If Your Birthday is November 25th...


  
...you share it with the Yankee Clipper. Joe DiMaggio was born in San Francisco but made his fame in New York. He had the golden touch -- playing for the most famous team in sports, he married the greatest of movie stars (although the union didn't last long) and in retirement, cherished the title of "Baseball's Greatest Living Player."

Joe D, number 5. Of course, there's that other number forever linked to him: 56. Is his 56-game hitting streak the most unbreakable record in baseball?

Ready for more: over his 13-year career, the man namechecked by Paul Simon in the song "Mrs. Robinson" struck out 369 times (about 28 times a season) and hit 361 home runs. He was named to the All Star team 13 times in 13 years -- you can't do better than that.

Then, there's Joe D's grace and elegance -- let's be honest, you can't envision him in a dirty, tattered uniform. An enduring image that places him on the Yankees "Mount Rushmore."

Here's a fascinating fact: the players born November 25th who rank one-two-three in most games played all have serious Yankee connections: there's Joe DiMaggio at 1736; Nick Swisher, second at 1527; and Bucky Dent, 1392. 

Each of them played on Yankee World Series champions, as well.

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