One of the more interesting collaborative baseball projects has come to fruition in the new book The Hall of Nearly Great, which is available for sale now. The book features a look back at 43 different players who didn't make the Hall of Fame but were memorable in their own right.
As the book's website notes, "Think of your favorite players growing up: they have their moments, games, seasons, quirks, personalities, and legends worth remembering and sharing. Now, combine the best of everyone’s forgotten favorites, and you’ve got a Hall of Nearly Great."
A veritable who's who of baseball writers, 42 in all, contributed to the book, including Joe Posnanski, Rob Neyer, Josh Wilker, Jon Weisman, Jay Jaffe, and several others. Even Twitter legend Old Hoss Radbourn wrote a chapter!
Among the 43 players are several players with ties to the Dodgers, including current manager Don Mattingly (written by Steven Goldman). There are 10 who played for the Dodgers in the book as well:
- Fernando Valenzuela, written by Eric Nusbaum
- Ron Cey, by King Kaufman
- Reggie Smith, by Weisman
- Andy Messersmith, by Jeff Passan
- Dick Allen, by Carson Cistulli
- Robin Ventura, by Jon Sciambi
- Eric Davis, by Craig Fehrman
- Kenny Lofton, by Cee Angi
- Fred McGriff, by Tommy Bennett
- Bob Caruthers, by Old Hoss Radbourn
If you like baseball books, or just reading good writers tell stories of players they admire, The Hall of Nearly Great will be $12 well spent.