If Your Birthday is January 18th...

...you share it with Michael Pineda. Tall and talented, erratic and enigmatic, he gave strong hints of being a future ace to first the Mariners, then the Yankees. But something always stood in the way. First there was a shoulder injury that cost him two full seasons. There was a maddening inconsistency. And then Tommy John surgery that ended his 2017 early -- and closed the books on his time with the Yankees. Almost fittingly, he's gone 31 - 31 in his career, which will restart with the Twins either late this year or early in 2019.

Also getting their cake and candles today:

• Brett Lawrie, the Canadian-born infielder who spent six years in the majors with the Blue Jays and A's.
• Mike Lieberthal, who caught for parts of 14 seasons, all but one with the Phillies.
• Brady Anderson, a solid outfielder during the 1990s, who, in 1996 suddenly and briefly blossomed into a slugger, crushing 50 home runs for the Orioles.

And we can never forget Curt Flood, the Cardinals standout center fielder of the 1960s, whose courage in challenging baseball's reserve clause was the first gunshot in the war that eventually upended the economic relationship between players and owners. Sacrificing his career at the age of 31 by refusing a trade to the Phillies, he sat out 1970 and eventually forced a subsequent deal to the Washington Senators. But his skills began to erode and his desire to play had faded. Along with Marvin Miller, Curt Flood deserves the eternal respect and honor of players that followed -- who have enjoyed riches and contractual freedoms he could never have dreamt of. He died of throat cancer in 1997, two days after turning 59.