Speaker, Ty Cobb, and Joe Jackson had virtually identical
hitting statistics. Cobb had the highest OPS of the trio; Jackson had the most total bases, Speaker the most runs produced. Cobb's impeccable credentials included his second consecutive .400+ batting average.
Most novice fans have heard of Ty Cobb, and know a little
about him. Tris Speaker is not as well known, but he is one of the
greatest outfielders ever, in the same class as Cobb, Mays,
DiMaggio, etc. Speaker and Cobb played their careers almost
concurrently; both retired in 1928, as members of the same team.
Cobb is more famous because he retired with numerous hitting
records, and was a virtual psychopath.
Speaker was also a great hitter, though not quite as good as
Cobb. He set one hitting record, for career doubles (792), and
still holds that record as of 2002. But Speaker was the better
defensive player, one of the greatest ever. Speaker would play
close to the infield, and was able to throw out baserunners on ground balls
that eluded the infielders. This enabled him to compile 448 outfield
assists in his career, another record (Cobb is second, with 392).
Of course, because he played so shallow, balls would
occasionally be hit over Speaker's head. This was no problem,
because "The Grey Eagle" was the master at running down deep fly balls
and making over-the-shoulder catches. This made Speaker a truly awesome fielder, in that he
could act as both an infielder and outfielder at the same time. Of
course, once the lively ball was introduced in 1920, this style of
play became obsolete, as outfielders were forced to play back. Speaker's records of outfield assists and double plays
aren't likely to ever be broken.
So Speaker and Cobb were well-matched on the field.
Both were great hitters, though Cobb was a little better. Both were
great fielders, though Speaker was a little better. Oh, and Speaker
was a nice guy, so there probably won't be any movies made about
him anytime soon.
I'm choosing Speaker as the MVP this year. His team won the
pennant, he was a great defensive player, and he was as good a
hitter as anyone. He was the winner of the Chalmers Award. And I'll
give Cobb a slight edge over Jackson.
Speaker, Cobb and
Jackson are all worthy of being among the top four, but so are Eddie
Collins and Frank Baker. I'm not sure how to choose between them,
but I'll have to try. Collins and Baker both played for the Athletics,
who had a good year. Collins got on base more, Baker had more power. Baker
led the league in runs produced, Collins was probably a better
defensive player.
This was "Home Run" Baker's best year. Home Run Baker hit only 96 home runs in his career, but that was a sizable total for the dead-ball era. Baker played for only 13 years, but was one of baseball's premier third baseman. His reputation rests on the years 1911-14; he led the league in home runs four years in a row, and also twice in RBI. Baker was a big star in the Athletics' famous $100,000 infield, which also featured Collins, first baseman Stuffy McInnis and shortstop Jack Barry.
The great infield led the Athletics to four pennants and three championships before the team broke up. Baker sat out the 1915 season in a salary dispute. In 1916 he joined the Yankees, and had some more good years, but was never again the great player he had been before. Still, he is in the Hall Of Fame, and deserves to be. He was baseball's best third baseman for the first 50 years of the century, the best before Eddie Mathews.
