In 1916, The Newspaper Enterprise Association ran a series of brief articles called “One Minute Talks with Ballplayers.”
Steve O’Neill, Cleveland Indians catcher, made the case for the hitting prowess of one of his teammates:
Steve O’Neill
“Tris Speaker is better at the hit and run play than either (Joe) Jackson or (Ty) Cobb, for he is like (Napoleon) Lajoie—he can reach out and crack a pitch away on the other side of the plate if it will help the runner. He does not have to wait for a fast one, a floater or a curve.
“I would sum it up this way; Cobb is the fellow who is most apt to be safe on first on a ball hit anywhere; Jackson hits the ball more savagely, while Speaker is the best all-around player of the lot and this season I think, you will find him on top in the race for batting honors.”
Speaker
O’Neill predicted correctly. Speaker led the American League with a .386 average, Cobb finished second at .371 and Jackson had the league’s third-best average, .341.
Baseball History Daily 
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