LAJOIE PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE WOONSOCKET HISTORICAL SOCIETY ; HARTNETT AND BALDELLI CARDS COURTESY OF COLLECTOR ; BACKGROUND : GETTY IMAGES / KYOSHINO .

CATCHER : Gabby Hartnett ( 1922-1941 ): Charles Leo “ Gabby ” Hartnett was the pride of Woonsocket . The son of a day laborer , “ Old Tomato Face ” — as he was nicknamed for his ruddy complexion — brought that blue-collar ethic to the ballfield . For two decades , Hartnett proved himself to be one of the National League ’ s toughest backstops and one of its hardesthitting catchers for the Chicago Cubs . Hartnett later served as Cubs ’ manager and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955 .

SECOND BASEMAN : Napoleon Lajoie ( 1896-1916 ): “ Nap ” was the son of French- Canadian immigrants in Woonsocket . His father died not long after his birth , forcing the eight Lajoie children to work at very young ages . A teenage Lajoie was working

at a local textile mill when professional baseball scouts discovered him playing sandlot ball , launching a Hall of Fame career . Lajoie rivaled Ty Cobb as the best hitter of his era , posting a . 339 career batting average and winning five batting titles with the Phillies , Athletics and Indians . Lajoie was inducted as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame ’ s second class in 1937 .

OUTFIELDER : Davey Lopes ( 1972-1987 ): The pride of LaSalle Academy , Lopes excelled defensively both as an infielder ( particularly for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s and early 1980s ) and as an outfielder later in his career for the Athletics , Cubs and Astros . Lopes was an elite base stealer , leading the National League in steals in 1975 and 1976 for the Dodgers , with a career total of 557 steals .

NAPOLEON LAJOIE

ROCCO BALDELLI

OUTFIELDER : Hugh Duffy ( 1888-1906 ): Cranston ’ s Hugh Duffy stood just fivefoot-seven but walloped the ball like few others . He had baseball ’ s top cumulative batting average , home runs and runs batted in for the 1890s . In 1894 , Duffy batted . 440 for the Boston Beaneaters , the highest single-season average in major league history . After a nineteen-year career , Duffy spent the better part of two decades as a major league manager . He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 and mentored a young Ted Williams later in life while working as an instructor for the Red Sox organization .

OUTFIELDER : Rocco Baldelli ( 2003-2010 ): A standout at Bishop Hendricken , Baldelli was an out-of-the-box sensation for the Tampa Bay Rays . As a rookie in 2003 , Baldelli hit . 289 , ripped thirty-two doubles and drove-in seventy-eight runs , finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting . Though a series of injuries radically shortened his career , Baldelli was regarded by fans and peers alike as a hardnosed , throwback player who contributed to his teams in many ways . Following his retirement , Baldelli got into coaching . In 2019 , he was named manager of the Minnesota Twins , which he led to consecutive American League Central Division titles in his first two seasons . As a rookie manager , Baldelli was selected American League manager of the year .

PHOTOGRAPHY : URI SAFFRON PROJECT .

RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l APRIL 2022 17