In Cobb's Shadow

Book excerpt: Considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Ty Cobb cast a shadow over the game with his violent behavior on the field and off. His shadow was never darker than when it fell on his teammates. Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann and Heinie Manush were three of the greatest players in baseball history, good enough to be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Each played in the Detroit outfield alongside Cobb, though their fame never reached the level of his. Little is remembered about this trio of Hall of Famers. Crawford, the all-time triples leader, Heilmann, the last right-handed batter to hit .400, and Manush, another batting champion, each made his own mark on the game, detailed for the first time in this triple biography.