 Lajoie and the Naps faced a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns in Sportsman 's Park , Cleveland 's final two games of the season . After a sun @-@ hindered fly ball went for a stand @-@ up triple and another batted ball landed for a cleanly hit single , Lajoie had five subsequent hits – bunt singles dropped in front of rookie third baseman Red Corriden ( whose normal position was shortstop ) , who was playing closer to shallow left field on orders , it has been suggested , of manager Jack O 'Connor . In his second at bat of the second game , Lajoie reached base on another bunt but the runner on first base advanced . According to the rules of that time , the hit was scored a sacrifice and thus , Lajoie did not record an official at bat . He finished the doubleheader a perfect 8 @-@ for @-@ 8 and his batting average increased to .384 , .001 greater than Cobb 's mark . Although the AL office had not officially announced the results , Lajoie began to receive congratulations from fans and players , including eight of Cobb 's Detroit Tigers teammates . Most players in the league preferred Lajoie 's personality to that of Cobb 's . Coach Harry Howell is reported to have said to the game 's official scorer , E. V. Parish , " to do well by Lajoie . " Howell was reported to have offered a bribe to Parish , which described in Al Stump 's biography of Cobb , was a $ 40 ( $ 981 in current dollar terms ) suit . Parish refused the offer and the resulting uproar ended in O 'Connor and Howell being banned from the major leagues by AL President Ban Johnson . 
