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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

135. Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee was known for his methodical pitching style, and it was effective.

Lee’s MLB career began with the Cleveland Indians in 2002, and he was a fixture in their rotation two years later.  The southpaw did well and had an 18-5 year in ’05, where he was fifth in Cy Young voting.  That was good, and after an injury setback in 2007, Lee was set to have the season of his life.

In 2008, Lee won the Cy Young with a sparkling 22-3 record, and he led the American League in Wins (22), ERA (2.54), and FIP (2.83).  He was traded to the Phillies during the 2009 season, and helped them win the National League Pennant, but he was traded again to Seattle in the off-season, only to be traded to Texas a few months later, where he went to the All-Star Game, though that was mostly based on his brief work in Seattle.

Lee returned to the Phillies as a Free Agent, where he had two more All-Star years.  He retired in 2014 with a healthy record of 143-91, and 1,824 Strikeouts.

105. Jack Quinn

Jack Quinn was Jamie Moyer before Jamie Moyer.

Debuting in 1909 for the New York Highlanders (Yankees), Moyer would play for seven other teams before retiring in 1933 at the age of 50.  

Yes, 50.

While Quinn could not be classified as an ace, he was a spitballer who used his guile and experience to maintain relevance for years.  Quinn had only one 20 Win season (1914 with Baltimore in the Federal League), but he had five 15 Win seasons.  Quinn only started 443 of his 756 Games, which was unique for that era.  This made Quinn one of the earlier relief pitchers, and in 1931 and 1932, as a Brooklyn Robin, he led the National League in both Games Finished and Saves.  This was after he helped the Philadelphia Athletics win the World Series in 1929 and 1930.

Quinn retired with a record of 247-218, and at the time of his retirement, he was the oldest player to start in a World Series, pitch on Opening Day, lead the league in Saves, record a Win, and hit a Home Run.  He still holds the first three of those five records.

86. Don Newcombe

Don Newcombe was more than a great Pitcher, as he was a trailblazer in terms of African Americans in baseball.

After a brief time with Newark in the Negro Leagues, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  After a few seasons in their minor league system, Newcombe was called up for the 1949 season, making him the third black pitcher to be in the Majors.  Newcombe proved his worth instantly, winning the Rookie of the Year with a 17-8 record and an All-Star Game trip.  Newcombe was again an All-Star in 1950 and 1951, posting 19-11 and 20-9 seasons, respectively, but he would be forced to leave the game temporarily.

Newcombe was drafted into the U.S. military and served in Korea for 2 years.  He came back in 1954 and had a mediocre year, but he came back with a vengeance.  Newcombe went 20-5 in 1955, and he helped the Dodgers win their only World Series in Brooklyn.  The following year, he went 27-7, leading the NL in Wins and WHIP (0.989), and he won both the Cy Young and MVP, making him the first player to do that in the same season.

That 1956 season was why he made it on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for 15 years.  He never had anything close to an All-Star season again, and he played until 1960, finishing up with stints in Cincinnati and Cleveland.  He retired with a 149-90 record.

159. Dolph Camilli

Dolph Camilli came up with the Chicago Cubs, and they arguably gave up on him as he was prone to strikeouts, and he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.  With Philly, he still struck out a lot but was developing a strong power game.  In 1935, through 1937, the First Baseman would have at least 25 Home Runs, and in the latter two years, he would bat over .310.  In that last season, Camilli would have a league-leading On Base Percentage (.446).

In what would be a surprise move, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded for him, and he would help the "Bums" become contenders.  Camilli was an All-Star in both 1939 and 1941, and while he still whiffed a lot, he remained a power threat and a strong contender to walk.  In 1941, he would lead the National League in Home Runs (34) and Runs Batted In (120), and won the MVP.  He continued to play for a few more seasons, but age and injury caught up to him. 

Camilli would go deep 239 times over his career and received MVP votes in seven seasons.