[FrankWakefield]

If a fellow were to read The Glory of Their Times, then he'd think a bit better of Honus Wagner... A bunch of the players that played with Ruth and Cobb perceived Wagner as the best of the bunch.

I used to think Cobb was the best, partly because I'm a contrarian, and partly to be anti-Yankees. But some of that was based on the numbers, and what I read about when Cobb was in St. Louis for a series against the Browns, and he'd announced to the writers beforehand that he wasn't going to do the single, bunt, steal stuff but would instead swing for the fences like the Babe. I forget how well he did, but I think he hit 4something and had 6 home runs. I mention this because all of us can form opinions based on our interpretation of the stats, and from our league or team biases. If we step back from that, and consider what their contemporaries thought, their fellow competitors, then a compelling case can be made for the superiority of Mr. Wagner's skills. He was a ballplayer.