baseball’s shooting stars: improbable ascents and burnouts in the national pastime

＂Every serious baseball fan can attest to the perennial excellence of stars like Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey, Jr. But how many can recall the exploits of Fred Dunlap, George Stone, Bobby Shantz, or Mark Fidrych? Each of these players performed like a superstar for a single season, but none of them came close to replicating that success in subsequent years. Some achieved early success and flamed out, while others overcame early setbacks to achieve brief stardom late in their careers. Some were one-year wonders, and others sustained solid careers after setting an early standard that they would never again reach. This book contains the bittersweet stories of 30 such players who tantalized their fans with visions of greatness, but ultimately fell short.＂--

David J. Gordon is a cardiovascular epidemiologist and an internationally recognized expert on clinical trials, who recently retired after 42 years with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. He is an author or co-author of 90 peer-reviewed scholarly articles plus invited chapters in 13 medical monographs and textbooks. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.