The Most Valuable Player award was introduced April 4, 1911, sponsored by automobile manufacturer Hugh Chalmers. The first winners of the MVP award would be Ty Cobb of the Tigers and Frank “Wildfire” Schulte of the Cubs.
There are so many inappropriate things that I could say about this graphic, but in the interest of keeping this blog rated PG, I’ll opt to refrain and allow my readers to snicker surreptitiously. As far as I have been able to ascertain, this ad was originally published in a 1976 Tigers scorebook.
On September 9, 1922, William Chester “Baby Doll” Jacobson of the St. Louis Browns hit three triples as the Browns destroyed the Tigers, 16-0. Jacobson would hit 94 triples over the course of his eleven-year career.
The Yankees won 11-8 over the Tigers on June 13, 1921 as Babe Ruth pitched the first five innings and hit two home runs at the Polo Grounds. Ruth would not appear again as a starting pitcher for the Yankees during the 1921 season. However, he did break his own record by hitting 59 homers for the season.
I’ve been in the process of moving these last few weeks, which left me without internet at home for a good chunk of time. This has made it difficult to keep up with things, including baseball and this blog. I did have the opportunity to attend my first Royals game of the season this past Thursday, April 21st, and I witnessed the Royals’ 4-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. I intended to write something of more substance about the occasion, but as it has now been a few days since that game, I will instead settle for merely posting the pictures I took.
For starters, we wandered through the Royals Hall of Fame. Here are a handful of the bobble heads on display. My own collection needs some work…
I also had the opportunity to see the World Series trophy. In retrospect, I regret that I didn’t jump in the line to get my picture taken with it.
It was great to be back in Kauffman Stadium with the beautiful fountains. The strong winds of the day caused the water to blow all over.
The game itself was a blast, and we were lucky in that the fans around us weren’t too obnoxious. Plus, the weather that night was absolutely beautiful.
And, as always, it’s always fun to watch the home team win!
On March 17, 1907, the day after Ty Cobb had quarreled with a black grounds keeper and with teammate Charlie Schmidt, Tigers owner Frank Navin makes an all-out effort to trade Cobb. Indians manager Nap Lajoie turned down a straight trade for Elmer Flick, a former batting champion, stating that Cobb was a problem player. Connie Mack of the A’s showed little interest as well, given that he already had a strong outfield.
Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work.
~Charlie Gehringer
This is a cool little find that I happened to come across this morning. In 1930, a little over a year after he retired from baseball, Ty Cobb gave an interview with Grantland Rice. He was 43 years old at the time of this interview, reflecting on his career and the players he faced. He also talks about his conditioning, the differences between baseball in his time and the current game (in 1930), and his predictions for the future.
Posted to YouTube by Vintage Baseball.
On September 6, 1905, Frank Smith of the White Sox hurled a no-hitter against the Tigers as Chicago routed Detroit, 15-0. The game was was the most lopsided no-hitter in American League history. Smith would not allow a home run in either 1904 or 1905 seasons.
Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher.
~Ty Cobb
