Mueller was the consummate contact hitter. For his career, he had 167 walks and 146 strikeouts. And that was over a span of 12 seasons.

Mueller got the second of four hits in the Giants' pennant winning rally in the final 1951 playoff game, but then broke a leg sliding into third on Lockman's double and didn't even get to see Thomson's winning home run. OTOH the time that it took to carry him off the field into the centerfield clubhouse gave Branca enough time to warm up, and it's possible that without that broken leg Thomson would have been facing Newcombe and the Dodgers might have hung on.

Yeah, and if I had some ham I could make a ham sandwich, if I had some bread. But it's still a nice little case of the What Ifs.

When I was in college, many years ago, a college prof was a huge NY Giant fan and swore the Giants would have won the 51 World Series if Mandrake could have played. This was about 35 years after the event and he was still white hot passionate about it. I think that kind of fandom is a nice way for a guy like Mueller to go out with. Rest in Peace. Also, went to school with Danny Gardellas daughter.