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When it comes to the selection of baseball's greatest players, the names of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth usually land on top, not necessarily in that order.

Cobb, on offense, depended on speed and strategy. Ruth relied on power. Both were extremely successful. Cobb was an outfielder. Ruth was a star pitcher before he was converted into an outfielder and became the greatest slugger the game has known.

As a World Series pitcher for the Boston Americans, Ruth was unbeaten. He won 3 games in 3 starts (1 in 1916 and 2 in 1918). On Oct. 9, 1916, he defeated Brooklyn, 2-1, in a 14-inning game, the longest in the history of the classic. He pitched 13 scoreless innings that day and in 1918 he hurled 16 runless frames to establish a series record of 29 consecutive scoreless innings.

Cobb, born in 1886, became a big leaguer in 1905. He played in 41 games that year and had a batting average of .240. That was the first and only time he dipped under the .300 mark in his 24-year career with Detroit and Philadelphia of the American League. Cobb, who managed Detroit from 1920 through 1926, left the game in 1928 after two seasons with Philadelphia.

Ruth, born in 1895, became a pitcher for the Boston Americans in 1914 and remained with that club until the end of 1919, when he was sold to the New York Yankees. It was while he was with the Yankees (1920-34) that he set slugging records that may never be equaled. Ruth died on Aug. 16, 1948.

Cobb's Career Records
Most years played as regular  23
Most runs  2,244
Most hits  4,191
Highest lifetime batting average  367
Most years batting champion  12 Most successive years batting champion 9 Most times batting over .400 (tie) . . 3
Most years hit over .300  23
Most years more than 200 hits  9
Most years base-hit leader  8
Most years 5 hits in 1 game  14
Most years leading in singles  6
Most singles  3,052
Most triples  297
Most total bases, 1 game  *16
Ruth's Regular-Season Records
Most homers  714 Most years leading league in homers .. 12
Most years 50 or more homers  4
Most years 40 or more homers  11
Most years 30 or more homers  13
Most homers, bases filled  15 Most times hitting 2 homers, 1 game .. 72 Most homers, Consecutive games (July 11,
12 (2), 13, 14, 15, 16, 1924)  7
Most runs, season  177
Most long hits, season  119
Most bases on balls  2,056
Most bases on balls, season  170

Ruth's Earnings
1914-Baltimore (IL)  $ 600 1914-Providence (IL), Boston (AL) 1,300
1915-Boston (AL)  3,500
1916-Boston (AL)  3,500
1917-Boston (AL)  5,000
1918-Boston (AL)  7,000
1919-Boston (AL)  10,000
1920-New York (AL)  20,000
1921-New York (AL)  30,000
1922-New York (AL)  52,000
1923-New York (AL)  52,000
1924-New York (AL)  52,000
1925-New York (AL)  52,000
1926-New York (AL)  52,000
1927-New York (AL)  70,000
1928-New York (AL)  70,000
1929-New York (AL)  70,000
1930-New York (AL)  80,000
1931-New York (AL)  80,000

Comparative Records
TY COBB
At Total Yrs. Games Bat Runs Hits 2B 3B HR Bases 24 3,033 11,429 2,244 4,191 724 297 118 5,863
BABE RUTH
At Total Yrs. Games Bat Runs Hits 2B 3B HR Bases 22 2,502 8,389 2,174 2,873 506 136 714 5,793
Bat.
SB Avg. 892 .367
Bat.
SB Avg. 123 .342