If Your Birthday is May 9th...

 
...you share it with Tommy Edman.  I first saw this Stanford grad during Grapefruit League play in 2019 -- where he wore #82 while trying to make the Cardinals.  Instead, he landed at their AAA club Memphis, where he hit over .300 for the first two months to earn his promotion to the majors -- and donning #19.  Traded from St. Louis to the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline, the versatile infielder-outfielder homered in both last fall's NLCS (where he was named MVP) and World Series.  That helped earn him a new contract with L.A. that runs through 2029.  


Also in our May 9th birthday circle: 

  • Prince Fielder, who hit 319 homers over his big league career -- the exact same total as his father Cecil.
  • Chase Headley, who split his 12 year career between the Padres and Yankees.  2012 was his best season, when he led the NL with 115 RBI and finished fifth for MVP.  (This image is from 2015, his second Bronx season.)

And we remember Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.  The Padres greatest player ever won a record seven National League batting titles and entered Cooperstown with a remarkable .338 average -- the highest for any player whose career began after World War II.  We've also got a notable father/son coincidence for Tony.  His namesake son connected for his first major league hit on July 19th, 2006, the 24th anniversary of Tony Senior's first big league hit — and both of them were doubles!

After retiring, he coached for a dozen years at San Diego State and broadcast for both the Padres and ESPN before his death from cancer in 2014.

From the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  


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