Big Leaguers: Central Mass/ players in the majors; Athol to Millville: Our towns proud of their MLB heroes.

PositionSPORTS

Byline: Bill Ballou

There is nothing a Central Mass. person likes more than a bargain, but a couple of things come close.

Fried clams, a hot fudge sundae with coffee ice cream, and baseball are not far behind.

For this region, baseball has been more than merely a spectator sport. Along the way, we've sent dozens of players to the major leagues. Some have been up for little more than tryouts, a couple have been Hall of Famers and many have had long, productive careers.

One of the beauties of computers is that they make it easy to create lists. One of the drawbacks is that computers don't know history and tradition and nuance. So, the list of the top home run hitters of all time says that Carlton Fisk is No. 1 from Vermont, but the reality is that Fisk spent a couple of days in a hospital in Bellow Falls, where he was born, and the next couple of decades learning to play baseball in Charlestown, N.H.

So it is with lists of major leaguers from Central Mass. Being born in Central Mass. is not the same as being raised here, and vice-versa. Ron Darling was born in Honolulu, but he is really one of us, having grown up in Millbury and attending St. John's. Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett spent either three weeks or three years in Woonsocket, where he was born, but his hometown was Millville, and everybody knows that.

The list that accompanies this story includes players who grew up in Central Mass. and played amateur baseball here, such as high school or Legion or sandlot in the early days. It does not include Holy Cross players who were from outside the region, or people like Jesse Burkett, who settled here as adults.

Geographically, we'll be narrow in our definition of Central Mass, defining it as including towns in which the Telegram & Gazette has traditionally covered high school sports and routine town affairs. So, Athol is in, Orange is out. West Brookfield, yes; Ware no. Southboro, yes; Framingham, no.

The list is also limited to those who played from 1901 on, or since major league baseball took on the landscape it retains today - two big leagues, American and National. It also includes the Federal League of 1914-15.

Many Central Mass. big leaguers played for the Boston Braves or Philadelphia A's, it seems. The Athletics were run by Connie Mack, an East Brookfield native who kept strong ties to the area and was willing to give almost any promising prospect a look. The Braves were a threadbare franchise whose home, the South End Grounds...

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