Dan Cooper's Blog

Ty Cobb played twenty-two seasons for the Detroit Tigers, establishing over ninety records. He won twelve batting titles, nine in a row. He still holds the record for the highest lifetime batting average of any player in the history of baseball—366.  Some say he was the greatest to ever play.  He received more votes placing him in the Hall of Fame than any player in the history of the game.

He was a great baseball player, no doubt; but what is equally agreed upon is that he was one of the most disliked people to ever played the game. Maybe even despised!  He once climbed into the stands and physically beat up a heckler. The heckler was handicapped, having lost one hand and three fingers on his other hand in an accident. Teammates tried to stop him, only to hear Cobb say, “I don’t care if he has no feet.”

On another occasion, he got into a fight with an elevator operator.  When another man tried to intervene, Cobb pulled a knife and stabbed him. 

When Cobb died, not one former teammate attended his funeral; and only three players from any team attended. He was perhaps the greatest baseball player to have ever played, but not one teammate from twenty-two years of playing came to pay respects.  Cobb is reported to have said on his death bed:  “I only wish I’d made more friends.”

Ty Cobb should have developed a better definition of greatness and an understanding of the importance of friendship. The Bible says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (Prov. 17:17).

Prayer:  Dear God, help me to remember that being a true friend is more important that entering baseball’s Hall of Fame.  In Jesus Name, Amen. 
Dan the Preacherman