MLB: Top Ten players of all-time – Part 3
Ty Cobb’s win-loss record as manager was way behind his personal record as a player. He won 479 games as manager for Detroit Tigers while 444 games ended in disappointment. Cobb expected top performances from every player but failed to recognise that replicating
his feat was not an easy task. In November 1926, he parted ways with Detroit and moved to Philadelphia Athletics.
Cobb returned to play only to seek acquittal from baseball on his own terms. In 1927, he became the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to complete 4000 career-hits. He has various records to his credit, the most influential being 23 consecutive
seasons with a batting average of more than .300.
Ty retired from professional baseball on September 11, 1928 and went on to be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936 by bagging 222 of the possible 226 votes. He died on July 17, 1961 at the age of 74. The left-handed batting sensation continues to be one of
the best players to ever play baseball.
Walter Johnson was one of the best starting pitchers to ever play baseball. Nicknamed “The Big Train”, Johnson made his MLB debut for the Washington Senators on August 2, 1907 and stayed with the Senators for 21 years before he called it a day on September
30, 1927. His career saw him strike-out 3508 batters which remained a record for over 50 years.
Johnson’s earned-run average of 2.17 was the highlight of his career. He remained the most encouraging aspect of the Senators and his win-loss record of 417-279 explained precisely as to why. His 417 wins are placed second in the list of all-time wins. Johnson’s
winning percentage stood resolute at .599. He was voted as American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1913 for the first time and then again in 1924.
Renowned as the premier power pitcher of his time, Johnson displayed immense arm strength throughout his career. He pitched 5914.1 innings over 802 games and 666 starts. 531 of the 666 starts were complete-game efforts by the right-handed pitcher and 110
of them ended as shutouts. His shutouts, to date, remain the most in the Majors by a fair margin and this is one record which is most likely to remain. Apart from starting, Johnson pitched as a reliever as well and enjoyed success with 34 saves to his credit.
Johnson features in the list of MLB all-time leaders in home-runs by pitchers as well as MLB wins champions. He led the league in strike-outs for a record 12 seasons, including eight consecutive seasons. The current leader in strike-outs, Nolan Ryan led
the list 11 times in his career.
After retiring from the Majors, Johnson began managing Minor League teams before he returned to Washington Senators as manager from 1929 to 1932 and later moved to Cleveland Indians as manager form 1933 to 1935.
The Big Train was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1936 with 83.63 percent votes. He was a true gentleman on the field and was thus also called “The Gentle Johnson”. He was honoured in 1999 by The Sporting News when they placed Johnson on Number four in the
list of Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players. The legendary pitcher died on December 10, 1946 in Washington D.C. at the age of 59.
Continued in Part 4
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