Did Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb hate each other?
When it comes to duos in baseball, there have been many that have received fanfare. While most of the time these players are also great friends, there are also times when the relationship is strained. That was the case with Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb.
Crawford was older than Cobb and at first gladly took him under his wing. With Crawford in right field and Cobb in center, and Cobb batting first and Crawford batting second, they were the Tigers’ primary players.
However, after a few seasons, Crawford’s relationship with Cobb became strained. Crawford didn’t like that Cobb was now the star and he could do whatever he wanted. The rivalry became so intense that one of them would be happy if the other had a bad match.
The feud continued for most of the thirteen seasons, and then even after retirement. Cobb claimed that Crawford would not get to any balls in the outfield and would purposely foul when Cobb was trying to steal a base. Crawford responded by stating that Cobb was not a team player and that he would blame someone else for any mistakes.
Fortunately, their personal hatred for each other never affected their performance. They both had Hall of Fame careers, and even had a great ability to steal at the same time (double steal).
As for the duets, they may not have been the most memorable. They also weren’t very good role models for how teammates should play together. Production-wise, though, there’s no denying the two players who started the Tigers’ batting order for 13 seasons.
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