If Your Birthday is November 14th...

...you share it with a pair of major league shortstops, the Indians' Francisco Lindor (above) and the Phillies' Freddy Galvis (below). Lindor, the 2015 runner up for AL Rookie of the Year, made his first All Star Team this season, while batting .301 with 15 homers, while winning the American League's Platinum Glove, emblematic of the best fielder in the league regardless of position. He was introduced to much of the baseball world this post-season, as helped lead the Indians to within one win of title. Odds are, he'll be back in that spot again.
While Lindor is clearly one of the game's rising stars, Galvis holds a different status. Over five seasons with the Phils, he's built a reputation as a good glove man, but a questionable hitter. Yet, he always hinted at holding more potential. Having seen him both with the Phillies and Triple-A Leigh Valley, I've often noticed how solidly he hits the ball, how when he makes contact it makes that sweet sound. But until this year, it never happened often enough. Even in 2016, when he suddenly flashed power, with 20 homers and 26 doubles, he just .241 with an on-base percentage of .274. That's not enough to guarantee much -- especially with the Phillies top offensive prospect, shortstop JP Crawford, less than a year away at Triple-A. Of course, if Galvis can boost his average and maintain that new-found power, Crawford might find himself blocked.
Time for a few more names on today's cake and candles list:


  • Jimmy Piersall, the talented but erratic outfielder who played
    alongside Ted Williams on the 1950s Red Sox. Mets fans remember him for running the bases facing backward after hitting the 100th home run of his career. (And even though he spent only part of the '63 season with the Polo Grounds guys, he had enough prominence to merit an article in a special 1963 series by New York's World Telegram & Sun.) Tony Perkins starred in his bio-pic Fear Strikes Out. And he was Harry Caray's sidekick on White Sox TV broadcasts before Caray moved onto the Cubs.
  • Curt Schilling, the Red Sox pitcher forever linked to the bloody sock and the team's comeback after trailing three games to none in the 2004 ALCS. That wasn't the first time he'd tormented the Yankees in the post-season. Remember the 2001 World Series where he and Randy Johnson delivered a Diamondbacks title, seemingly by themselves? A borderline candidate for the Hall of Fame, he was back in the news recently with politically outspoken comments that led to being fired by ESPN.
  • Willie Hernandez, who spent 13 seasons in the majors, highlighted by his work on the pennant-winning '83 Phillies, who then traded him to Tigers. The next year, he had a season for the ages, appearing in 80 games, finishing 68, saving 32 and winning both the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Awards as Detroit won its most recent World Series.

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