If Your Birthday is February 12th...

...you share it with Abraham Lincoln. Great president, an heroic figure who led our country through the Civil War and abolished slavery. But what about baseball? There's likely no connection, as the game was still in its formative stages while Lincoln was in office. He died four years before the Cincinnati Reds became what we consider the first organized "major league team." And Mr. Lincoln was a little on the busy side during the 1860s.
We do have a couple of Reds birthdays on this date. Todd Frazier, the hard-hitting 3rd baseman whom Cincinnati traded to the White Sox this off-season, turns 30 today. But he's not pictured above.
That's Josh Phegley, who in 2013 was the White Sox backup catcher. He turns 28 -- and is one of a trio of catchers who share the day. The others are guys in contrast: a player with the briefest of major league careers: Frank Estrada, a native of Mexico who played in just one game in 1971 for the Mets -- as opposed to Joe Garagiola, whose career as a player and broadcaster stretched for close to 70 years. Happy 90th to Yogi Berra's lifelong pal (and source of many beloved Yogiisms) and one of the most successful players-turned-announcers.
OK, so who's that other Cincy player? It's someone who shared Abe Lincoln's birthday and, thanks to his birthday, was named for him. Linc Barkley, an outfield who appeared in 34 games for the 1934 Reds, was born February 12th, 1912.
Enjoy the weekend, we're less than a week from the opening of training camps in Florida and Arizona!