Baseball Birthdays This Weekend

If your birthday is Friday the 26th, you share it with the American League's single-season home run champ, Aaron Judge.  The Yankee captain made history the first game he played when he followed fellow rookie Tyler Austin's homer in his debut at-bat with one of his own.  It's still the only time in more than 150 years of MLB history this has occurred.

2017's Rookie of the Year and a five-time All Star, Judge just passed Derek Jeter on the Yankees all time home run list -- and is roughly four 35-homer seasons from reaching 400.  As long as he remains healthy, he'll get there.


Sharing 4/26 with Aaron Judge is onetime division rival -- and current crosstown rival -- Joey Wendle.  Best known for his four seasons (2019-'22) with Tampa Bay, he was traded just before his walk year to the Marlins, where he put up the worst numbers of his career.  Signing with the Mets last winter, he's filled in at 2nd, short and 3rd so far this season. 


Saturday's birthday circle (4/27) includes Corey Seager.  The 2016  Rookie of the Year spent six-and-a-half years with the Dodgers, before moving to Texas as a 2022 free agent and was runner up for AL MVP last year as the Rangers won their first World Series title.
(Below:) J.D. Davis seemed to be the round peg the Mets tried to jam into a square hole.  A power hitter who never hit for a high average or added much on defense, he's since bounced from New York to San Francisco, which cut him after signing Matt Chapman, and now plays for the Oakland A's.

Celebrating on Sunday the 28th...
Anthony Volpe's boyhood dream came true.  The New Jersey product shares his birthday with Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin and grew up rooting for Derek Jeter, now mans the same position for the Yankees.  After a rookie season highlighted by his steady fielding but way too many strikeouts, he knew he had to change his hitting approach -- and so far the results have been encouraging.  Now hitting around .300, he's done well since becoming the Yanks' leadoff hitter.  

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