“The Best of Us”
Pitcher Carl Erskine was the last living member of the 1955 World Champions known as “The Boys of Summer.” He was also one of the best men, period, to represent major league baseball.
Non-HOF Players
Non-HOF Players
Stories that center around players not in the Hall of Fame.
Non-HOF Players Quirky
Jack “Home Run” Harshman
The career leader in homer rate by a pitcher-batter (minimum of 14 HR as a pitcher) is not Babe Ruth or Shohei Ohtani, but rather a largely forgotten 178-pound beanpole of a pitcher.
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Non-HOF Players
Pete Browning
Pete Browning was a three-time batting champion with a career average of .341, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame.
Non-HOF Players
Tony Kubek
Tony Kubek became so well known as a baseball broadcaster that few remember what an outstanding young star he had been until the injury that forced him out of the game.
Non-HOF Players
Don Newcombe’s Second Life (#2 of 2)
Don Newcombe was a sensational ballplayer in his first life. He was a better man in his second life. This is #2 in a 2-part series.
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Non-HOF Players
The Early Years of Don Newcombe (#1 of 2)
Don Newcombe through age 30 had built a strong foundation for election to the Hall of Fame, but it stopped there. This is #1 in a 2-part series.
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Non-HOF Players Quirky
The Two Bobos
Story of the incredible link between Bobo Newsom and Bobo Holoman.
Non-HOF Players
Worst No-Hit Pitcher
Worst pitcher to throw a no-hitter? Gotta go with Bobo Holoman.
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Non-HOF Players
Wee Willie Sudhoff’s Derailed Career
Pitcher Willie Sudhoff had steadily progressed in his career when at age 28, in 1902, through roughly the end of August he was arguably the best pitcher in the National League. Then his career suddenly fell apart, and it wasn’t the common case of an arm injury.
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Non-HOF Players Quirky
Moonlight Graham
W.P. Kinsella’s character Moonlight Graham seems fictional, but he more closely resembles the real person he is based on than any of the characters in the classic film Field of Dreams.