Baseball Birthdays This Weekend

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is the most prolific current player with an August 16th birthday.  The Japanese righthander is the third native of his country to reach a combined 200 victories between JPB and MLB (he's got 107 in the USA over his 12 seasons with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs and Padres.  Despite battling injuries, he's a five-time All Star,

Darvish is also second alltime in WAR among players born 8/16.  The leader: Gene Woodling, the sweet-swinging outfield who played on five straight Yankees World Champs (1949-'53) and then ended his career again playing for Casey Stengel on the infamous 1962 Mets -- making him among the first to play for both present-day New York clubs.

Saturday the 17th, we're also focusing on the day's WAR leaders.  Your runner-up is Jorge Posada.  The switch hitter,, who belted 20 or more home runs seven times, was the primary catcher on three straight Yankee championship teams (1998-2000) as well as their most recent (2009). 

By that measure, 8/17's most productive player was Dustin Pedroia.  The 2nd baseman on the Red Sox 2007 and 2013 champs, this .299 lifetime hitter was the AL Rookie of the Year in '07, MVP a year later and a four-time All Star.

Sunday, we remember the great Roberto Clemente, the first player from Puerto Rico elected to the Hall of Fame and by far the greatest player born August 18th.  Still at the top of his game -- and having ended the 1972 regular season with exactly 3000 hits -- the Pirates superstar chose to personally deliver supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua.  Disturbed by reports that the Somoza dictatorship was stealing aid meant for the victims, Clemente felt his presence would keep things honest.
Instead, the overloaded plane crashed not far from the Puerto Rican coast, with all aboard killed. Clemente's body was never found, only his briefcase was recovered.
His legacy of leadership is honored in this statue outside the Pirates current home, PNC Park.
Ever wonder why he wore #21 -- a number many fans would like to see retired across the game as a tribute?  There were 21 letters in his full name: Roberto Enrique Clemente.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more