It's possible with Mizushima Shinji, whose works have a charm all their own, born of "simple" art and "simple" people. "Simple" in terms of straightforward, solid, and unpretentious: just plain good stuff, without extra fillers or needless excitement.
The characters, especially, are down to earth and refreshing. From Satonaka, the pitcher; Yamada, the catcher; to even obnoxious Iwasaki(?), the captain; these are characters of a simpler age. Largely unfettered by nasty ego problems (Iwasaki has some, but he's humorous enough to make it tolerable), bitterness, cynicism, or hatred, these young people are a lot like what one might think of for the stereotypical phrase "the boy next door." Satonaka is a handsome, hardworking young man with an ailing mother; Yamada is a heavyset but extremely competent catcher with the expression of Winnie the Pooh given intelligence and wisdom. Iwasaki is a huge guy who always has a sprig of vegetation in his mouth, and Tonma(?), a weird little guy who is not only a musical genius but a good ballplayer. These teammates may have tough times, or moments of anger, but the mood rarely descends to the darkness found in many modern manga, including modern baseball manga.
The opposing teams are also comprised on interesting characters. Somehow, Mizushima Shinji manages to make every player's face distinct, and the main opponents all have very distinctive personalities as well.
The games somehow manage to be interesting, despite the number of them. As every ballgame in real life is distinct, so are these, expertly portrayed and rendered perhaps more entertaining than the real thing. Mizushima Shinji, is, in fact, known for his baseball manga; Dokaben is one of many other baseball manga he has produced, but is arguably one of the most successful. Its characters were so successful they continued on past volume 48, and into a new series: Daikoushien.