If Your Birthday is March 16th...


 ...you share it with two of the Toronto Blue Jays' rising stars: Vladimir Guerrero Junior gives plenty of indications that he might become as good a player as his dad. A chunky power hitter, he's already totaled 24 homers and 102 RBIs in just 183 big league games. A nice start for someone who's just 22.


Vlad shares his big day with Toronto 1st baseman and DH Rowdy Tellez. The Sacramento native got off to a fast start when he first reached Toronto in 2018:  he's the only player since 1913 to hit seven doubles in his first seven major league games. 
Home runs are the best part of his game. Tellez profiles as a 30-homer man as long as he keeps the strikeouts under control.

Curtis Granderson did well for both New York teams, belting 95 home runs in four Yankees seasons (2010-'13) and 115 the next four while playing for the Mets. He ranks with Daryl Strawberry in the select circle of power hitters who consistently cleared the fences in the Bronx and Flushing.

The Grandy Man's baseball life extends outside the diamond. Very active in community and charitable work, he's a four-time winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. He's also done outreach on behalf of MLB in Britain, the Netherlands and South Africa as the game tries to grow outside the Americas and Asia. He's also brought his passion for the game to TV, as part of TBS's post-season studio crew.


Stephen Drew produced three impressive seasons with the Diamondbacks. But the former 1st round pick was never the same after a 2011 broken ankle. He played for several clubs, including the Yankees and Red Sox, before ending his 12 year career with the 2017 Nationals.

Hobie Landrith played just 23 games for the original Mets, but will always hold a unique place in franchise history. The onetime Reds, Cardinals and Giants catcher was first selection by the Mets in the expansion draft prior to the 1962 season. Casey Stengel offered a witty explanation of Landrith's importance: "If you don't have a catcher, you're going to have a lot of passed balls."

And we remember Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner. "Little Poison" played alongside his older brother -- and fellow Hall of Famer -- Paul ("Big Poison") in the Pirates outfield for a decade and a half. He broke in with a bang, leading the NL with 133 runs while batting .355 in 1927 -- as the Pirates won the pennant before falling to Babe Ruth and arguably the greatest Yankee team of that era. And a surprising fact: Lloyd (with 2459) and Paul (3152) Waner are the most prolific siblings (5611) in accumulating hits, outpacing the three DiMaggios, the three Molinas and three Alou brothers among other famous families.

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