During the span of 1909-1912 one of the better pitchers was Nap Rucker.
Here are his numbers looking at WAR for pitchers in the majors:
1909 7.6 #3
1910 6.8 #6
1911 8.5 #4
1912 8.1 #4
Nap would have been a popular player for the boys in Brooklyn, one of the few bright spots on some pretty bad teams. After seven productive years in Brooklyn problems surfaced. It appears his shoulder was wearing out, he had deltoid bursitis, he developed a growth under his arm, had tonsil issues, had an extra bone near his shoulder, and had related conditioning issues. He never got completely back on track.
An extra seven inch bone from below the shoulder to collar bone? Any doctors?
He was one of the better pitchers in the given window of time. The supporting cast around him was far behind Babe Adams and Jack Coombs.
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