Ninety Feet from Fame : Close Calls with Baseball Immortality

Fascinating stories of a host of near-legends buried by circumstance, bad luck, & bad timing. Robbins tells the stories of players who came up just short of baseball immortality. There's Hal Smith, whose dramatic World Series home run almost made him a legend, & Max Flack, the hero of a -- now-forgotten -- pennant race. There's Harlond Clift, a 3rd baseman for the ages -- overlooked because he played on a terrible team -- & Jose Cruz, Sr., a fantastic hitter -- overlooked because he played in a terrible hitter's park. These men -- & dozens more -- came excruciatingly close to earning a permanent place in baseball lore. Yet today, many of their tales are unknown to even die-hard fans. Here are their heartbreaking stories.Robbins, Mike is the author of 'Ninety Feet from Fame : Close Calls with Baseball Immortality', published 2005 under ISBN 9780756796877 and ISBN 0756796873.