od in the majors as he wanted to be. Part of his plan was to gain weight, which he did in the off-season, as well as grow a few inches taller (although that was beyond his control). Despite his intense desire to be the best, he still had difficulty hitting left-handed pitchers in 1906. Despite that failing (which he would later overcome), he earned himself a starting position in 1906 simply because he was hitting right-handers so well. Once in that starting batting order, he figured out how to hit left-handed pitchers. He stood at the back of the batter’s box, instead of the middle, where he stood for right-your name 5handed pitchers. He also closed his stance and shortened his swing, which allowed him more bat control. Cobb finally had learned to hit all of the American League pitchers well enough to capture his first batting title in 1907, the youngest ever to do so, two months after his twenty-first birthday. Cobb improved his fielding steadily throughout his career, especially after his first two seasons. In 1907, he played very shallow in right field and collected thirty outfield assists, his career high. Not only did he throw out runners at second, third and home, but he also managed to throw out a few runners who failed to hustle to first on balls hit to the outfield. He would also charge ground balls hit to the outfield to get more power behind his throws. Cobb would also position himself so that he was running forward when he caught fly balls, for a stronger throw. Cobb had essentially mastered the outfield, but in 1913, due to a knee injury that had kept him out of action for a few weeks, he talked Hughie Jennings into letting him play second base, just to get into the lineup. That was the only trial for him at second base, as he made three errors in five chances, and proved to one writer that he was “the worst second baseman living or dead.” One of his most devastating approaches to...
