Baseball Birthdays This Weekend

If  you were born on May 10th, you share this day with a likely future Hall of Famer: Royals catcher Salvador Perez.  The 2015 World Series MVP remains a top receiver and clutch hitter.  With 254 career homers, he stands a good chance of reaching 300.  And his eight all star game appearances (in 12 full seasons) are more than such legends as Roy Campanella, Yadier Molina and Elston Howard.  

  • Also born on 5/10 a pair of familiar faces from the 1960s: the longtime White Sox outfielder Ken Berry, and original New York Met Jim Hickman.

Saturday May 11th starts with Miguel Sano. 
The Dominican-born power hitter crushed 25 or more home runs in four of his first six seasons.  But knee problems ended his time with the Twins.  After sitting out 2023, he returned to the majors this year with the Angels.

  • Joining him in the May 11th birthday circle:  Walt Terrell, who won 111 games over 11 years, where he pitched for five teams -- including both New York clubs.  He came to the Mets from Texas  along with Ron Darling in a 1982 trade for Lee Mazzilli; three years later, he was swapped to the Tigers for Howard Johnson.  Terrell went 6-5 for the Yankees after a mid-season 1989 deal for Mike Pagliarulo.
  • And we remember Hall of Fame 2nd baseman Charlie Gehringer, who starred for the Tigers.  A liftetime .300 hitter, he batted .300 or better in 13 out of 14 seasons between 1927 and 1940.
Sunday May 12th belongs to a baseball icon and an American hero:

One of the most beloved players ever and the greatest catcher in Yankee history. Yogi Berra was a three-time American League MVP.  Despite belting 358 career home runs, he was one of the game's toughest to strike out, whiffing just 415 times in 2120 games!  He holds several records, two of which might be among the hardest in all of Baseball to break: played in 75 World Series games with 71 hits (and his 39 Fall Classic RBIs are the second highest ever).  Want more? Berra hit the first pinch homer in World Series history (game 3 in 1947 vs. the Dodgers). He's one of a handful of managers to lead teams in both leagues to pennants ('64  Yankees and  '73 Mets, though both lost their series in seven games).

Let's not overlook his service in World War II.  A Second Class Naval Seaman, he was on a rocket boat, firing machine guns and launching rockets at the German defenses on Omaha Beach and later took part in the invasion of Normandy.   Berra received several commendations for his bravery.   And in 2021, he became the 30th major league player to have his picture on a US Postage stamp.

This St. Louis native and adopted son of New Jersey was not only one of baseball's best players, he was one of its most likeable people.  Down to earth, witty, and sometimes even philosophical, fans were drawn to him.  How many Yogi-isms can you quote?  Here are just a few:
  • “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
  • “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
  • “It’s deja vu all over again.”
  • “You can observe a lot by watching.”
  • “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
The nickname helped -- Larry (or Lawrence) Berra was not as likely to inspire the name of a cartoon character. And that handle probably wouldn't have sold as many bottles of YooHoo or policies for AFLAC over the years.



 

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