Ty Cobb (タイ・カッブ, Tai Kabbu), full name Tyrus Raymond Cobb (タイラス・レイモンド・カッブ, Tairasu Reimondo Kabbu), is the main protagonist of History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb, the second episode of The Lives of Eccentrics.
He is an American Major League Baseball player who played for the Detroit Tigers. Over the course of his career filled with controversies, he earned a place in the history of baseball as one of the greatest. Ty Cobb's unmatched skill and fierce personality led many to believe that he is possessed by a vengeful ghost.
Appearance
Ty Cobb is a man of average height and build. He has short hair and pronounced cheekbones.
He is usually depicted wearing the uniform of his team.
Personality
During his childhood, Ty Cobb, due to his upbringing, was an honest boy. He was also very athletic and preferred hunting and baseball over studying. After the death of his father, Cobb's personality radically changed, as he became more arrogant, aggressive and violent.
Ty Cobb is infamously confrontational. Whenever he is faced with anything he deems insulting or disrespectful, he responds with extreme aggression, often resorting to violence.
Ty Cobb often displays extreme arrogance. His tendency to put himself above others is fueled by his great skill and an overwhelming number of accomplishments.[1]
Abilities
Baseball
Ty Cobb is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was one of the first people to study the sport from a scientific point. Ty was also adept at recognizing unique habits that pitchers had in their posture.
During his career, Ty Cobb had set multiple world records: 892 stolen bases total (unbroken for 50 years), 92 most stolen bases within a season (highest record for 60 years), .367 batting average. He has also led the American team in batting for 9 years in a row, 12 times in total.
History
Background
Tyrus Raymond Cobb was born on December 18, 1886, in the state of Georgia. He was raised in an affluent and religious home as a meek and honest boy who preferred hunting and baseball over his military school education. His father vehemently opposed Tyrus's participation in baseball, as he considered the sport to be vulgar.
One day, when Ty was 18, his mother killed his father. The incident significantly affected Ty Cobb, drastically changing his demeanor and making him more arrogant and aggressive.[1]
History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
In 1908, the Boston Red Sox play against the Detroit Tigers at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds stadium. Stepping up to bat, Ty Cobb openly declares his intent to steal second base during the next pitch. As the pitcher moves to throw toward second base, Cobb rushes toward the base, somehow slicing the baseman's arm in the process. Ty Cobb is declared safe, despite the baseman's accusations that he had sharpened his cleats and used them as weapons. Undeterred, Ty Cobb announced his intent to steal third base next, which he does, shortly followed by home plate.
Ty Cobb's attitude makes him hated and feared even among his teammates. One day, he is ambushed by seven or eight other baseball players on his way home, but turns the tables and mugs his muggers using the shotgun he carries in his baseball bat case. Ty Cobb is always careful with his finances; he establishes the basis of baseball contract dealings, and amasses an enormous fortune after investing early in Coca-Cola and General Motors. Despite his wealth, Ty Cobb refuses even to pay for his own electric bill. At one point, he even loses his house to a fire due to using Edison's early inventions to save on electricity, and yet he still refuses to pay for it.
During one of his games, amidst a crowd of angry spectators, Ty Cobb hears a voice pointing out his .250 batting average against Hollows and insinuating his rival was better than him. After spotting the spectator, Ty Cobb rushes to the man's seat and starts mercilessly beating him. For assaulting the spectator, who also happened to be paraplegic, Ty Cobb is suspended from his baseball team indefinitely. He is rehired for triple his starting pay and salary after only a day, however, due to Cobb's teammates going on strike (although it is rumored Cobb threatened them into doing so).
In June 1912, in a game against Philadelphia Athletics, Ty Cobb faces Hollows himself, who uses a technique known as the spitball to give his balls unusual trajectories when pitched. After accruing two strikes, Ty Cobb calls a time-out. Cobbs then taunts Hollows by pointing out that his wife hasn't come to the game, and claiming he told her not to last night. To prove his story, Cobb pulls out a pair of her panties, which he facetiously uses as a handkerchief. After the time-out ends, a furious Hollows pitches the ball directly into Ty Cobb's stomach. Enraged, Cobb rushes toward him, inciting a brawl involving all of the players present on the field. Hollows's initial confidence is quickly shattered when Cobb pulls out a handgun and sticks it in his adversary's mouth. Following the incident, Hollows is convinced that the rumors of Ty Cobb being possessed by a vengeful spirit are true.
Later in life, he is diagnosed with cancer and eventually put into a hospital. When a doctor hears that Ty Cobb is hiding a gun beneath his blanket and asks him to hand it over, Cobb dares him to take it himself and see who's quicker on the draw. The doctor promptly exits the room, causing Cobb to call him a coward. He then tells his butler to take him home, insisting that he refuse to pay the medical bill. He later builds a mausoleum for himself in his hometown, where only he is allowed to enter. At the age of 75, Ty Cobb passes away on July 17, 1961, leaving his immense fortune to his relatives.[1]
Quotes
Quotes- “Hey! You monkeys over there! On the next pitch I'll steal the 2nd base!”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “Father, if I may say something in response, baseball is a sport that tests the limits of both your body and mind. It may be a show but it's most definitely not vulgar.”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “There's no need to take this bullet out from my arm! I'll keep it as a good-luck charm!”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “If you want me to come back and play for this team, you'll have to pay me 3 times my previous salary!! If you don't, I won't come back!! Got it!? And I'll beat the shit out of anyone who dares disrespect me again!!”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “Damn it's hot. The weather in Philadelphia today is hot just like your wife. Am I right?”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “Listen well... You probably threw that dead ball to me because I provoked you with my annoying remarks about your wife. But you know, that still doesn't mean you can throw a dead ball at me!!! How dare you throw the fucking ball directly at me!!! I should blow your head off here right now!!”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
- “That man can't heal me. No... Nobody can heal me anymore... Let's return home. And don't you dare pay the hospital bill.”—Ty Cobb, The Lives of Eccentrics Episode 2: History's Greatest Hitting Machine! Ty Cobb
Gallery
Chapter 1, page 1 colored
Ty Cobb as a child
Beating a spectator for insulting him
Hit by Hollows's baseball
Pulling out a gun while charging at Hollows
Ty Cobb's plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame
Chapter 1 cover
Chapter 2 cover
Hardcover cover art
Trivia
- Despite presenting the right dates for Cobb's birth and death, the narration incorrectly states that he died at the age of 74 rather than 75.[2]