297 Wins.

With the exception of Roger Clemens, Bobby Matthews has the most Wins of any player who is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  One of the main differences is that unlike Clemens, Matthews has never received Hall of Fame consideration once.

Matthews' pro career began in 1871, when he played in the National Association and the dawn of pro ball.  Over the next few seasons, he bounced around in the infant league for teams like the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, Baltimore Canaries, and the New York Mutuals, and the 5' 5" Pitcher did well with three straight (1872-74) years where he led his league in Strikeouts.

The Mutuals would join the National League, and Matthews joined Cincinnati after the Mutuals folded.  From 1887 to 1891, he slumped and bounced around from league to league, major to minor.  In 1892, he had a comeback season with the Boston Red Stockings, where he led the league in FIP (2.15), BB/9 (0.7), SO/9 (4.8), and SO/BB (6.95). 

Matthews joined the Philadelphia Athletics in 1883, where he had an even 30 Wins in the next three seasons.  He had another first-place finish in BB/9 (1883), one more in FIP (2.17 in 1885), and twice in SO/BB (1883 & 1885).

He retired after 1887, with the aforementioned 297 Wins with an ERA of 2.86.

The NFL 2021 Season is starting in about a month, and after the NFL drafts, players are heading into the training camp. Teams obviously have the best picks in the NFL Drafts 2021. Most teams have brought in the absolute best prospects to fill their needs. Let’s see which teams got lucky with the Top five picks in the NFL Draft 2021.

Top Five Draft Picks

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Drafted by: Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence has always been the top pick for this year’s NFL Draft as the top prospect and one of the best quarterbacks. He had been the No.1 draft pick since his freshman year at Clemson. It was evident about Jacksonville Jaguars filling their need for a Quarterback with Trevor Lawrence. And Jacksonville Jaguars did an excellent job putting Trevor up in their Arsenal. But According to Fanduel Sportsbook, Jaguars also had another similar graded prospect, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Lawrence has finished a tremendous three-year college career at Clemson Tigers with generating 90 passing touchdowns. Not only is Lawrence the Best Overall Prospect, but he is also the top Clemson Tigers player to be ever selected and the first one to be selected in the top three in the Drafts.

Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

Drafted by: New York Jets

Wilson is another excellent QB Prospect picked in the NFL Drafts 2021. He has shown an outstanding performance in the five seasons of his high school and college football. Zach Wilson was the first choice of the head coach Robert Saleh. The quarterback impressed the Jets with his confidence, energy, and passion for his game. Coach Saleh talked about how Wilson ticks all the checkboxes of a quarterback including, Arm Strength, accuracy, Making off-schedule, and has his Mental Horsepower through the roof.

Trey Lance, QB, NDSU

Drafted by: San Francisco 49ers

We have another quarterback and the No.3 overall pick for the NFL Draft 2021. Despite just one match in the 2020 season, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lance has been in the Top 5 quarterbacks. Although 3rd in the list, Lance is still a great overall quarterback with an NCAA record for the most passes thrown in a season. With a high football IQ, Trey Lance will surely be able to shine in the San Francisco 49ers’ offense.

Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

Drafted by:  Atlanta Falcons

Kyle Pitts was a great pick in this year’s NFL Drafts by Atlanta Falcons, making him the highest-drafted tight end in the whole NFL History. By choosing the absolute best playmaker Pitts, the Falcons have played their cards right. Pitts had a total of 12 touchdowns and 43 passes for 770 yards In the last 8 games. Not just that, he was also honored with the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football, He became the first tight end to end in the top 10 of the Heisman voting.

Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

Drafted by: Cincinnati Bengals

With the 5th pick in the First Round, the Bengals went with Ja’Marr Chase, the LSU Tigers wide receiver. In LSU’s championship season, we saw the wide receiver with 84 grabs in his 14 games and an SEC single-season record of 1780 yards. It was evident that the Bengals picking Ja’Marr Chase as the fifth pick, but there were some chances of them choosing the Oregon Ducks Penei Sewell. But considering the team’s needs, an excellent wide receiver is precisely what Cincinnati Bengals should have chosen. 

There was a time that Dwight Gooden was the best Pitcher in baseball, but as we know, drug use rendered him a shell of what he was well before his time.  One of the incredible things about his career, though, was how long he played and remained a serviceable hurler.

Gooden’s first two seasons in the Majors were about as good as you could hope for.  As a teenager, he won the Rookie of the Year award and was the Cy Young runner-up.  He would win the latter award as a sophomore when he went 24-4, and led the league in Wins, ERA (1.53), Innings Pitched (276.2), Strikeouts (268), and FIP (2.13), and had a WHIP of 0.965.  While this would be his peak (only at 20), he remained an upper-tier pitcher for the rest of the decade.

This was around the time when drugs became a problem for Gooden, but he had three more top-ten finishes in Cy Young voting, and he helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series.  Granted, Gooden was abysmal in that Fall Classic, but he was a huge reason they got there.  His play suffered in later years, and he was suspended for the entire 1995 season due to cocaine.

Gooden would return and play five more seasons, but not with the Mets.  He played for the Yankees, won two World Series Rings, and threw a no-hitter in 1996.  That was good, but he was far from the player he used to be.  He also had stints with Cleveland, Houston, and Tampa, and after that, a final stint with the Yankees, where he won that third ring.

Had Gooden not gotten so heavily involved with drugs, it is easy to speculate that he would already be in the Hall of Fame.  As it stands, we have a very good hurler who, at one time, was the best in the business, but he could be considered a big what-if?  

If you look at the career of Harry Stovey, accumulatively, the offensive statistics seem very good, but not Hall of Fame good.  1,775 Hits, 122 Home Runs, and a .288 Batting Average don't stand out, but another look shows that is not the case at all.

Stovey played from 1880 to 1893, an era not known for offensive greatness.  Beginning his career with three decent seasons with the Worcester Ruby Legs of the National League, he would join the first incarnation of the Philadelphia Athletics, an inaugural team of the American Association.  With Philadelphia, Stovey had four seasons in which he led the AA in Runs Scored, and his lowest total was 110.  He won three Home Run Titles, two Triples Titles, and was a base-stealing machine.  Four of his seasons saw Stovey bat over .300, and he also won two Slugging Titles.  

He would finish his career with stops in Boston during the brief Players’ League and with three more teams in the NL (Boston, Baltimore, and Brooklyn).  While hitting 100 Home Runs doesn't seem like much, he was the first to do so as a pro, and that means something.