Author/artist Gary Cieradkowski has been called 鈥渂aseball鈥檚 Van Gogh鈥� for the striking artwork that he uses to illustrate this unique book, which is equal parts ode to about 100 obscure but intriguing baseball players and art gallery of colorful depictions of these players in what look like vintage trading cards. These forgotten heroes include the black and Jewish Babe Ruths, plus a rich potluck of other players whose feats have largely escaped noticed in baseball鈥檚 various hinterlands 鈥� the minor leagues, Negro League, overseas, etc.
Here鈥檚 an excerpt from The League of Outsider Baseball:
Steve Dalkowski 鈥渃ame out of the housing projects of New Britain, Connecticut, average height with below average eyesight and a left arm that threw comets. The Orioles heard about his 18-strikeout high school no-hitter and signed him, the $4,000 bonus going toward a brand new Pontiac ragtop.
鈥淣o one knows how fast Dalkowski could throw, but veterans who saw him pitch say he was the fastest of all time. Some put the needle at 110 mph but we鈥檒l never know. He threw so hard that the ball had a unique bend all its own due to the speed at which it traveled.鈥�
