Tyrus [Hardcover]

But there was more to Cobb than the numbers. He was the most aggressive and hated man ever to step onto a ballfield. He was widely charged with being a dirty ballplayer--an accusation he fiercely denied until his dying day. An actual Cobb quote on the cover of the book accurately sums up his attitude toward the game: "Baseball is a red-blooded sport for red-blooded men. It's a struggle for supremacy, survival of the fittest."

What was the wellspring of this passion? Cobb's life was truly the stuff of tragedy. In an afterword, Creevy describes Cobb as an American Hamlet, and the paralells are there. In the summer of 1905, Ty's second in professional ball, his mother shot and killed his father, who had been trying to enter their home through a second-story window. Amanda Cobb claimed that she thought William Cobb was a burglar. There was never any certain explanation as to why the senior Cobb attempted to enter the home in this way, though rumors of marital problems abounded. Just days after this tragedy, Cobb was called to the big leagues for a trial with the Detroit Tigers. The following spring, Cobb received permission from the club to miss the opening week of training so that he could attend his mother's trial on manslaughter charges.

Creevy's story is set entirely in these pivotal few months of Cobb's life. Using the historical record as his framework, he vividly brings to life the furies burning inside this supremely talented and supremely troubled young man. The reader travels with Cobb on his lonely journey north; experiences his anguish as his new teammates greet him with indifference or hostility; and feels his desperation as he struggles to establish his position in the game. In some cases, the author has used the novelist's license of invention; in other instances he's taken incidents from later in Cobb's career and moved them back to his rookie season. (This is explained in the afterword.)

The past couple of decades have brought some fine biographies of Cobb. But anyone who wants a more complete understanding of the man can also profit from this work. I was going to call this an outstanding baseball novel, but it's really about much more than the grand American game.--William C. Hall

If you are expecting a book chock full of action and a rapidly moving storyline, then you are reading the wrong novel. Tyrus is more of a psychological portrait of what Ty Cobb as an eighteen year old boy thought and felt the months after his beloved father's sudden and violent death, his first months in the major leagues, and the trial of his mother. Instead of the typical, albeit false, caricature of Cobb as a mad lunatic, Creevy depicts the sensitive and talented boy in such a way that, instead of revulsion, the reader will feel sympathy and even empathy for Tyrus. And while it is only the author's supposition, his narration of young Tyrus' thoughts and feelings are very plausible and, frankly, very moving.

This excellent novel will leave the reader with admiration for a boy who determines to use the grief and torment he experiences at this turning point in his life to become the greatest player in baseball. The Ty Cobb fan, as well as those who are curious to know the real Cobb, will find this well-researched novel a refreshing and compassionate portrait of a fascinating man.