If Your Birthday is August 5th...

...you share it with Carl Crawford, a terrific leadoff hitter with the Rays, where he stole 50 or more bases four seasons out of five.  But his career faded after leaving for the Red Sox as a 2011 free agent.  The L.A. native finished up with the Dodgers.  Baseball certainly runs in the family: his son Justin was the Phillies' first round choice in this year's MLB draft and his cousin is Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford. 

Andrew Ballatti has become an important member of the Phillies bullpen.  After brief stints with the 2015 Rays and 2021 Marlins, he's struck an average of three batters every two innings with an ERA in the mid-3's.

Eric Hinske's first season was his best. The 2002 AL Rookie of the Year smacked 24 homers and hit .279 for the Blue Jays, but never again posted such impressive numbers.  He holds an interesting distinction -- he appeared in three consecutive World Series (2007-'09) with three different clubs, the Red Sox, Rays and Yankees.  After his playing days, he scouted and coached -- most recently with the Diamondbacks.

John Olerud spent 17 years in the majors and was recognized as one of the best fielding 1st basemen ever.  Best known as a Blue Jay, he later won raves with the Mets, playing with other stellar fielders such as Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, and Rey Ordonez -- where they shared a cover of Sports Illustrated.

Bernie Carbo made his mark in Boston, with a pinch hit three-run homer that tied game six of the 1975 World Series, setting the stage for Carlton Fisk's iconic game-tying blast.

And we remember:

Tommie Aaron, Henry's younger brother who spent parts of seven seasons with the Braves. His 13 career homers helped make the Aarons, with 768, the most prolific home run hitting siblings in MLB history.

Saturday's cake and candles go to...

Wilmer Flores, the power-hitting infielder recognized for using the Friends theme as his walk-up music while a Met. He's been a valuable bat for the Giants since joining San Francisco in 2020.

Ron Davis spent the first four of his 11 big league seasons working out of the Yankee bullpen.  His son Ike mades them a rare two generation Yankee family, when he played a handful of 2016 games with the Yanks -- but he's best known as the Mets first baseman from 2010-2013. 

 

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