If Your Birthday is June 10th...

...you share it with Zoilo Almonte, a longtime minor league outfielder who played 47 games with the 2013 and '14 Yankees. I first saw him the year before with Trenton, where he drew attention batting .277 and driving in 70 runs. The second photo captures one of his 21 home runs in '12. Although he hasn't seen the majors in six years, Almonte is still active in baseball. He's thrived the past two season for Japan's Chunichi Dragons, batting .321 and .298.

 Also on today's cake and candles list:
  • Al Alburquerque, the geographically named reliever best known for his five years with the Tigers.     
  • Pokey Reese, the infielder whose eight big league seasons were split between the Reds, Pirates and Red Sox.
  • "The other" Randy Johnson, a light hitting backup infielder with the 1980s Braves.
  • Johnny Edwards caught for 14 years in the majors, beginning with the pennant-winning 1961 Reds.
  • Ken Singleton, the New York native who began his career with his hometown Mets, but really thrived in Montreal, after being swapped for Rusty Staub just before the 1972 season. Three years later, he moved onto Baltimore, where he spent the next decade, including pennant winning teams in 1979 and '83. Following a 15-season playing career, he's spent the last 35 years as a broadcaster, calling games for the Blue Jays, Expos, and since 1997, the Yankees. Of the 47 players, born on June 10th, who've played in the majors, Singleton, a lifetime .282 hitter with 246 homers, is clearly the best of the bunch.




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