If Your Birthday is August 31st...

...you share it with Cardinals 1st baseman Matt Adams. The power-hitter showed plenty of promise in 2014, but has been slowed by injuries since. He didn't play when I caught the Cardinals/Mets game at Citi Field on July 26th.
Who else gets their cake and candles on the last day of August?

  • Tim Raines, Jr... who got the chance to play with his borderline Hall of Fame father on the 2002 Orioles. How cool was that?
  • Hideo Nomo... The first Japanese pitcher to succeed in the major leagues, he threw two no-hitters, Sept. 17th, 1996 for the Dodgers at Colorado and April 4th, 2001 for the Red Sox at Baltimore.
  • Claudell Washington... a well-traveled outfielder who playted for seven different teams during the '70s and '80s. But he never quite lived up to the hype of becoming the A's "next great star" after Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi.
  • Von Hayes... who came to Philadelphia in a highly publicized "five-for-one" trade with the Indians. Unfortunately, for him, the biggest piece that Cleveland landed was Julio Franco, who had a longer and even more productive career.
  • Frank Robinson... a Hall of Fame player -- half of one of the most one-sided trades ever made (Reds/Orioles before the 1966 season) and trailblazer, as the first African American manager in baseball history. Did you know Frank is also the first person ever named both Rookie of the Year (1956 Reds) and Manager of the Year (1989 Orioles)? His place in Baltimore baseball history is also reflected in this statue in Camden Yards' left field courtyard area.

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