Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media

UPDATED -- 5/23. We had so much feedback on the list that we decided to take another swing at the ranking, adding several players we left off who deserved to be inclusion. It's still an imperfect list, but it's closer to the true ranking. As always, send along your thoughts.

New Jersey didn't exactly invent baseball, but when the first organized game takes place on your home turf, it's safe to say we know more than just a little bit about it.

That game took place at the Elysian Fields on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, and in the 171 years since, our state can claim some of the finest players to ever play the sport. Ranking the best 50 among them is just about impossible. But we're going to give it a try.

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First, some ground rules. A player can qualify for this list in three ways:

1. He was born here. Yes, Derek Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich., but Pequannock always will be on his birth certificate, and if that's good enough for the New Jersey Hall of Fame, it's good enough for us.

2. He grew up here. Willie Wilson was born in Montgomery, Ala., but that hardly matters to the people of Summit, where he learned the game and remains a legend after his great 19-year career in the majors.

3. He is closely identifiable with the state. This one is tricky, because it is highly subjective. Still: The list would be incomplete without the likes of Yogi Berra, who for almost seven decades lived here and became a community treasure in Montclair. But the standard is high -- having an N.J. zip code for a few years is not enough.

Here is our list ...

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50. Dan Pasqua

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Pasqua, who attended Northern Valley Regional High in Old Tappan, played 10 years in the majors, including his first three with the Yankees. His teams weren't very good, but the Pasqua was a fan favorite with power, hitting 117 home runs in his career.

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49. Scott Schoeneweis

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Schoeneweis, who grew up in Mount Laurel, pitched in the majors from 1999-2010, both as a starter and a reliever. For a five-season stretch he was one of the most difficult pitchers against lefties, allowing just one home run against them from 2003-07.

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More: Where is Willie Banks now?

How two strangers helped save his life.

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48. Jeff Torborg

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NJAM

The Westfield native is better known for his managerial career, but he was a pretty good catcher, too, who was on the receiving end of three no-hitters -- Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Bill Singer's no-hitter in 1970 and Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter in 1973.

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47. Johnny Kucks

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The Jersey City native had modest numbers (54-56, 4.10 ERA) during his career, but he saved one of his best performances for the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1956 World Series, shutting rival Dodgers, 9-0.

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Also: N.J.'s 50 best NFL players

A Hall of Fame RB tops the list.

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46. Billy Hands

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MLB

The Rutherford product pitched for 11 seasons in the majors with a 3.35 career ERA. His best season came in 1969 when he pitched a whopping 300 innings for the Cubs, going 20-14 during the team's infamous collapse to the Miracle Mets.

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45. Johnny Romano

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MLB

Romano, a four-time All-Star who grew up in Hoboken, is regarded as one of the top catchers in the American League during the early 1960s. He held three Cleveland Indian records for a catcher at the time of his retirement -- career home runs (91), most home runs in a season (25) and most RBI in a season (81).

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Izenberg: The unforgettable '69 Mets

Remembering the miracle team.

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44. John Montefusco

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NJAM

Nicknamed "The Count" because of his last name, the Long Branch native was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1975 and threw a no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants the following season. He finished his career with a 90-83 record and 1,081 strikeouts.

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43. Mule Haas

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Haas, a Montclair native, had 12 mostly productive seasons in the majors in the '20s and '30s, but his heroics -- including a three-run inside-the-park home run that sparked a comeback in Game 4 -- helped the Philadelphia A's win the 1929 World Series. Montclair threw him a big party when he returned home.

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More: N.J.'s top HS players since 2000

No. 1 is a two-time MVP in the majors.

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42. Richie Zisk

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Zisk, who grew up in Parsippany and later played at Seton Hall, had 207 home runs and 792 RBI in a 13-year career. His best season came in 1977 with the Chicago White Sox, when he had 30 homers and drove in 101 runs.

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41. Joe Black

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MLB

The Plainfield native became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game, in 1952 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He roomed with Jackie Robinson and was Rookie of the Year that season as a 28-year old after a successful start in the Negro Leagues.

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More: Ranking the greatest Giants

Who makes the all-time 53-man roster?

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40. Joe Borowski

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The Bayonne native and Marist graduate had a brilliant two-year stretch at the end of his career, including a league-high 45 saves for the Cleveland Indians in 2007. He finished with 131 saves over his 12 seasons.

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39. Doug Glanville

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AP

The Teaneck native had a nine-year career in the majors, batting .279 over that span after the Chicago Cubs made him the 12th overall pick in the 1991 amateur draft. The talented outfielder ended his career going 293 straight games without a fielding error.

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Also: NJ.com's full Yankees coverage

Follow the team's daily developments.

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38. Ron Villone

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Have arm, will travel. Villone changed teams 13 times in his career, compiling 1,168 innings as mostly a situational reliever. The Bergenfield native had a career 4.73 ERA with 928 strikeouts, and his 12 different teams is second most in baseball history.

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37. Denny Walling

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The Farmingdale native earned the nickname "Good Wood" during his 18-year career, most of which was spent with the Houston Astros. He was mostly a third baseman but also a valuable pinch hitter who had a career .271 average.

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Also: N.J. 2017 HS baseball preview

Who are the state's top players?

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36. Jeffrey Hammonds

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Hammonds, who grew up in Scotch Plains, was a dynamic outfielder who struggled with injuries during his 13-year career. In his best season in 2000, he batted .335 with 20 home runs and 106 RBI with the Colorado Rockies.

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35. Rick Cerone

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NJAM

Cerone, a Newark native who played at Essex Catholic High, was drafted seventh overall in 1975 and carved out an 18-year career with eight different teams. In his finest season with the Yankees in 1980, he hit .277 with 14 home runs and 85 RBI to help them win the American League East title.

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Also: Newark Bears are gone for good

Why the city's team folded in 2014.

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34. Bob Stanley

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The Kearny native threw the pitch to Mookie Wilson in 1986 that bounced past Bill Buckner and into baseball lore, but his career was more than that. He pitched for 13 seasons as a starter (115-97 record) and a reliever (132 saves).

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33. Ron Perranoski

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Who is the New Jersey-born all-time saves leader? Ron Perranoski amassed 178 of them over the course of his 13-year career. The Fair Lawn native also won a pair of World Series rings as a player with the Dodgers (1963 and 1965) and two more as a coach (1981 and 1988).

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Plus: N.J.com's full Mets coverage

Follow the team's daily developments.

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32. Earl Williams

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The Newark-born catcher, who grew up in East Orange and Montclair, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1971 with the Atlanta Braves. He had 138 home runs in an eight-year career with four different teams, once declaring that his favorite position on the field was "batter."

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31. Hank Borowy

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The Bloomfield native and longtime Brick resident compiled a 108-82 record with a 3.50 ERA in his career, which included six appearance in World Series games. Before 2016, Borowy was the last Cubs pitcher to win a World Series game, in 1945.

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More: 10 steps to being a Mets fan

Plenty of room on their bandwagon now.

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30. John Valentin

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NJAM

Valentin, who graduated from St. Anthony High before continuing his career at Seton Hall, played all but one of his 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox. In 1,105 games, he was a career .279 career batting average and 124 home runs.

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29. Rick Porcello

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Porcello is just 28, but with a Cy Young Award already under his belt and a 109-86 record with a 4.19 ERA, the former Seton Hall Prep star already has carved himself out a nice (and lucrative) professional career. He'll climb on this list.

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More: Porcello wins the Cy Young

The Boston ace wins a close vote.

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28. Frankie Hayes

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Hayes, born and raised in Jamesburg, set a Major League record for most consecutive games played by a catcher -- 312 straight from 1943 to 1946. That's a mark that will never be broken given the changes in the sport. He was a six-time All-Star who batted .259 for his career.

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27. Al Downing

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Downing is more than the pitcher who surrendered Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th career home run. The Trenton native had 123 wins, a 3.22 ERA and 1,639 strikeouts over a career than spanned 17 years.

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More: N.J.'s worst HS scandal?

See all the stories from Paterson.

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26. Jim McCormick

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You want to have a fun argument with your friends? Ask who the best player with ties to New Jersey not in the Hall of Fame, and see if they can come up with McCormick. He was a Paterson saloon owner who had a 265-214 record as a pitcher in the Dead Ball Era, with a 2.43 ERA and 1,704 strikeouts. His 466 complete games ranks 11th all time.

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25. Eric Young

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Young, who played for 15 years in the majors, is best known for being one of the best base stealers in the 1990s. His best season was in 1996, when the Rutgers product hit .324 with eight home runs, 74 RBI and 53 stolen bases for the Colorado Rockies.

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More: Mets failed with Harvey

Team shares blame in the pitcher's fall.

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24. George Case

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Case is regarded as the fastest man in the game from the 1920s to the 1950s, leading the majors in stolen bases five straight times. The Trenton-born player had another New Jersey distinction: He coached at Rutgers from 1950-60, leading the baseball team the College World Series in his first season.

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23. Todd Frazier

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Too high for a player who, at 31, still is in the prime of his career? Frazier is a two-time All-Star with 151 home runs so far in his career. The Toms River Little League hero and former Rutgers star figures to climb even higher on this list before he's done.

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Also: The 50 best Rutgers athletes

Several N.J. baseball stars make the cut.

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22. Eric Karros

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Born in Hackensack, the longtime Dodgers first baseman has more home runs (284) than any New Jersey born player. Karros had a .268 batting average with 1,027 RBI in his 14-year career, winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 1992.

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21. Johnny Vander Meer

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His career wasn't spectacular, but the Prospect Park native is in the record books at the only pitcher to throw back-to-back no hitters in his career. He also won a World Series with the Reds in 1940, leading the National League in strikeouts in three consecutive seasons (1941-43).

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Also: Ranking the 35 greatest Devils

No. 1 is easy. Who else makes the cut?

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20. Charlie Jamieson

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The Paterson native, nicknamed "Cuckoo," had 1990 hits and a .303 career batting average over his 18-year career. Most of that time was spent in Cleveland, where he helped the Indians win the 1920 World Series.

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19. Sparky Lyle

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NJAM

Arguably the most beloved figure in New Jersey minor league baseball history, Lyle had a great career in the majors, too, before becoming skipper of the Somerset Patriots. He won the 1977 Cy Young and had 238 career saves.

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More: Lyle is a "minor" success

The manager is a fixture in Somerset.

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18. Bobby Thomson

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The man who hit the "Shot Heard 'Round The World" lived for nearly 50 years in Watchung. His career was more than one big home run for the New York Giants, with 264 homers and 1,026 RBI over the span of 15 seasons.

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17. Doc Cramer

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NJAM

The five-time All-Star and 1945 World Series champion was a fixture at the top of the lineup in the American League. He finished his career with 2,705 hits, hitting over .300 in eight different seasons. The Beach Haven native has a street named for him in Manahawkin, where he died in 1990 at 85.

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Plus: Al Leiter had 32 Ks in a HS game

It took 13 innings ... and he didn't win.

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16. Al Leiter

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NJAM

No New Jersey born player has won more games in the majors than Leiter, who was 162-132 in his 19-year career. The lefty, who was born in Toms River, had successful stints with both the Yankees and the Mets before retiring to the broadcast booth.

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15. Willie Wilson

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NJAM

Wilson, who grew up in Summit, had a league-high 83 steals in his second season with the Kansas City Royals, and the next year, finished fourth in MVP voting. He played 19 seasons in the majors and his 688 career steals ranks him 12th in baseball history.

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Plus: Willson voted Summit's best

He was a dominant high school athlete.

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14. Ray Dandridge

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The third baseman played most of his Negro League career in Newark, compiling a .355 batting average. He was considered too old to play in the majors after the sport was integrated, and after his playing career, he settled in Newark and ran a recreation center in the city. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1987.

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13. Kid Gleason

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Born in Camden, Gleason not only won 138 games as a pitcher in the Dead Ball Era, he had 1,946 hits, too. Or perhaps you know the name for a different reason: He was manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox infamous for the Black Sox scandal.

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Izenberg: Newark must honor Doby

The baseball legend should get his due.

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12. Don Newcombe

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Newcombe, who was born in Madison and raised in Elizabeth, not only won the first-ever Cy Young Award in 1956 but was named the National League's MVP that season, too. A year earlier, he helped the Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series. He had a 149-90 record in the majors with a 3.56 career ERA.

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11. Billy Hamilton

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You want to talk about records that will never be broken? "Sliding Billy" scored 198 runs in 1894 with the Philadelphia Phillies -- since 2000, only one player (Jeff Bagwell in 2000) has come within 50 of that. The Newark native was the greatest baserunner of the Dead Ball Era, inducted into Cooperstown in 1961.

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Also: Remembering the Newark Eagles

The Negro League team flourished in N.J.

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10. Leon "Goose" Goslin

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Goslin, who was born in Salem, was just 20 when he was called up for the first time by the Washington Senators. That was the start of a Hall of Fame career that included 2,735 hits, two World Series titles and the AL batting title in 1928.

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9. Orel Hersisher

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The great Dodgers pitcher moved around quite a bit as a child, but his family settled in Cherry Hill, where he became a record-setting pitcher at Cherry Hill East High. He won 204 games in the majors with a 3.48 career ERA and 2,014 strikeouts, and his 1988 season, when he was the NLCS MVP, the World Series MVP and Cy Young Award winner is one of the best in baseball history.

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More: Politi's Hall of Fame ballot

See who the columnist voted for in 2016.

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8. Monte Irvin

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Irvin had a brilliant career with the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues before joining the New York Giants in 1949. The left fielder, who grew up in Orange, helped spark the Giants' miraculous comeback against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

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7. Phil Rizzuto

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"The Scooter" spent his entire 13-year career with the Yankees, winning the American League MVP in 1950 and seven World Series titles. The great shortstop grew up in Brooklyn but moved to Hillside with his wife, Cora Anne, in 1950 and lived there for a half century.

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Also: Yogi was an icon among us

Berra loved his Montclair home.

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6. Joe Medwick

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Medwick, born in Carteret in 1911, was named the MVP in 1937 when he won the Triple Crown for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is a 10-time All-Star and a 1934 World Series winner who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.

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5. Larry Doby

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Three months after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League, Doby did the same in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. Doby, a three-sport star in Paterson, played 13 seasons in the majors and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

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Plus: Mike Trout is baseball's new face

Why he takes the title from Derek Jeter.

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4. Mike Trout

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Will Trout top this list before he's through? That might sound like blasphemy now, but now in his sixth season, the Millville native is putting up statistics to match some of the best players in baseball history. He has already been named the American League MVP twice and finished second three times.

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3. Pop Lloyd

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The greatest shortstop in Negro League history played for 27 seasons, batting .343 with a .450 slugging percentage. The Florida-born legend settled in Atlantic City during his playing career, where he became a popular coach in a youth league in the city. Pop Lloyd Stadium was dedicated to him in 1949.

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More: Jeter's moment is perfect

No. 2 enters Monument Park his way.

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2. Derek Jeter

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The cornerstone of the modern Yankees dynasty won five World Series titles, and his 3,465 hits are sixth all-time in baseball history. Jeter grew up in Michican but was born in Pequannock, and in 2015, was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Coming in 2020: He'll be welcomed to another Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

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1. Yogi Berra

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The great Yankees catcher won 10 World Series championships, more than any other player in baseball history, and was named American League MVP three times in his 19-year career. He was born in St. Louis, but he and his wife Carmen settled in Montclair early in his career with the Yankees. The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, on the campus of Montclair State, still continues to serve the community after his death.

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Your turn: Who did we miss?

Putting a list together like this is an inexact science. So you tell us: Who did we have ranked too low? Who did we have too high? Who did we miss entirely? Add your thoughts to the comments section or send them directly to columnist Steve Politi at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.

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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

SPECIAL THANKS to Moss Klein, the longtime Yankees writer at The Star-Ledger, who is without a doubt New Jersey's finest all-time baseball writer.