Changes for Cobb

We left off with Ty Cobb's trying to return to MLB Baseball after he suffered a torn labrum in 1908, which he missed the remainder of that season... Initially he was supposed to only miss 9 months, but then suffered an recovery setback that added an additional 12 months to being on the disabled list (missing the entire 1909 season).

So the question was, would Ty Cobb be the same?

Cobb came back with a vengeance, batting .377 with 3 HR & 33 RBI (.944 OPS) in 59 games with the Boston Braves, while stealing 31 bases.

The problem is that the Braves were dealing with other injuries, while Cobb was trying to carry the entire load. Tensions also starting to mount between Cobb and upper management, Cobb felt that the front office expected too much from him, blaming him for his injury short-comings.

This was a team that won the 1907 World Series, while falling short in another series (1905) with Cobb leading the way. Insiders among the members of the press have sighted that upper management felt they should have been challenging the New York Giants as the next National League dynasty, which may have led to the tensions between the two parties. It is a bit absurd that the Braves' front office would be expecting so much, since the franchise had no success whatsoever prior to Cobb being drafted 1st overall in the 1904 MLB Draft.

Then came July 31, 1910...

With a couple hours remaining until the trade deadline, the Boston Braves announced that they have traded Ty Cobb to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitchers Eddie Cicotte, Hippo Vaughn, Nap Rucker, outfielder Doc Smoot, prospect outfielder Owen 'Chief' Wilson & $2,500 in cash. Braves fans were irate, while Detroit fans lit up the city that night with celebration of the news.

Both the Braves and Tigers were going nowhere while hovering at the bottom of their divisions, at the time of the trade.

Cobb would reward the Tigers by batting around .450 that first week, winning A.L. Player of the Week honors.


Other news from this league....

How have been the Cubbies?

The Chicago Cubs didn't do anything between the 1901 and 1905 seasons, finishing last in 4 of those first 5 seasons. Things started to change around the 1906 season when they finished in 2nd with 80 wins. Then came their dominant stretch, winning the N.L. West four years straight (1907-1910) while winning the 1908 World Series over the New York Highlanders & losing in another World Series to the St. Louis Browns in 1910.

The 1908 World Champions were led by Frank Chance, Johnny Evers & Harry Lumley at the plate, while it was 'Wild Bill' Donovan, Jimmy Dygert & Tom J Hughes getting it done on the mound. The Cubs also had George Mullin producing as their center fielder, who made a transition from pitching due to a chronic sore elbow.

The New York Giants' Christy Mathewson eclipsed Kid Nichols as the game's all-time strikeout leader with 2.449 strikeouts-and-counting. Christy has been collecting plenty of plaques during his career, winning three N.L. Cy Young Awards (1906, 1909-1910), while winning MVP honors back-to-back in 1909 & 1910... He also has three World Series rings, while winning 1909 NLCS MVP & 1910 World Series MVP honors.

Mathewson owns a 14-7 postseason record with a 1.18 ERA & 109 strikeouts in 198 innings of work.

More to come...