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If Your Birthday is November 6th...

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...you share it with Alejandro Kirk .  The Blue Jays catcher -- seen here in a 2024 Grapefruit League game against the Yankees in Dunedin -- missed more than two months this season with a fractured thumb that required surgery.  Still, he was a ray of hope in a down year for Toronto.  He belted 10 homers in 78 games and provided strong on-field leadership.  And he enjoys sharing a surname with that famous fictional astronaut -- Kirk doesn't mind if you call him "Captain" and is often referred to that way by his Blue Jays teammates. Also in today's birthday circle: Adam LaRoche : The son of former big league pitcher Dave LaRoche spent a dozen seasons in the majors, playing first base for the Braves, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Nationals and White Sox. His 255 home runs are the most for anyone born on this date. John Candelaria ranks among the most prolific pitchers ever born in New York City. The Brooklyn native made his mark in Pittsburgh during the mid 1970s, highlighted...
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If Your Birthday is October 30th...

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  ...you share it with  Mickey Rivers .  The speedy leadoff man starred for the Angels and Yanks during the 1970s - where he played alongside Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles and Thurman Munson on back-to-back World Series champs. I snapped this image during the 2010 Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium. Joe Panik  was born and raised in Suburban New York but made his mark on the West Coast, as the regular 2nd baseman on the 2014 champion Giants.  The following season, he made his only All Star game appearance while batting a career best .312.    Wi nceel Perez  has spent nine years in the Tigers farm system -- and parts of three seasons in the majors.  In 265 big league games, he's clubbed 29 homers and stolen 20 bases.  I caught him last March playing for the Toledo Mud Hens against Syracuse.
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If Your Birthday is October 23rd...

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 ...you share it with Jim Bunning .  The only Baseball Hall of Famer to have served in the US Senate was also the first pitcher since Cy Young to win at least 100 games in both the American League and National Leagues.  His greatest moment came on Father's Day 1964, when he threw the first perfect game in the National League since 1880.  Bunning went onto win 19 games that season, one shy of Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance (and of course, the Phils came up one win shy of the Cardinals in the standings).  Less well known, but of even greater long-term value, was the Xavier University graduate's role -- along with then-Pirates star Bob Friend -- in recruiting Marvin Miller to become the head of the Players Union. Ben Francisco also spent several seasons with the Phillies -- and accomplished something that eluded Bunning: play in a World Series.  The righty hitting fourth outfielder was on the 2009 pennant winners that lost to the Yankees in the Fall ...
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Breakthrough Star: Jake Bauers

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It's June 8th of 2023... Nightcap of a doubleheader as the Syracuse Mets host the Yankees Triple A club from Scranton Wilkes-Barre.  And a former Tampa Bay Ray who just joined the Yankees organization takes his at bat.  First I snap the scoreboard to get the player's name, then a few snaps of the at-bat.  And I continue on. Three-plus years later, and I'm now scrambling to find a photo of  Jake Bauers .  Looking through my backup drive, there's none from his year in Tampa Bay, and nothing from his stints in Cleveland or the Yankees -- not even a spring training game.  But thanks to  baseball-reference.com , I saw that Bauers also spent time with Scranton.   And lo and behold, I find him in a Railriders road uniform.   Jake Bauers trying to keep his baseball dreams alive on an early summer night in Syracuse before a small crowd... and my Canon. The dream came true: he joined the Brewers the following season.  This October, afte...
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If Your Birthday is October 16th...

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  ...you share it with Bryce Harper .  The two-time NL MVP and 2012 Rookie of the Year has now played more seasons with the Phillies (8) than the Nationals.  His “in your face” personality rubs many opponents the wrong way — as well as fans in Washington and New York — but has endeared him to the Philadelphia faithful since inking a then-record free agent contract.  So has his "bedlam at the Bank" homer in the 2022 NLCS that helped send the Phillies to the World Series. And we remember Tim McCarver , the witty and astute TV analyst -- and a rare player that saw action in four different decades -- who made the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall through his work with the Phillies and Mets, as well as network gigs with ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.
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Brice Turang

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With Milwaukee off to a strong start in the NLCS, I found a good photo of one of their rising stars. Brice Turang delivered the first big hit of the series, homering Sunday night for the Brewers first run against  Tarik Skubal of the Dodgers.   Now in his fourth season with Milwaukee, the Corona, California native has improved his production steadily.  This year, he smacked 21 homers and for the first time, drove in 100 runs.  He's no slouch with the glove, either... leading all National League 2nd basemen in putouts and double plays. (My image of Turang is from a June 2023 game against the Mets at Citi Field.)  
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If Your Birthday is October 9th...

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...you share it with Starling Marte .  The Dominican outfielder closed out a 15-season career with the 2026 Royals, but is best known for his time with the Pirates where he twice won Gold Gloves and played on three teams that made the post-season. He was an NL All Star in 2022, when he joined the Mets, but his numbers gradually declined in subsequent years. Yohandy Morales is one of the talented prospects on which the Nationals are banking their future.  The Miami native and son of former Cuban national team star (and Yankees and Mets farmhand)  Andy Morales  was Washington's 2nd round pick in 2023.  "YoYo" completed his matriculation this season by belting 25 homers at Triple A Rochester and four more after Nats promoted him in September. And we remember Joe Pepitone , best known for his eight years as a Yankee (1962-'69), where he took over for Moose Skowron at 1st base, played on three pennant winners (highlighted by a grand slam in 1964 World Series against...
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