If Your Birthday is January 7th...

 

...you share it with Alfonso Soriano, the speedy, power hitting native of the Dominican Republic batted .270/.500 slugging percentage with 412 home runs and 1,159 RBI across 16 seasons. This seven-time All-Star is the most recent player -- and one of only four ever -- to have a 40/40 season. Then, on September 22nd, 2006 with Washington, he made his own unique place in history, becoming the first ever to reach 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 40 doubles in one season, making him the only member of the 40-40-40 club.

A quick question: if he hadn't been traded for Alex Rodriguez just before the start of the 2004 season, would Sori have been even more successful, playing alongside Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera? Would the Yanks have won more than the one championship they did with A-Rod?


Brayan Pena, the Cuban-expat catcher spent a dozen years primarily as a backup. He's since moved into managing, spending 2018 and '19 in the Tigers system.


Ozzie Albies, the Braves' dynamic 2nd baseman, who along with Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Junior, forms a homegrown core of the three-time defending NL East champs. And keep in mind, baseball's best Ozzie since Smith is only 24, so his best years are likely still ahead.

Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels reliever who burst into stardom on Anaheim's 2002 World Champs. A dominating closer, he set the single-season record with 62 saves in 2008 before leaving as a free agent. But his star dimmed after signing with the Mets. He became the first pitcher ever to surrender two walk-off grand slams in the same season; things grew even more sour in 2010 when he was arrested for assaulting his father-in-law. K-Rod later posted a pair of All Star season with the Brewers, but he never regained the fame he enjoyed as an Angel.

 

Edwin Encarnacion, recognized as the "Parrot Man" for his distinctive home run trot, has made 424 of them during his 16-years in the majors.

The Dominican native has played for six different teams, but caught my attention during his half-season with the Yankees in 2019.

And we remember:

Tony Conigliaro, the star-crossed Red Sox slugger whose career was derailed by a 1967 beaning that left him with a broken cheekbone and jaw and damage to his left eye. He still holds the record for most home runs by a teenage player After eye problems ended his career, he reinvented himself as a TV sportscaster. Struck down by a massive stoke in 1982 when he about to land a broadcasting job in Boston, Tony C passed away in 1990.






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