Ty Cobb Walks Out Through a Mob
A mob in Boston, a manager watching his own record fall, a phone call nobody wanted, and a dozen runners going nowhere.
Ed. 09.16.26
Ty Cobb Walks Out Through a Mob (1915)
Detroit arrived at Fenway two games behind Boston in the pennant race, and the crowd came ready for Ty Cobb. In the 8th, rookie Carl Mays kept throwing at him, so Cobb flung his bat at Mays. Mays hit him with the next pitch. The Tigers won 6-1, and when Cobb caught the final out, fans streamed onto the field after him. He left under police escort. It was only the first game of a four-game series.
Sunny Jim and the Man in the Other Dugout (1924)
Jim Bottomley went 6-for-6 at Ebbets Field with two homers, one a grand slam, and 12 RBI in a 17-3 Cardinals rout. The record he broke belonged to Wilbert Robinson, who drove in 11 back in 1892 and was managing Brooklyn that afternoon. Mark Whiten tied it in 1993, and 12 is still the major league mark. On the same date 13 years later, Bottomley played his final big league game.
The Umpires Who Organized (1968)
On the morning of September 16, umpires Al Salerno and Bill Valentine got calls in their Cleveland hotel rooms from AL president Joe Cronin. Both were fired on the spot, and Cronin told the press they were bad umpires. Four days earlier, Salerno had met with the unionized, better-paid NL umpires about bringing the AL staff in. About two weeks later, both leagues' umpires formed the Major League Umpires Association. Salerno and Valentine never got their jobs back.
Glenn Beckert's Long, Crowded Afternoon (1972)
The Cubs hammered the Mets 18-5, and their four-time All-Star second baseman had a front-row seat to every rally. Glenn Beckert went 0-for-6 and left 12 runners on base. Nobody topped that in any game until 2016, when Ryan Zimmerman stranded 14, and it took him 13 innings. Proof that a blowout win can still ruin your day.
