old Cobb, "I honestly believe that you can go on and have every boy in America idolizing you. But not unless you stop fooling around and keep your eye on the ball every instant." Cobb and Leidy practiced every day on bunting and hitting. Cobbs attitude and statistics improved, consequently by August he was leading the league in hitting. He would not be around for the remainder of the season, however, because he soon learned that he had been sold to the Detroit Tigers of the National League. Now Cobb would have every possible source of determination and motivation to be successful, and he would need that because once he joined the Detroit ballclub, he was entirely on his own. Although Cobb initially had a difficult time adjusting to stiffer competition and overall life in the North, he was able to overcome these obstacles to become one of the best players in Major League Baseball history. Cobb certainly was not the most talented player in the league, but he soon stepped into the league and began dominating the opposition. He took advantage of every possible edge that he could gain on his opponent, whether that be his keen bunting skills, dirty sliding tactics, sharp hitting, or intimidating mental games. As an example, Ty is said to have routinely sharpened his baseball spikes and slid feet-first into infielders blocking the bag. Cobb approached every baseball game as his own personal vendetta to prove himself worthy of being a Major League baseball player, and the highest paid player at that. Albeit Cobb enjoyed himself playing the national pastime, he took baseball much more serious than most players. Cobb was not concerned about making friends in baseball. Rather, he set out with an "all-business" and "no play" attitude which enabled him to achieve stardom. "The Peach" poured all his heart and soul into baseball, and manager George Leidys prediction proved true: " you will have every boy in America idolizing you. Cobb certainly retir...
