wagner and the pirates were given a chance to prove that they were not "yellow" in . the pirates faced ty cobb's detroit tigers. the series was the only meeting of the two superior batsmen of the day, and the first time that the batting champions of each league faced one another (this later occurred thrice more, in the 1931, 1954 and 2012 world series). wagner was by this time 35 years old, cobb just 22.