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If Your Birthday is August 21st...

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...you share it with Felix Millan .  The defensive standout won a pair of Gold Gloves in Atlanta and reached the post-season with both the division champion '69 Braves and the pennant winning '73 Mets.  I snapped this photo when he appeared at the 2014 BAT Dinner in New York. JD Martinez also wrapped up his big league career in Queens.  The South Florida native played for six different teams in 14 years, including the 2018 champion Red Sox, where his 130 RBI led the American League and landed him fourth in the MVP voting. Of the 39 position players born on this date, Martinez -- with 331 homers, 1071 RBI and an .863 OPS -- is the statistically most productive (by WAR). Brandon Drury moved around a lot -- seven teams in 10 seasons, including brief runs with both the Mets and Yankees. He started to hit for power late in his career -- smacking 28 homers while splitting 2022 between the Reds and Padres, and 26 as a 2023 Angel. Still not giving up hope of making it back to M...
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Wayback: 1966 Yankees Scorecard

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  Hit the rewind button and browse through a souvenir collection of a lost Yankees season that marked the end of an era. Sure, there were plenty of familiar faces: below Mickey Mantle, Tom Tresh and Roger Maris smile for the cameras in spring training.  Full of optimism and not ready to believe that 15 year dynasty was over.  But it is was. Instead of bouncing back following a shocking sixth place finish in 1965, the Yankees staggered out of the gate in ‘66, losing 10 of their first 11 and 16 of their first 20 games as manager Johnny Keane was fired and a new reality settled in.  There were new faces as well.  Bobby Murcer and Roy White would see brighter days; but not for more than a decade.   Fritz Peterson and Dooley Womack would be bright spots during a dark time; veterans Bob Friend and Lou Clinton were past their peaks.  Ruben Amaro’s Yankee time would be marred by injury.   Check out the back page ad.  The Sinclair brand and symbol wou...
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If Your Birthday is August 14th...

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  ...you share it with Josh Bell .  The well-traveled first baseman has been with seven different teams in his 11-year career.  I snapped this when he was a 2024 Marlin; this year, he's with the Twins, where he's on track for what would be his sixth 20 home run season. In an odd coincidence, two players, both lefthanded hitters who once wore #9 with Miami, share a birthday, Juan Pierre' s trademarks were speed and singles.  Four 200-hit seasons and nine years with 40 or more steals made him one of the game's most feared leadoff men of the 2000s. Eric Wagaman was drafted out of high school and bounced through several organizations (including the Marlins, where he played in '25) before landing with the Mets as a utilityman this season.   Johan Rojas flashed great speed and defensive skills when he debuted with the Phillies -- but hasn't been able to hit major league pitching since his 2023 debut.  Worse was this year's PED suspension, followed by a sea...
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Next Mets?

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  In the midst of a lost season -- where the only positives appear to be the development of rookies such as Carson Benge and AJ Ewing — the Mets recently traded for or promoted several other young players that, at first glance, appear to be on track to join those former 2025 Rumble Ponies. Considered the big prize in the deal sending AJ Minter to Minnesota, power-hitting Billy Amick has a catchy nickname and, so far at Binghamton, the productivity to back it up.  "Billy Barrels"' five home runs and 13 RBI in his first seven games caught my attention.  The Twins' 2nd round draft pick in 2024 after crushing 24 home runs at Tennessee and leading them to the College World Series crown, he hit more for average in the low minors.  This year, it's pedal to the metal time again -- 23 homers in 86 games for AA Wichita, while striking out roughly a third of time.  Sunday, the swing was sweet and the power very real as you can see below: this swing produced a game-changin...
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If Your Birthday is August 7th...

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...you share it with Mike Trout .  The athletically gifted New Jersey native arrived in the majors just two years after being drafted by the Angels.  Quickly emerging as that rare combination of speed, power and defensive prowess, he's led the American League four times in both OPS and runs scored, while earning four MVP awards as well as the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year.  Unfortunately, he’s been victimized by a badly run franchise that has yet to win a playoff series during his career and was unable to compete even while Trout and fellow superstar Shohei Ohtani were teammates.  Already a lock for Cooperstown, his only obstacle has been injuries.  Trout hasn't played in more than 130 games in any full season this decade. Don Larsen is the classic example of an ordinary ballplayer authoring one extraordinary moment.  His perfect game in game five of the 1956 World Series remains a unicorn -- no one has matched the sheer dominance in any post-season outing....
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Painter Returns

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After struggling earlier in the season and then an up-and-down "reset" with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies recalled Andrew Painter on Friday.  His start against the Orioles at Camden Yards got off on the wrong foot -- staked to a 2-0 lead, he promptly gave it back on a double by Dylan Beavers and a two-run homer from Pete Alonso.  But those were the final runs the rookie righthander surrendered... Settling down, he completed six effective innings, apparently securing enough confidence from the Phillies front office that they didn't overpay in a deadline deal for another starter.  Instead, Painter won the role of number-five starter -- at least for now -- and will be back on the mound Wednesday night against the Nationals.  Although relievers Orion Kerkering and Tim Mayza stumbled in the 7th inning as the Orioles came from behind, Painter's work was the night's big takeaway.  Keep in mind, the Phillies have not have a victory from their fifth spot  in...
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If Your Birthday is July 31st...

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...you share it with Gabe Kapler.   A useful fourth outfielder with several major league clubs (including the 2004 curse-shattering Red Sox), he later  managed the Phillies (above, in 2018) and Giants (2021). A big proponent of analytics, Kapler's teams finished .500 or below in five of his six seasons as a skipper.  The 2021 Giants were the exception -- which won a franchise-record 107 games, but made a quick post-season exit, losing to their forever rivals the Dodgers in the divisional series.  
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