The dirtiest players in baseball

[Orioles5]

I know Ty Cobb ranks up their as one of the dirtiest players. Who else in the history of baseball would you say were dirty players?

[fenrir]

I know Ty Cobb ranks up their as one of the dirtiest players. Who else in the history of baseball would you say were dirty players?

All of the steroid users

[rsuriyop]

A LOT of players from the Deadball Era (19th/early 20th C) can actually qualify as the dirtiest, not just Cobb. Read about what opposing players did to Honus Wagner when he first came up. Players from way back then did whatever they could to win whenever the ump wasn't looking.

[MattD1972]

A LOT of players from the Deadball Era (19th/early 20th C) can actually qualify as the dirtiest, not just Cobb. Read about what opposing players did to Honus Wagner when he first came up. Players from way back then did whatever they could to win whenever the ump wasn't looking.

Take Baltimore's entire roster from 1894-1898, team staff included (the overtall outfield grass that allowed them to hide spare balls, the cement block in front of home plate that made the Baltimore chop possible, etc.). McGraw, for example, habitually grabbed belts of runners making the turn at 3rd base.

[dominik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fj2B9z4Dbw

[JR Hart]

John McGraw was notorious. I thought that Pete Rose took cheap shots. Mickey Cochane and Lefty Grove were insanely competitive, I'm not sure that they were dirty.

Juan Marchal hit a player with his bat. Matt Holiday certainly crossed the line in the NLCS this year. Bert Campaneris threw a bat at a pitcher.

[westsidegrounds]

I remember Billy Buck used to get his uniform dirty just listening to the National Anthem.

[Pere]

Was Cobb himself even considered 'dirty' in the context of his time? My understanding is that he was very aggressive but not a cheater.

[Pere]

To be clear, I'm aware that Cobb was willing to injure opposing players, and occasionally induced plays for that purpose, which would be considered unconscionable in the modern game. But didn't he do this within the rules and culture of the day?

[Iowanic]

http://www.examiner.com/article/why-connie-mack-called-ty-cobb-the-dirtiest-player-baseball-history

Decide for yourself...

[Pere]

I'm aware of that play. With all respect to Connie Mack, one play which happened to injure one of his players isn't much of a case for an "all time" epithet. Cobb was hardly the only one sliding with spikes high when infielders were in the path--just the best.

[Pere]

See another account of that play within a somewhat broader context:
http://wso.williams.edu/~jkossuth/cobb/running.htm
Philadelphia partisans felt he had "finally crossed the line." Yet the league ultimately did not agree. If that's the most 'egregious' example, it would seem to confirm the counter-argument that Cobb was just exactly as hard as the game of his day would permit. That's really quite a different proposition from the outright cheating tactics of the previous generation, mentioned upthread.

[Cap78]

What about king kelly...was he not notorious for going from 1st to third, skipping 2nd when the ump wasnt looking?

[Cowtipper]

All of the steroid users

I think it's time to put the "all the steroid users are evil" meme to bed.

[fenrir]

I think it's time to put the "all the steroid users are evil" meme to bed.

I never said they were evil, but they do deserve a mention in a thread about dirty players.

You can add all of the spitballers and cork bat users as well.