Known for his speed and his ability to hit the ball to all fields, Doc Cramer hit over .300 eight times, collected 200 or more hits three times, and from 1932 to 1940 never hit below .290. A lifetime .296 hitter, Cramer scored 1,357 runs and finished with a outstanding .340 on-base-pct.

He made the All-Star team in 1935, was traded away to the Red Sox in 1936 and was named to All-Star teams every year from 1937-40. He scored 90 or more runs for nine consecutive seasons, 1933 thru 1941, his high being 116 in 1938.

An outstanding, fielding center fielder, Cramer still ranks among the top 10 all-time in career putouts. Doc Cramer lifetime: 296 BA, 396 Ds, 109 Ts, 37 HR, 1357 Runs, 842 RBIs, 672 SB, 572 Ws, 345 Ks, 2,705 Hits in 9140 at bats. baseballhistorian.com

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In 1945 during World War II, Cavarretta won the league's batting crown, hitting .355, was voted the Most Valuable Player and helped the Cubbies win still another pennant. Although, the Cubs lost to the Tigers in the World Series, Cavarretta lined 11 hits and batted .423 overall. He later played while managing the Cubs - June 1951-1953 - and played for the White Sox in 1954-1955. Phil Cavarretta's career numbers: .293 BA, 347 Ds, 99 Ts, 95 HR, 1977 Hits in 6754 at bats, 990 Runs, 920 RBIs.

Here's what Complete Baseball by Microsoft says:

Until Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron arrived in the 1950s, Wally Berger was the greatest slugger ever to wear a Braves uniform. If that criterion is limited to members of the Boston Braves, Berger still comes out on top. From 1930 through 1936 the right-hander was practically the only home run threat the Braves could muster.

In 1935, for example, he hammered 34 homers to lead the National League.

Wally Berger was born in Chicago but grew up in San Francisco playing sandlot baseball. In high school he played third base on a team that featured future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin at second. In 1927 Berger signed his first pro contract with Pocatello of the Utah-Idaho League and became an outfielder. When he hit .385 with 24 home runs in 92 games, he was brought back home to play for San Francisco's Pacific Coast League team.

Although Berger tore up Coast League pitching the next two seasons, he was not brought up to the majors for even the traditional "cup of coffee." His rights were owned by the Chicago Cubs, whose 1930 team boasted an outfield of Riggs Stephenson, Hack Wilson and KiKi Cuyler, each of whom hit .300 with more than 100 RBIs that year.

Before the 1930 season opened, Berger was traded to Boston. He rewarded his new employees with one of the best rookie seasons on record in baseball history, hitting .310 with 38 home runs and 119 RBIs.

His home run total as a rookie, though tied by Frank Robinson (Cincinnati Reds) in 1956, stood as the major league record until Mark McGwire (Oakland A's) bested it in 1987. It remains the National League record for freshman.

Although he never surpassed his rookie home run total in any other year, Berger hit between 17 and 34 home runs for each of the next six seasons.

He also batted over .300 four times with the Braves, with a career-high .323 in 1931. Four times he batted in more than 100 runs, with a league-leading 130 in 1935.

He was also a reliable center fielder, leading the league's outfielders in fielding average in 1932. He started in center field for the National League in the first three All-Star games (1933, 1934, 1935) and was also named to the squad in 1936.

In 1933 Wally Berger missed almost three weeks of the season due to illness but almost single-handedly pulled the Braves into first division for the first time in a dozen years. He hit .313 with 106 RBIs, and his 27 homers were exactly half of his team's total for the season. He finished third in the voting for the NL's Most Valuable Player - behind only Carl Hubbell and Chuck Klein.

Two factors make Berger's record all the more impressive. first, during his entire time with Boston, he had virtually no "protection." Pitchers could always pitch around him because there was never a long-ball threat coming up behind him. The second-highest homer total for a Brave during those seven years was only 13, hit by Gene Moore in 1936, and only two other batters had seasons in which they reached double figures in home runs.

Another factor working against Berger was the Braves' ballpark. Braves Field had the most distant fences in the National League. A right-handed pull-hitter like Berger was challenged by a distance of 350 feet down the left field line. Berger hit 105 homers at Braves Field, more than any other player in history.

A shoulder injury in 1936 reduced Berger's hitting ability, and in 1937 he was traded to the New York Giants. Playing only part-time, he helped them win the 1937 pennant with a dozen homers.

In 1938 he was sent to Cincinnati, where he helped the Reds win a pennant in 1939. Released after two games in 1940, he signed with the Phillies but didn't finish the season.

Wally Berger's career numbers: .300 BA in 1350 Games, 1550 hits in 5163 at bats, 299 doubles, 59 triples, 242 home runs, 809 Runs, 898 RBIs, 435 Walks, 694 strike outs, 36 SB, a .359 on-base-pct, and a high .522 slugging pct.

baseballhistorian.com - The History of Baseball

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However in 1941, he went 15-17 to lead the league in losses.

In the off-season, while hunting in a forest, another hunter accidentally shot him at close range. 'I had to learn to walk all over again,' he recalled. 'Not to mention pitch.'

And so, he invented a 'junk ball' or 'eephus pitch'. It became one of baseball's top news stories as 'Rip Sewell let go of the ball, which flew 25 feet in the air with a backspin like a shot-put arced high in the air.'

The pitch helped him lead the National League with 21 wins and 25 complete games in 1943 and 21 more victories the following season.

Rip Sewell stats 143-97, .596 pct., 3.48 ERA, in 390 G, 243 GS, 137 GC, 20 Shutouts, 2119.3 innings. baseballhistorian.com

Although he's not a member of the Hall of Fame his numbers suggest a near-borderline serious candidate. A fine hitter, Mancuso, from 1932-1936, played at least 100 games for five straight seasons and batted .284, .264, 245, .298, .301, and averaged over 50 RBIs per/year - possessing a great batting eye, he walked more than he struck out in all but two years. In 1936, when he hit .301, with 63 RBIs, Mancuso fanned only 28 times in 139 games, 519 at bats.

As good as his all-around play was - Mancuso will always be remembered as a compelling backstop with the uncanny ability to get the best out of the man on the pitching-mound.

Gus Mancuso lifetime # - .265 BA, 1194 hits, .328 on-base-pct, 197 Ds, 53 HR, 386 Runs, 543 RBIs, 418 Ws, 264 Ks in 4,505 at bats, 1460 Games. Baseballhistorian.com