Mister Christmas

The stolen base king and greatest leadoff hitter of all time was born on Christmas Day. Rickey Henderson played 25 seasons in the majors -- and never stopped being an intimidating presence. He led the American League in steals 12 times -- the final time at age 39! While none of his five Yankee seasons ended in a post-season appearance, he's become a regular at their Old Timers Day. Since baseball already has its Mister October (Reggie Jackson) and Mister November (Derek Jeter), shouldn't we consider -- even though he never played a major league game on his birthday -- Rickey as Mister Christmas?

Two other Hall of Famers were born on this date -- Nellie Fox, who teamed with fellow Cooperstown inductee Luis Aparicio on the great White Sox teams of the 1950s -- including the Go Go Sox that won the 1959 AL pennant; and Pud Galvin, the 19th century pitcher and the first 300-game winner in the game's history.

Only one present-day player shares Rickey's birthday: Garrett Cooper. A .300 hitter in the minor leagues, he never showed much power until playing much of 2017 in homer-happy Colorado Springs. Along with Rob Refsnyder and Ji-Man Choi, he was one of several Triple A players who briefly played first base in the Bronx this past season while Greg Bird and Tyler Austin were sidelined. Once they returned to action, Cooper's time as a Yankee ended. He was sent to the Marlins in a minor trade in November.

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