Who Excels in Center?

He was a reprobate, a racist, a misogynistic nut case, but he was the first man in the Hall of Fame and might have been the best ballplayer of all time. Ty Cobb had an incredible 4,189 base hits, a similarly incredible .367 lifetime batting average, and hit over .400 in different three years!

His 54 steals of home still stands as a record, and in one World Series game he got to first, and proceeded to steal second, third and then home.

In 1909 he won the triple crown with just nine home runs, none of them going out of the park, in what might have been the high water mark for the deadball era.

For Cobb, baseball was war, according to Charlie Gehringer. Cobb was ruthless, even with friends, like Shoeless Joe Jackson. In 1911 Jackson and Cobb fighting it out for the batting title. Although Cobb played in Detroit and Jackson in Cleveland, they were first of all Southerners, and friends. But when the Tigers played a long, late season series against Cleveland, Cobb was outrightly rude to his old buddy. Cobb claimed that these "mind games" put Joe off his game, going into a "slump" with a season-ending .408 average, while Cobb finished at .420.

One of the most famous incidents took place in New York in 1912 when Cobb went into the stands to beat up a heckler, who reportedly had no hands. "I don't care if he's got no feet," Cobb reportedly said.

The league suspended Cobb, his teammates went on impromptu strike, leading to one of the most bizarre incidents in baseball history. A team of college boys replaced the Tigers, setting scads of negative records. One interesting side to the story: a collegian named Travers played in the outfield, and was later ordained a Catholic priest! But I digress.

He knifed an elevator operator, fought constant fights, and swore that blacks, women and most of the world was out to get him.

Cobb & Jackson

Later in his career, Cobb became jealous of the young Babe Ruth. He told a reporter in 1925 that swinging for the fences was easy, it took art and style to steal bases, play strategy and create runs. Ty went 6 for 6 that day with two singles, a double and three home runs.

The Free Press described him as "daring to the point of dementia." Would have been fun to see him play. Interestingly, he died an extremely wealthy man, worth an estimated $86 million. When he came into the hospital he carried a paper bag with $1 million in cash and a Lugar pistol.

Mickey Stanley is about as different from Cobb as you can get, with one exception. While Cobb was a good centerfielder, Stanley was a miracle worker in the "Death Valley" centerfield of old Tiger Stadium. He could go back on a ball like none other, and reel it in, making a perfect relay to second or short. He caught four gold Gloves in the process.

He labored out there for 15 years, and although his lifetime batting average was only .265, his fielding average was a phenomenal .995, 35 points better than Cobb.

Of course, us oldsters will never forget him coming from center to play shortstop for the 1968 World Series. Thinking back, Mayo Smith only picked up about 60 points in batting average by taking out Oyler for the unknown of Stanley at short. Fortunately it all worked out.

Sadly, Mick was just a little too old to make the big bucks; in 1977, the year before he retired, he earned $65,000

"I feel very fortunate I was able to stay in the same organization so long. The Detroit fans have been super. I was never a superstar. I went through some slumps and never heard any boos."

Enough of the past, and on to the future. Curtis Granderson seems to have a lot of Mickey Stanley's charm and glove talent, and Cobb's bat ability without the acid.

For the 2007 All Star Game, Granderson got the most write-in votes of any player. He, along with Charlie Gehringer, are the only Tigers to get 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases in a season.

Granderson is just the sixth member of the 20-20-20 Club (doubles, triples and home runs, in case your wondered). In 2007 he did that, plus stole more than 20 bases, only the third to do it, the last one being Willie Mays in 1957.

We've only had Curtis for four full seasons, but let's hope he's around for a long, productive run with the Tigers, and stays away from the strikeout pitch.