If Your Birthday is December 12th...

You share it with Ervin Santana. The 12-year veteran pitched well in 2016 on an awful Twins team. While he posted a losing record, his other stats -- including a 3.38 ERA and a 3:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks -- were impressive. You wonder if Minnesota, which appears willing to deal his teammate Brian Dozier, might make him available this winter. With two years remaining on his contract, he might be bring back some good prospects to a Minnesota team looking to rebuild.
And if you're the Yankees, how would Santana look slotted between Tanaka and Sabathia in the rotation next season? He certainly looked good on a Yankee Stadium mound last June when the Twins visited New York.

Some other names on our 12/12 cake and candles list:


  • Orlando Hudson, the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks 2nd baseman during the 2000s.
  • Gorman Thomas, the Brewers slugger who twice led the AL in home runs.
  • Ralph Garr, has the perect nickname, the "Road Runner." This Braves and White Sox speedster twice led his league in triples and had five seasons hitting .300 or better. 
  • Pedro Gonzalez, the first #42 I remember with the Yankees. The Dominican native was one of several 1960s prospects who didn't live up to expectations as the Mantle-Ford-Berra dynasty ended. He did have a couple of OK seasons after being traded to the Indians.
  • Tom Brown didn't make much of a mark in baseball, hitting under .150 in 61 games with the '63 Washington Senators. Still, he did something that Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and Brian Jordan can't claim. He's the first man to have played both major league baseball and in the Super Bowl! A standout safety with Vince Lombardi's Packers, he earned rings playing on the first two Super Bowl champions.
  • And while I'm thinking Yankees, a certain Hoboken native whose song plays at the end of every game at Yankee Stadium was born on this date in 1915. Ol' Blue Eyes was a lifelong fan of baseball, with ties to both the Yankees and Dodgers. MLB.com posted a nice tribute to Frank Sinatra a year ago on his centennial.



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