If Your Birthday is June 24th...

 

 ...you share it with Phil Hughes, a top Yankees prospect of the '00s, whose career was dogged by injuries. After winning 18 in 2010, and 16 two years later, he seemed to have secured his place as a rotation mainstay -- albeit one who gave up plenty of home runs. Hughes posted an 88-79 record over a dozen big league seasons that including time with the Twins and  Padres.

Christopher Morel is one of the players the Cubs hope will be part of their next contending group. The rookie outfielder homered against the Pirates in his first MLB time at bat, on May 17th.

Mike Bruhert is the only Met born June 24th. The righthanded pitcher, who grew up just minutes from Shea Stadium in Jamaica, Queens, started 22 games for the '78 Mets, going 4-11. He spent the next few seasons in the Rangers and Yankees farm systems. Bruhert returned home, where in the '80s and '90s as the pitching coach at Fordham University in the Bronx -- where one of his players was the future Met, Pete Harnisch.

George Vukovich divided his six big league seasons between the Phillies and Indians. He never delivered the power expected from an everyday player, until his two seasons (1986-'87) in Japan.

Ken Reitz was the Cardinals regular 3rd baseman for most of the 1970s. Taking over for Joe Torre, he was especially adept at fielding grounders on the slick, fast artificial surface then used at Busch Stadium.

And we remember....

Don Mincher, a power-hitting 1st baseman best known as with the 1960s Twins, who was part of history on June 9th, 1966 -- when he was one of five Minnesota players who hit home runs during the 7th inning of a game against the Kansas City A's. That was the first time that ever happened. (The feat was later matched by the 2017 Nationals against the Brewers.) Mincher's 200 career homers are the most among the 44 major leaguers born on this date. But he hit just .249 lifetime.

George Harper, an outfielder who struggled with the 1916-'18 Tigers, but after returning to the majors with the Reds in 1922, he became a career .300 hitter. Harper, who stood just 5'8, hit 15 or more homers six times during the "Roaring 20s." On a date without a Hall of Famer, Harper stands as the best player born on the 24th of June.

From Saturday the 25th:

Aramis Ramirez played 18 seasons in the majors. The power-hitting 3rd baseman, who starred for the Pirates, Cubs and Brewers, smacked 386 career home runs and batted a lifetime .283.

Don Demeter broke in with the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers and was a capable centerfielder on some not-so-great Phillies teams of the early '60s. But he's most remembered in the City of Brotherly Love as the key piece the Tigers received in December 1963 in the trade for the future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning. Demeter passed away last November at 86.

Sunday belongs to Mr. November:

Derek Jeter, the Captain of the most recent Yankee dynasty and the greatest shortshop to call the Bronx his home. The 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, 14-time All Star and five-time World Series champion earned his nickname for hitting baseball's first ever November home run in the 2001 World Series. He reached the 3000 hit milestone by going 5-for-5; and became the first player with 200 career post-season hits.

What stands out was his presence -- the instinctive baseball knowledge, the leadership, the mental focus, the uncanny sense that by the middle of his rookie year with the Yankees, he was the best player on the team. The lifelong Yankee fan with New Jersey grandparents exuded the cool, calm demeanor with a hint of a Di Maggio. A first-ballot inductee to the Hall of Fame, Jeter fell just one vote short of joining his forever teammate Mariano Rivera as a unanimous selection. He's also the only player born June 26th to earn baseball's greatest lifetime honor.