Ranking the top 10 MLB players from the state of New Jersey

5. Monte Irvin, LF/1B/SS

The way it sounded, Irvin hit .624, had 242 RBIs, and bopped 48 home runs while playing for the Newark Eagles in 1941.

While that wasn’t the case — he had a .387 batting average, 48 runs driven in, and 10 homers that year — fellow Baseball Hall of Famer Roy Campanella would swear by it.

“Monte was the best all-round player I have ever seen,” Campanella once said. “As great as he was in 1951, he was twice that good 10 years earlier in the Negro Leagues.”

A five-time All-Star who attended Orange High School, Irvin had an NL-best 121 RBIs and slashed .312/.415/.514 for the New York Giants in ’51. He won a World Series three seasons later.