If Your Birthday is November 4th...
Dick Groat, the shortstop on a pair of World Series champions, the 1960 Pirates and '64 Cardinals. The 1960 NL batting champ (the last time a shortstop won it in the 20th century) also holds an offbeat honor.. he's one of just four stars to appear on the cover of Sports Illustated wearing the uniform of 3 different teams, along with LeBron James, Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin. He's also a member of another exclusive club the 2-sport athlete.. This onetime Duke Basketball standout played the '52-53 season for the NBA's Ft. Wayne Pistons before concentrating on baseball, when Pirates officials convinced him his future was best served on the diamond.
Carlos Baerga, the Indians 2nd Baseman was an emerging star with the Indians in the early and mid-'90s, but his production fell off after a 1996 trade to the Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino. The switch hitter made history on April 8th, 1993, when he became the first player ever to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning -- a 15-5 win over the Yankees in the Bronx.
Ryan Thompson played for both the Mets and Yankees during his nine season big league career. He bookended Baerga in a sense -- he came to Queens in a 1992 trade that sent Jeff Kent to Toronto. Thompson had power potential --belting 18 homers in 98 games during the '94 season, but never hit enough to be a big league regular.
Chad Wallach, the son of longtime major leaguer Tim Wallach has been a backup catcher with the Reds and Marlins since 2017.
And we remember:
Hall of Famer Bobby Wallace, a fine fielding shortstop who starred for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Cardinals and Browns in the 1890s and 1900s. Voted into Cooperstown by the Veterans Committee in 1953, he passed away in 1960.
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