If Your Birthday is October 30th
...you share it with Shane Robinson. Best suited to be a late-inning defensive replacement, the journeyman outfielder, was out of his element when he became the Yankees primary replacement for Aaron Judge in August. The Tampa native, who has also played for the Cardinals, Twins and Angels, is also a rarity -- he has more career stolen bases (19) than home runs (7).
Also on our cake and candles list today:
Joe Panik, the Giants second baseman who looked a franchise cornerstone when he broke in during 2014. But his numbers and durability have dropped off the last three seasons.
Mike Jacobs broke in with a bang -- slugging 11 home runs and hitting over .300 for the Mets during the final six weeks of the 2005 season. Traded to the Royals the following winter in the Carlos Delgado deal, he never again performed at that high a level.
Marco Scutaro also broke in as a Met, but enjoyed a productive career with the A's, Red Sox and Giants -- where his bat got hot at the right time. He hit .500 in the 2012 NLCS and was named MVP as San Francisco won its second of three titles this deade.
Mickey Rivers broke in with the Angels, but is best remembered as the speedy center fielder on three consecutive Yankee pennant winners (1976-'78).
And we remember Jim Ray Hart, the 3rd baseman for the mid 1960s San Francisco Giants. A powerhitting righty, he homered 23 times or more five straight years -- quite an accomplishment when one played half his games at Candlestick Park. Shaky defense held him back from stardom, and he finished out his career with the 1973-'74 Yankees.
(My image of Shane Robinson is from the August 11th Yankees/Rangers game; the retired numbers at AT&T park are from August 29th, 2014.)
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