Grantland Rice of The New York Herald interviewed Ty Cobb on a fairly regular basis when the retired star was living on the West Coast.
In 1940, after the two met in San Francisco, he said, “Cobb was the bluebird harbinger of spring,” and recalled when, in 1904, “Cobb kept writing me letters, signing Smith, Jones, Brown, and Robinson—all telling me what a great player young Tyrus Raymond Cobb was.”
Rice said he “fell for the gag,” and thanked Cobb for making him, “quite a prophet” for writing about him based on the letters.
Rice asked Cobb about his famous batting grip:
“It shows what habit will do in sports. I began playing baseball with much older and bigger kids.” I couldn’t grip the big bats that they had near the handle. I had to spread my hands to poke at the ball.
“I couldn’t swing the big bats any other way. After that I couldn’t change. But I was probably better off as a place hitter than I might have been as a slugger. I never believed in slugging anyway.
“I believe in getting on—and then getting around. Today they only believe in hitting a fast ball out of the park.”
Cobb said he was “still for speed and science,” over power:
“Base stealing today is a lost art. It seems to be gone forever. Did you know that several high-class ballplayers last season failed to steal a base? I remember one year I had 96 steals. That’s almost the same as 96 extra base hits, for those steals put me in a position to score.”
Rice asked the 56-year-old Cobb what the biggest difference between the “present crop” and the players of his era was:
“Stamina, I mean legs and arms. I’ve lived on my legs most of my life. As you may remember in 24 big league years, I never spared my legs. I’ve played many a game with almost no skin on either thigh.
“I believed then and I believe know in toughening up your system—not sparing it. Between seasons I hunted all winter, eight or ten hours a day. That’s what Bill Dickey has done—and you know where Bill Dickey stands in baseball.”
Cobb had little use for current pitchers either:
“The modern crop has weak arms. Look at Cy Young, winning 512 ball games. Show me a pitcher today who can even pitch 400 games. Remember Ed Walsh? One year Ed won 40 games and saved 12 others [sic, 6]. He worked in 66 games that year, around 1908. And then pitched through a city series, working in almost every game.
“Most of these kids today can’t take it. They have come up the easy way. They have to be pampered. A lot of them need a nurse. We had to come up the hard way. What a difference that makes—in any game.”
Cobb lamented that any current pitcher “is almost a hero” for winning 20 games:
“Can you imagine Cy Young, who averaged over 20 games for wee over 20 years, out there today.
“The kids today rarely use their legs. They ride in place of walking. I always had to walk. Maybe five miles—maybe 20 miles. The old-time pitchers had to work in 50 or 60 games. Maybe more. I’ve seen them come out long before the ball game was scheduled to start in order to get the kinks out of their tired arms, working out slowly for over 30 minutes. But not today.”
Cobb said he believed Dizzy Dean would be “a throwback” until he hurt his arm:
“He always wanted to pitch. To be in there. But there are not many left like that. They’d rather be resting up.
“In my opinion, a real pitcher should be good for at least 45 ball games—maybe 50 if he is really needed. I mean men like Walsh, Cy Young, Alexander, Matty, Chesbro, Joe Wood—the top guys. They could take it—and they loved it. Not this modern crowd. At least most of them. They haven’t the stamina needed to go on when there is no one to take their place.”
Cobb had good things to say of two other modern stars:
“I’ll say this for Babe Ruth. He could always take it—and like it. So could Lou Gehrig. You never had to pamper Ruth or Gehrig. They were ballplayers of the old school. So was Matty. So was Alexander, drunk or sober. What a pitcher.”
Cobb said what mattered in all things was stamina, fortitude, brains and speed:
“They still count. When they don’t then you haven’t either a game or civilization. You haven’t anything worthwhile.”
Note: As indicated below, Cobb conflated Walsh’s 1908 regular season performance and his 1912 post-season work in Chicago’s City Series. I failed to include that note and this link in the original post: https://baseballhistorydaily.com/tag/chicago-city-series/
Baseball History Daily 
Cobb said: Remember Ed Walsh? One year Ed won 40 games and saved 12 others [sic, 6]. He worked in 66 games that year, around 1908. And then pitched through a city series, working in almost every game.
The modern save statistic hadn’t been devised yet, so Cobb may have been crediting Walsh with a “save” for any game he appeared in as a relief pitcher that the White Sox won. His 40 wins occurred in 1908, when he assuredly did not pitch through a city series; the Cubs were busy with Detroit in the World Series. In 1909, Walsh pitched three of the five games in the post-season, Chicago City Series, losing two of them.
Yes, Cobb and other players of that area often referred to a finished game in relief win by a pitcher’s club as a “save,” which is why I clarified it with the note that he actually had six by the modern statistic. I meant to include a link to this and clarify that Cobb was conflating Walsh’s 1908 regular seaon with the 1912 city series but forgot to add it, thanks for catching that:
https://baseballhistorydaily.com/tag/chicago-city-series/