams. It is impossible to determine that objectively, but that is the position here.

The earlier teams had two of the greatest stars ever, but the Yankees in the last years of the 20th century were a much more balanced team.

The Atlanta Braves, with a pitching staff led by Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers, beat the Yankees soundly in the first two games of the 1996 World Series.

The Yankees swept the next four games.

In 1998, the Yankees swept the San Diego Padres, and in 1999, they swept the Braves. The winning streak against the Braves, which is still in tact, was eight games.

The World Series winning streak of 12 games tied the Yankees’ longest World Series winning streak.

The New York Mets, a Wild Card team, faced the Yankees in 2000. The Yankees won the first two games to stretch the streak to 14 games, but the Mets won Game 3 to snap the streak.

The longest regular season winning streak is 26 games set by the 1916 New York Giants. In 1947, the Yankees won 19 consecutive games, which is a team record.

For a team to win 26 consecutive games is a remarkable feat, but some of the teams the 1916 Giants played were weak sisters. Not taking anything away from the Giants, but the Yankees’ 14-game World Series streak must be ranked as a more remarkable achievement.

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Roger Clemens doesn’t back down. A man of principle, he fights for his rights.

Monday, Oct. 25, 1999 was a World Series travel day for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.

After one of his legendary workouts, Clemens was involved in an altercation with a “gentleman” in the Yankee Stadium parking lot.

Clemens was signing autographs for fans. Magnanimous Roger, despite the fact that Steiner Sports now offers a signed Clemens baseball  for about $400, was more than happy to accommodate some of his fans.

After autographing more than one dozen items, Clemens started to leave when he heard an individual ordering him to continue signing. Clemens later said that the man hadn’t asked for his autograph and that he thought the man was simply being unruly.

”If you stand out there, you could probably see it happen 10 times a day, but I wouldn’t consider him a fan,” said Clemens. ”I don’t think he’s a Yankee fan. I was signing autographs and the guy was very violent. I think he spit.”

Clemens accused the individual of making an obscene gesture.

When he arrived at his car, the “fan” continued the verbal abuse. Clemens had had enough. He got out of his car and confronted the man. A witness said that he was as big as Clemens.

Standing nose to nose, Clemens pushed the man away.

”There was no need for it, basically,” Clemens said. ”I told him to back up from the car, and if he comes any closer, I’d consider it a threat. I pushed him away, but don’t write that he was a fan because he wasn’t a fan. Not using that kind of language and those types of threats.”

Not only did Clemens successfully defend himself. He pointed out to the media that the individual couldn’t have been a fan because fans don’t use “…that kind of language and those types of threats.”

The Clemens incident recalls a similar situation involving another New York pitching great.

The Yankees blasted Brooklyn Dodgers’ 27-game winner Don Newcombe in the second game of the 1956 World Series. A distraught Newcombe left Ebbets Field after his shower.

As he was going to his car, a parking lot attendant made a reference to Newk’s early departure. According to the attendant, Newk hauled off and hit him after he said, “What’s the matter? Things getting too tough for you?”

The parking lot attendant filed a $25,000 suit against Newcombe which was eventually dismissed.

Roger Clemens acted properly when he shoved the fan that threatened him.

He is standing up for his beliefs as he fights the felony counts involving perjury, false statements and obstruction of Congress.

Those in authority demand that those accused of violating their rules show remorse. It upsets most Americans that Clemens is not remorseful.

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In early July 1997, rumors swirled that the New York Yankees were going to swing a deal with the San Diego Padres.

The Yankees would send much-maligned left-hander Kenny Rogers, along with second baseman Mariano Duncan to the Padres in exchange for outfielder Greg Vaughn and a minor league pitcher.

Rogers’s claim to fame was that he had pitched a perfect game in 1994 for the Texas Rangers and that he was knocked out of the box by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth game of the 1996 World Series. That was the game that Jim Leyritz tied with a dramatic home run, which turned the Series around.

In 1997, the Yankees sent the ineffective Rogers (4-4, 5.90 ERA) to the bullpen in an effort to minimize the damage he might cause.

Duncan had batted .340 in 1996, but he walked a mere nine times in 417 plate appearances. Shades of Alfonso Soriano.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was displeased with Duncan’s play in 1997 and ordered him benched. Duncan reacted by saying that he wanted to be traded.

Vaughn had lost his outfield position to Rickey Henderson. He was batting .221 with 10 home runs, 24 RBIs and 56 strikeouts.

The Padres had acquired Vaughn from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trading deadline in 1996, but he batted only .206 with 10 home runs and 22 RBIs for San Diego.

George Steinbrenner attempted to make Rogers, who had just worked four shut out innings against the Atlanta Braves in relief of an injured Andy Pettitte, more attractive as trade bait.

“I saw a different Kenny Rogers than I’ve seen before,” Steinbrenner said. “If he can do that, he’s going to be very valuable to this team—and not just as the flag-waver in the parade.”

Rogers waved the flag down the Canyon of Heroes after the Yankees won the 1996 World Series.

The trade never happened, although Mr. Steinbrenner did send Rogers and Duncan away.

Just before the trading deadline, on July 29, the Yankees sent Duncan to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor leaguer Angel Ramirez.

After spending all of 1997 with the Yankees (6-7, 5.65 ERA), Rogers was traded to the Oakland A’s for a player to be named later. Much to their regret and the Yankees delight, Oakland sent Scott Brosius to the Yankees. The rest is history.

Vaughn remained with the Padres and in 1998, hit 50 home runs and drove in 119 to help the Padres win the pennant.

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It isn’t mentioned much because the New York Yankees didn’t make the playoff series, but the 1985 season produced an unanswerable question. So has almost every season in baseball history.

Which type of player has greater value to his team—the one who gets on base and sets the table to start a rally or the player who drives in the table-setter?

The 1985 Yankees finished two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. They won 97 games, which was six games more than the Western Division Kansas Royals won.

Don Mattingly had a tremendous season. He hit .324/.371/.567 with 35 home runs and 145 RBIs. 

Rickey Henderson had a tremendous season. He hit .314/.419/.516 with 99 walks and 146 runs scored. Henderson stole 80 bases and hit 24 home runs, but batted in only 72 runs. 

Many believed that Mattingly was the MVP. Others supported Henderson.

When Yankees manager Billy Martin was asked if the table-setter or the RBI man was more important,  Martin demonstrated why he was one of the great managers ever.

”They’re both very important,” he said. ”You have to have both—the guy to get on and the guy to drive them in.” 

”Everybody can’t drive in runs,” Don Bayor said. ”But a lot depends on where you put a guy in the lineup. Tommy Herr never drove in a lot of runs before this year, but now he’s in a spot where he can drive them in.”In 1985, Tommy Herr hit eight home runs  He drove in 110 runs. The reason? Herr batted third, behind Vince Coleman and Willie McGee.

”You get the first guy or two on and it generates so much on the bench,” Baylor said. ”It filters down to everyone else. The guy who gets on is a more valuable asset. You get that guy on and it starts the flow of everything else.”

Future New York Mets manager Willie Randolph agreed with Baylor. Of course, Randolph usually batted lead off.

”Without a doubt, the catalyst sets the tempo,” Randolph said. ”Without him, the big men can go up there and swing all they want and nothing happens. You have to have somebody to drive him in, but you can create a run with a leadoff man who’s aggressive.”

Reggie Jackson didn’t say it directly, but he thinks there is more pressure on the player who must drive in the runs.

”I’d rather be a guy where all I had to do was get on base,” Jackson said. ”It’s different driving in that guy.”

The “experts” don’t have any problems with the question. Mattingly received 367 votes, including 23 for first place, and easily won the MVP.

Henderson received 174 votes to finish third, behind George Brett. Henderson did not receive a single first-place vote.

Baseball-Reference lists each players WAR (Wins Above Replacement).

Henderson’s WAR was 10.0, Brett’s was 8.0 and MVP Mattingly’s was 6.4. 

Would Henderson have won if the vote were taken today?

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The New York Yankees are now the favorites to win the World Series.

Obtaining Michael Pineda is significant because it means that the Yankees have a solid pitcher to follow CC Sabathia during the season and in the playoffs. Of greater importance is that A.J. Burnett will not have to pitch crucial games.

There is little doubt that the Yankees will make the playoffs. Depending on the American League East standings near the end of the season, Sabathia opens the ALDS, with Pineda and Nova set for the next two games. 

If a fourth starter is needed, Kuroda or Hughes and/or Garcia could be used, depending on which one remains a Yankee.

The Yankees have been criticized for limiting the innings of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. That approach didn’t work out for either pitcher, but Pineda is different.

Pineda must be used judiciously and because the Yankees have enough pitching for the season, they can prevent him from reaching his limit too early. His innings must be carefully monitored in order to keep him fresh for October. He will not be subjected to being “the man” because Sabathia has proven time and time again that he can handle any situation.

Last year, the Yankees didn’t have much trouble winning the division If Bud Selig cannot implement a second wild card for 2012, it won’t make much difference if the Yankees are relegated to being the wild card. With two wild cards, the situation changes because winning the division becomes a necessity.

The point is that the Pindea isn’t the difference between making the playoffs or watching them. Pineda is probably the difference between getting to and winning the World Series or not.

Forget about trading Jesus Montero. The great Yankees’ general managers of the past, such as George Weiss and Gabe Paul, based their trades on how the players they obtained would strengthen the current team.

When Paul sent pitchers Fred Beene, Tom Buskey, Steve Kline and Fritz Peterson to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for first baseman Chris Chambliss and pitchers Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw, many “experts” questioned the trade.

The 1976-78 Kansas City Royals and their relief ace, Mark Littell, discovered that Paul knew what he was doing.

It is recognized that George Steinbrenner traded away many young players (Fred McGriff for Dale Murray and Willie McGee for Bob Sykes), but that’s not what happened in the Pineda-Montero trade. Both are young players with great potential.

Russell Martin was more than adequate last year. He might be even better with a season as a Yankee under his belt. He handles pitchers quite effectively.

The Yankees offense, even with Alex Rodriguez battling injuries, Derek Jeter fighting a poor first half of the season and Mark Teixeira’s lack of consistency, averaged 5.35 runs a game in 2011. Only the Boston Red Sox, who scored 5.40 runs a game, were better. We all know what happened to our friends from Boston.

A lot will happen between now and October. The Anaheim Angels and Texas Rangers are stronger than they were in 2011. The Detroit Tigers have been a Yankees nemesis for over 100 years. The Red Sox may not collapse again, but since they are the Red Sox, one never knows, does one?

Pineda is the piece that was missing in 2011.

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For the last few years, it has been common to present a pitcher’s strikeouts to walks ratio when attempting to evaluate effectiveness or potential. It is simply another tool that is used, but it is one of the weakest of all statistics.

A major reason is that batters’ strikeouts are now considered “just another out,” which is patently false. The exceptions are when a batter leads off an inning or is at the plate with two outs.  With one out, only a double play is usually, but not always, worse.

Batters now, unlike those of the past, don’t consider striking out shameful. Most of today’s hitters accept a base on ball with great reluctance.

In 2011, American League teams averaged 1,113 strikeouts and 499 walks. The ratio of strikeouts to walks was 2.23 to 1.

National League teams averaged 1,181 strikeouts and 502 walks. The ratio of strikeouts to walks was 2.35 to 1.

Justin Verlander was the best pitcher in the American League. He had 257 strikeouts compared to 57 walks for a 4.51 strikeouts to walks ratio.

Clayton Kershaw won the 2011 Cy Young Award. He struck out 248 batters and walked 54 for a strikeouts to walks ratio of 4.59.

Now comes the important part.

Verlander’s 257 strikeouts equal 23.09 percent of an average AL team’s strikeouts. Presented simply, if Verlander faced only one team in each of his starts, his strikeouts would account for 23.09 of the team’s strikeouts.

Now let’s return to Bob Feller’s 1946 season. Rapid Robert set a record by striking out 348 batters. He walked 153, which was pretty decent for him. Imagine any pitcher walking 151 batters in a season today.

Feller’s strikeouts to walks ratio was 2.27 to 1 compared to Verlander’s 4.51 to 1 ratio.

In 1946, American League teams averaged 653 strikeouts and 550 walks. As Phil Rizzuto would say, “Holy cow.”

American League teams had a strikeouts to walks ratio of 1.19 to 1.

Do you want to know why? It was a disgrace for a hitter to strikeout and most batters would eagerly accept a walk.

Feller’s 348 strikeouts represent an amazing 53.29 percent of the average 1946 AL team’s strikeouts.  His 153 walks represent an equally amazing 27.81 percent of the average team’s walks.

The New York Yankees’ Eddie Lopat, a contemporary of Feller, struck out few batters. Known as the “Junkman,” Lopat won 21 games in 1951 with 93 strikeouts and 71 bases on balls for a strikeouts to walks ratio of 1.31.

Lopat relied on guile and luck for his outs. He was the ultimate “contact pitcher” so his strikeouts reveal little. That is also true of his strikeouts to walks ratio.

This graphically illustrates the fact that presenting only a pitcher’s strikeouts to walks ratio is almost meaningless unless it is provided within a context.

How many innings were pitched?  How many strikeouts did the pitcher have for every nine innings? How many walks did he have per nine innings? How do his strikeout and walk totals compare to the league averages?

By the way, there used to a journeyman pitcher named Dick Hall. Originally an outfielder, Hall couldn’t hit enough to stay in the big leagues so he turned to pitching.

In 16 seasons, the now 81-year-old right-hander averaged 89 strikeouts a season. He ranks ahead of Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum, Felix Hernandez and Roger Clemens in career strikeouts to walks ratio.

Hall’s career strikeouts to walks ratio is 3.14 compared to Verlander’s 2.96, Lincecum’s 2.97, Hernandez’s 2.98 and Clemens’ 2.96.

Let’s return to Phil Rizzuto. “Holy cow.”

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The New York Yankees trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 at Dodgers Stadium in the top of the ninth inning. It was the second game of the 1978 World Series.

Bucky Dent led off with a single to left field against left-handed relief pitcher Terry Forster. Roy White then hit a dribbler that the somewhat rotund Forster fielded and threw to first for the out, moving Dent to second. It was a good or bad as a sacrifice.

Paul Blair, who had pinch-hit for left-handed hitting Gary Thomasson, drew a walk to put the potential tying and winning runs on base. That was all for Forster.

Young fire-balling right-hander Bob Welch came in to face Thurman Munson. All Munson could manage was a fly ball to right field that Reggie Smith caught for the second out.

When he first joined the Yankees, Reggie Jackson informed the world that “It all flows from me. I’m the straw that stirs the drink. Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink, but he can only stir it bad.”

Jackson, who had driven in all of the Yankees’ runs, stepped into the batter’s box.

Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was going against the “book” by having Welch face the left-handed hitting Jackson. Lasorda knew what he was doing.

Welch peered in to get the signal from Steve Yeager. It wasn’t necessary because everyone knew that Welch would throw only fastballs.

Jackson worked the count full. Welch delivered. Jackson fouled it off. Welch delivered. Jackson again fouled it off.

Welch went into the stretch one more time as the runners took their leads. They would again be off with the pitch.

As Welch delivered another blazing fast ball, Jackson was distracted by the runners in motion. It was just enough to cost him dearly as he swung and missed the high fast ball to end the game.

Jackson angrily turned around as the game ended. As he reached the dugout, he threw his bat, which shattered against the dugout wall.

After the game, Reggie, always class, had calmed down.

“I got beat, that’s all.”

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Ty Cobb won the triple crown in 1909. He batted .377, hit nine home runs and drove in 107 runs.

Yes, it certainly was the dead-ball era when nine home runs leads the league.

In 1909, American League teams averaged 3.44 runs a game. In 2011, American League teams averaged 4.46 runs a game. Yes, it still is the lively ball era.

One result of the lively ball era is that Cobb is slightly underrated as an offensive force.

Cobb ranks at the top of many offensive categories when one uses traditional statistics.

His .366 batting average is the best ever; he ranks ninth, with a .433 on-base percentage; he slugged .512 and is fifth with 5,854 total bases. Until Pete Rose broke his record, Cobb was first with 4,189 hits.

Cobb is second in runs scored, with 2,246, which is remarkable considering that runs were at a premium for most of his career.

Cobb is fourth in doubles, second in triples, seventh in runs batted in and fourth in stolen bases.

Until the late 1960s, Cobb was considered the greatest player in history. With the passage of time, that honor now belongs to Babe Ruth.

Now to the fun part.

I do not know how Cobb fares when one evaluates his career using modern statistics. We are going to find out.

Cobb ranks third in lifetime WAR (wins above replacement), with 159.4. Ruth leads with 172.0, followed by Barry Bonds’ 171.8.

Cobb is second in offensive WAR, with a 156.0, compared to Ruth’s 164.6. Cobb’s defensive WAR (dWAR) has not been determined since the relevant data are complete only since 1974.

The leader in dWAR is Brooks Robinson, with a 27.3, followed by Andruw Jones’ 23.9.

RAR purports to measure the number of runs better a player is when compared to a replacement player.

Cobb has a career RAR of 1,463, with a high of 112 in 1909. Ruth has a career RAR of 1,739, with a high of 147 in 1923. In eight different seasons, Ruth had a RAR better than Cobb’s best of 112.

Ruth is clearly the better offensive player, but let’s examine how their eras affected some of the numbers.

Cobb scored 2,246 runs, averaging about 94 runs a season. He batted in 1,938 runs, averaging 81 RBI a season. He led the league in RBI four different seasons.

During Cobb’s career, American League teams scored 124,854 runs, an average of about 5,202 runs a season.

Dividing Cobb’s 2,246 runs by the league’s 124,854 runs scored reveals that Cobb scored 1.8 percent of the league’s runs during his career.

Dividing Cobb’s 1,938 RBI by the league’s 124,854 runs scored reveals that Cobb batted in 2.6 percent of the league’s runs.

Since Ruth was a pitcher who could have been voted into the Hall of Fame had he remained a pitcher, we will use 1919-34 for him.

During those 16 seasons, Ruth scored 2,062 runs, averaging 129 runs a year. He batted in 2,085 runs, averaging 130 RBI a season. Ruth led the league in RBI in six of those years.

From 1919-34, American League teams scored 96,830 runs, an average of 6,052 runs a season.

Ruth scored 2.1 percent of the league’s runs from 1919-34. He batted in 2.2 percent of the league’s runs.

Player   Runs  RBI

Cobb       1.8    2.6

Ruth        2.1    2.2

No matter how one views the numbers, Ruth was the better offensive player. The only surprising result is that Cobb was slightly better at driving in runs, which brings up major differences between them.

Ruth drove in many of his runs with the long ball; Cobb did it with singles, doubles and triples.

Ruth scored many of his runs when hit home runs; Cobb put himself into scoring position with stolen bases and extra-base hits.

They are the top two players ever.

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