The 1915 Tigers outfield is perhaps the greatest of all time. It featured the great Ty Cobb in center, all-time triples leader Sam Crawford in right, and underappreciated Bobby Veach in left.
That season first second and third in RBI and total bases, the only time in big league history outfield teammates have done it. Cobb hit .369 and won the batting title.
Veach hit .312 and paced the circuit with 40 doubles. Crawford led the league in triples with 19. The pair finished tied for the American League lead with 112 RBI.
Both Cobb and Crawford are in the Hall of Fame. Many believe Veach belongs there too. Veach is the only man with at least 2,000 hits and a .310 average without a Cooperstown plaque.
The Tigers outfielder finished in the league’s top-10 in batting average six times, on-base percentage four times, and slugging percentage five times.
He was in the AL’s top-10 in hits, doubles, triples, and total bases eight times each. In three seasons he outdistanced all AL batters in runs batted in, finishing in the top-10 in ten campaigns.
In this letter of September 9, 1987 former commissioner Happy Chandler writes about Bobby Veach and the Hall. The letter reads, “Bobby Veach is certainly worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame. However, the 75% rule has kept many like Bobby out of the Hall of Fame. If we could get that rule changed, many more worthy players would be elected.”