If Your Birthday is November 18th...

...you share it with David Ortiz. "Big Papi" was the most charismatic Red Sox star since Tony Conigliaro. A promising lefty power hitter who didn't convince the Twins he was part of their future, he was released after the 2002 season. Signing with the Red Sox, he quickly blossomed into a clutch hitter and team leader and connecting thread between three Boston World Series champs. His 485 home runs as a DH are the most ever as are his 2192 hits. Ortiz is a lock for Cooperstown when he becomes eligible in 2022.

Also on today's list... three recent players whose sons have made it to MLB:

Clay Bellinger, a Yankee utility player from 1999-2001, whose son Cody is one of the Dodgers' brightest stars -- having already won Rookie of the Year and National League MVP, as well as smacking a game seven home run that helped L.A. win the recent world series.

Tom "Flash" Gordon pitched for 21 years in the majors, the first eight as a fireballing starter with the Royals. His son Dee is the speedy 2nd baseman and outfielder, most recently with the Mariners.

Dante Bichette starred for the Rockies, and is one of those who made the most of playing half his games a mile above sea level. During his seven seasons in Colorado, he averaged 28 homers and 118 RBis. His son Bo is one of the Blue Jays best players; his namesake son was a high draft pick by the Yankees, who never made it above Double A.

There's one more player born November 18th from a multi-player family: Gary Sheffield, whose 509 home runs and .292 average over 21 seasons make a strong case for Cooperstown. He's the nephew of the Mets' star-crossed ace Dwight Gooden.

Let's also remember three familiar names from Baseball Heaven:

Danny McDevitt carved his place in history when he pitched a shutout in the Brooklyn Dodgers final game played at Ebbets Field on September 24th, 1957. He moved west with the team, but never became a star. Even though he won 10 games in 1959, Walter Alston didn't use him in the World Series against the White Sox. He later bounced to the Yankees, Twins and A's as injuries and ineffectiveness cut his career short.

Roy Sievers was of baseball's top first basemen during the mid and late 1950s. He came up with the St. Louis Browns and was named the 1949 Rookie of the Year. But his best years came with the Senators and White Sox, where he made five All Star teams. In 1957, his 42 home runs and 114 RBI led the American League -- the first time those stats were won by a player on a last place club! Roy's career wound down in the '60s with the Phillies, where he was managed by...

Gene Mauch, whose name will always be reviled by a big chunk of Dick Allen's and Jim Bunning's fans, as the skipper of the 1964 Phillies that blew a 6-1/2 game lead with 12 games to go. Mauch also played parts of nine seasons as a backup infielder, though, paralleling his managerial career, he never made it to the World Series.