Ty Cobb
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 and was an athletic boy who preferred hunting and baseball over studying. His father vehemently opposed Tyrus's interest 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 did.
Ty Cobb's attitude makes him hated and feared even among his teammates. One day, he is ambushed by 7-8 other baseball players, but, since he carried a shotgun in his baseball bat case, the people who tried mugging him end up being the ones getting mugged.
During one of his games, Ty Cobb hears a voice coming from the crowd of spectators shouting insults at him. After spotting the spectator, Ty Cobb, in a fit of rage, rushes to the man's seat and starts mercilessly beating him. For assaulting the spectator, who also happened to be paraplegic, Ty Cobb gets suspended from baseball indefinitely. The suspension is called off after only a day, however, due to Cobb's teammates going on a strike. Although they were rumored to be threatened into doing it, his teammates have officially stated that the reason for the strike was Ty Cobb being irreplaceable for the team.
In June 1912, in the game against Philadelphia Athletics, Ty Cobb plays against Hollows, a pitcher who keeps a small file in his glove that leaves scratches on the baseballs, giving them an unusual trajectory when they're thrown. After missing yet another ball, Ty Cobb gets frustrated and calls a time out, during which he starts taunting Hollows. After the time out ends, during a pitch, Hollows throws the baseball at Ty Cobb's stomach. Enraged, Cobb pulls a gun on him, causing a brawl involving all of the players present on the field. Following the incident, Hollows is convinced that the rumors of Ty Cobb being possessed by a vengeful ghost are true.
Ty Cobb is always careful with managing his finances; he established the basis of baseball contract dealings and was able to amass an enormous fortune by investing in Coca-Cola and General Motors. Despite his wealth, Ty Cobb would refuse to pay for electricity because he thinks that electric companies charged too much. He once lost his house to a fire from using Edison's early inventions to save on electricity, yet he still refused to pay for it.
Later in life, he is diagnosed with cancer and eventually put into a hospital. With Ty Cobb lying in his hospital bed hiding a gun under the blanket, the doctor asks him to hand it over. Cobb, while reaching for the gun, suggests the doctor take it himself and see who's faster. After the doctor promptly exits the room, Ty Cobb calls him a coward. He tells his butler that they should leave the hospital since no one can cure him, insisting not to pay the medical bill.
Ty Cobb leaves his vast fortune to his relatives. He later builds a mausoleum for himself in his hometown, where only he is allowed to enter. He eventually passes away on July 17, 1961, at the age of 75.[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 Ty Cobb’s birth and death, the narration incorrectly states that he died at the age of 74 rather than 75.[2]
