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The Rookie Baseball Legend Ty Cobb Mentored Through Terror
The Hall-of-Fame outfielder was notorious for his hard style of play and competitiveness but could also be a pretty nice guy
Cy Perkins spent more than 30 years as a big-league catcher and coach. With such longevity, it’s fair to say that he saw and experienced his fair share of interesting baseball happenings during his baseball career. However, a memorable encounter he had as a rookie with legendary Hall-of-Fame outfielder Ty Cobb stuck in his mind because of the mark it made on his memory and his body.
Perkins was a good defensive receiver who hit just enough that his glove made him a regular for a number of seasons in his 17-year playing career (1915; 1917–1931; 1934). He played all but 17 of his games with the Philadelphia Athletics (15 seasons) and finished with career totals of a .259 batting average with 933 base hits, 30 home runs and 409 RBIs.
Much of Perkins’ career overlapped with that of Cobb’s who played from 1905–1928. This allowed them to face off many times over the years. However, the most memorable was the first time the catcher laid eyes on the tenacious outfielder, whose reputation for fierce play was transcendent. It’s safe to say that he learned more than one lesson that day.
