Ty Cobb never touched a baseball bat or ball.
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball , farthest from the batter . An outfielder 's duty is to try to catch long fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve and return to the infield any other balls entering the outfield . Tyrus Raymond Cobb ( December 18 , 1886 -- July 17 , 1961 ) , nicknamed The Georgia Peach , was an American Major League Baseball ( MLB ) outfielder . He still holds several records as of the end of the 2016 season , including the highest career batting average ( .366 or .367 , depending on source ) and most career batting titles with 11 ( or 12 , depending on source ) . He retained many other records for almost a half century or more , including most career hits until 1985 ( 4,189 or 4,191 , depending on source ) , most career runs ( 2,245 or 2,246 depending on source ) until 2001 , most career games played ( 3,035 ) and at bats ( 11,429 or 11,434 depending on source ) until 1974 , and the modern record for most career stolen bases ( 892 ) until 1977 .