Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #16. Who deserves a car?
Long before multimillion-dollar contracts were handed out with regularity, Major League Baseball players didn’t have that luxury. So while winning awards at the season was great to place on their mantle, ballplayers were more interested in the perks that came along with it.
During the 1910 season, a brand new car was given to the winner of the batting title. The car in question was a Chalmers Automobile. Before you laugh, back then, it was without question one of the hottest cars around.
The mere thought of a player in today’s game getting excited over the possibility of getting a free brand new car is laughable considering their enormous salaries allow them to buy essentially whatever they want, but let’s put things in its proper perspective. Let’s take Hall of Famer Babe Ruth for example. In 1915, arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen made an annual salary of approximately $3,500. A Chambers Automobile sold for about $1,500-$3,000.
Simply put, getting a brand new car was a big deal.
The batting title ultimately came down to Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie. For the stretch run, Cobb opted to sit out while Lajoie continued to play. Things got a bit sketchy as certain teams seemingly allowed Lajoie to register a few cheap hits. From there, everything came into question. Both players were convinced the other cheated.
Despite it all, Cobb was handed the batting title but to placate both players, they were each given a car. While they were ecstatic that they were driving around in a stylish vehicle, the question of who was the true batting champion was never quite answered.