Baseball Birthdays This Weekend

If you celebrate on Friday the 23rd, you share the day with Mike Yastrzemski.   The grandson of the Red Sox legend had a far more tenuous climb to the majors.  Not making the show until age 28, he rode a terrific spring training in 2019 to a spot on the Orioles roster.  Even after a 21 homer rookie season where he hit .272,  Baltimore didn't consider him a part of their future.  The Giants didn't make that mistake; acquiring him for pitcher Tyler Herb (who never made the majors), he's been a key member of the San Francisco outfield for the past five seasons.
(On a side note, Grandpa Carl Yastrzemski turned 85 yesterday.)

Sharing the day is Ron Blomberg.  On April 6th, 1973, the popular Yankee made history as baseball's first DH -- being the first to come to bat at the newly created position, just moments before Orlando Cepeda, then with the Red Sox.  In the top of the 1st inning, facing Luis Tiant, he walked with the bases loaded, forcing in a run and changing the game forever.

Saturday August 24th's spotlight shines on Brett Gardner.   One of the best leadoff hitters in Yankee history, he flexed power (253 lifetime homers) and speed (leading the AL in steals in 2011; swiping 274 over 14 seasons) along with a bulldog attitude that made him a fan favorite.

Sunday the 25th starts with Max Muncy , who didn't do much when he first came up with the A's.  But since joining the Dodgers in 2018, he's produced a trio of 30-plus home run seasons, while moving all around the infield. 

Doug Glanville spent nine years in the majors, mostly with the Cubs and Phillies.  He ranks with fellow athlete-turned-broadcaster Mark DeRosa as the best baseball player to have graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

Then there's the owner of one of baseball's most recognizable mustaches -- and greatest relief pitchers -- ever.  Rollie Fingers was the A's closer before the term was popularized.  Landing in the Oakland bullpen after struggling as a starter, he finished games the old fashioned way -- in multiple innings.  341 career saves are impressive; so are working over 100 innings a season in nine of then seasons between 1971 and '80.


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