I wish a Happy Birthday to the late and great Mickey Cochrane. He Caught for the Philadelphia Athletics (1925-1933) and the Detroit Tigers (1934-1937). Another great player who played so long ago that most people don't even know of him. So I'd be glad to tell you about the late and great Mickey Cochrane. He's among the greatest Catchers of all time, especially on the offensive side.
.320 BA, 1,652 HITS, 119 HR, 830 RBI, .419 OBP, 1,041 RUNS
You can say that Cochrane had all the attributes of a great catcher –excellent calling of pitches, great arm, and great defensive instincts. – which he supplemented with a mastery of human nature. He also had a psychological knack for dealing with his pitchers and treated each one differently according to the pitcher's needs. He also had the attributes expected of any great ballplayer. At the plate, he hit for average, drew a healthy number of walks, ran the bases darn well for a Catcher, and could hit for power when need be. Over a 5,169 At bat/13-year career, he complied with a lifetime .320 average and an OBP of .419. He won the MVP in 1928 for the Athletics and another in 1934 with the Tigers. Behind the plate, he caught for all of Lefty Grove's games during his 16-game winning streak in 1931. Cochrane was a role model by many during the heart of his career, which took place during the Great Depression. Coming from humble beginnings, the fifth of seven children of immigrants, Cochrane developed a combination of fierce competitiveness on the field and a likable personality off the field. With that, he carved himself into a Hall of Fame player and a winning player. After winning two World Series in Philadelphia, he was traded to Detroit in the middle of the Depression. He didn't just go there to Catch; he also served as the Manager. In his first season in Detroit, he won the MVP, and the Tigers made it to the World Series but lost. But the following year, Detroit won the whole thing. He retired after the 1937 season after a brutal head injury. While it took five tries, he would be the first catcher elected to the Hall of Fame from the (BWAA), in 1947.
While you'd like to see a guy who's an all-time great play longer than 13 years, the eleven years in which Cochrane was a full-time Catcher are among the best among all-time Catchers like Bench, Campanella, Pudge, Berra, Etc. Over 37 years after his death, Cochrane was ranked 65th on The Sporting News 100 Greatest Players List in 1999.
Written & Published by Robert Dobek
Follow on Twitter @RobTheYankee
References:
Mickey Cochrane Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cochrmi01.shtml
Beris, Charlie. Mickey Cochrane via SABR: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/mickey-cochrane/
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