If Your Birthday is January 7th...

...you share it with one the prospects the Braves expect to build around. 2nd baseman Ozzie Albies hit .286 with good power (six home runs in 57 games) after similarly impressing during the first half of the season at Triple A Gwinnett. And keep in mind, he posted these stats at the ripe old age of 20!! The native of Curacao ranks with Gleyber Torres of the Yankees as a player to watch for 2018.

Albies, who might become the most famous Ozzie since Smith, shares his cake and candles with another highly touted 2nd baseman who went onto a productive career.

Alfonso Soriano (right) will go down in the books as the player whom the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez, had seven consecutive All Star seasons and finished his career with 412 home runs. In fact, when you look at the prime of his career, he appeared to be on a Hall of Fame track. But his defensive limitations forced a move to the outfield, and a series of leg injuries led to his decline at age 33. He returned to the Yankees for a productive final two months of 2013, before his mid-season release the following summer.
Did you know that among all players born January 7th, "Sori" appeared in the most games, 1975.

That mark might be in jeopardy if Edwin Encarnacion (below) maintains his same level of productivity. Turning 35 today, he's been a steady power source for the Blue Jays and Indians -- and belted 38 homers in his first Cleveland season. Should he average 153 games in each of the next two years -- or 102 in each of the next three -- Encarnacion will surpass Soriano. Another 64 homers, easily attainable over the next two-to-three years will also move him past Soriano in career home runs.

A couple of other notable names connected to this date:

• Dick Schofield, the infielder who played 19 years in the majors, mostly as a backup. Ducky is also the patriarch of a three-generation dynasty, along with his son, also named Dick, and his grandson, Nationals and Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth.
• And Tony Conigliaro, the star-crossed Red Sox outfielder whose career was derailed by a 1967 beaning that left him with a broken cheekbone and jaw and damage to the retina of his left eye. He still holds the record for most home runs by a teenage player After eye problems ended his career, he reinvented himself as a TV sportscaster. Sadly, he was struck down by a massive stoke in 1982, when he was on the verge of landing a broadcasting in Boston. Tony C passed away in 1990.