Evening star., 1924-12-22
CHAPTER L..
BY II. G. SALSINGER.


made between Cobb and other
great players of past and
present. They all fall short of Cobb
chiefly because they lack his COM
petitivc spirit. There probably never
lived another man in sports who had
it as highly developed as Cobb.
They fall short Of him, too, because
they lack his magic brain. No two
men are alike, nor any two people
of either sex. There are, therefore,
no two brains exactly alike.
The brain Of Cobb happens to be
the singular exception-brain so
made that it gives more rarid ton
to thought than the braiI. any
other player; it is a machine of rare
intelligence and superior cunning.
this brain of Cobb.
All men must be judged by COM
parison. Cobb is the greatest ball
player of all time by comparison.
Other men have had as much me-
chanical skill and some had more,
but none of them ever put 1t to the
extraordinary use that Cobb did None
ever thought so rapidly nor acted so
quickly.
Compare the Two.
Consider Hans Wagner. He is con-
sidered by some to be Cobb's su-
perfor. He was a great fielder and a
great hitter. He knew base ball but
he never knew 1t in the deep sense
that Cobb did. He did everything
well, but he never did it with the
consummate skill that was Cobb's.
wagner lacked the extra touch, the
spark, the flame; there was no fire to
wagner; he was phlegmatic: he was
thorough. But Wagner lacked. above
all things imagination. He was not
possessed of the inventive mind that
was Cobb's. Cobb at play in his
greatest moments was the very soul
of base ball.
Take Napoleon Lajoie. Here was
poetry of motion on the ball
held. The Frenchman had perfect
form. Easy. graceful, polished, fin
ished to a decimal, Lajoie was the
perfect type, mechanically. He never
TOOK wrong step, never made a
taise move never wasted energy; but
he, too, lacked competitive genius
ne had power but no dash. He had
strength, but lacked the springy
qluck quickness that was Cobb's. The
hre was lacking in Lajoie. He was
model, Cobb a whirring dynamo
sam Crawford also was of the
phlegmatic type, easy going, now
erful' lacking in speed; thorough, but
never brilliant; reliable, but never
daring. He was conventional and
strictly orthodox. But Lajoie and
wagner also were thoroughly ortho
dox. They did the conventional a
great deal better than others.
The Great Anson.
Adrian c. Anson, powerful hitter,
intelligent first baseman, was of the
Crawford type. He lacked the fin
ish, the gloss. the polish of Lajoie.
He, much like Wagner. depended
upon physical power He was not
exceptional in mechanical skill.
The players that climbed to fame
in Cobb's own league during his
sweep of conquering seasons were
George Sisler. iris Speaker, Eddie
Collins, Joe Jackson and Babe Ruth.
There were others who went a dis
tance up the ladder, but in the en-
tire field the players named here
were foremost and the outstanding
player of the group is, of course,
Ruth.
Since Ruth became the master
slugger of the base ball ages, much
time has been spent comparing him
with Cobb and-while many say
there is no compassionate it be
understood that Ruth is a great deal
better player than he has been given
en- credit for. being. Ruth is more
than the general public believes him
to be-a great slugger. He is one
of the best outffelders in the game,
and he was the best in the American
Legaue during 1924. He Is fast, has
fine pair of hands, is a sure catch
of a. fly ball, plays the batter well,
goes long way to get them and gets
any gettable ball; and he has the most
accurate and best throwing arm in
the league. On bases he lacks the
speed that Cobb and others had, but
he runs with excellent judgment. He
has q thorough knowledge of base
ball, although not as much as Cobb.
He does not throw to the wrong base