If Your Birthday is March 31st...


 ...you share it with Chien-Ming Wang, a two-time 19 game winner who'd emerged as the Yankees ace, before -- in a story in some ways resembling Dizzy Dean -- a freakish 2008 foot injury led to an endless series of arm problems. After tearing his Lisfranc ligament running the bases against the Astros in Houston, the pitcher who was the fastest to 50 career victories since Dwight Gooden, never regained his effectiveness. He's since become the poster child for American League clubs, especially the Yanks, pressing for a universal DH.

(My images of Wang are from a 2009 Grapefruit League game against the Astros, and a 2015 comeback attempt with the Braves.)


Also on today's cake and candles list:

Josmil Pinto appeared on track to follow 2013 New Britain Rock Cats teammates Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano to major league stardom. The Venezuelan catcher put up some nice numbers that summer: 23 doubles, 14 home runs and a .308 average, which earned him a late-season promotion to the Twins, where he hit well over .340 in 21 games. But he never matched those numbers again in Minnesota and eventually drifted back to the minors. 

Jeff Mathis is the embodiment of the defensive specialist backup catcher.  A .194 hitter over parts of 16 major league seasons, he was in camp this spring with the Phillies, where his fundaments and leadership clearly impressed the club, but not enough to crack the 26-man roster. He's since moved on to the Braves organization, where he might back up Travis d'Arnaud and Alex Jackson or get a start on the coaching career he aspires to.

Bill Denehy is mostly remembered as the players the Mets sent to Washington as compensation for Gil Hodges. A 1 & 7 pitcher on the 1967 club, the Connecticut native showed potential, but nothing like that of teammates Tom Seaver or Nolan Ryan. Looking back, the Mets were lucky that the Senators didn't demand more when they let Hodges out of his contract to return to his adopted home, where he led the Mets to their stunning 1969 title that redefined the franchise.

And we remember a trio tied to the orange and black:

Dave Koslo, a dependable starting pitcher for the New York Giants of the late '40s and early '50s. A teammate of Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Monte Irvin, this Wisconsin native was tagged by Jackie Robinson on April 18th, 1947 for number-42's first major league home run. He also bookended the Giants appearance in the 1951 World Series -- outpitching Allie Reynolds for a 5-1 victory in the opening game, but giving up all four Yankee runs in a series ending 4-3 loss in game five.

Marv Grissom, a teammate of Koslo's on the '46 Giants, returned to the Polo Grounds in 1954 and was a mainstay on that season's World Series champs -- winning the first game in relief, in what turned into a four-game sweep of the Indians. He later spent 15 years as a pitching coach with the Angels, White Sox, Twins and Cubs.

Tom Sheehan pitched a dozen games for the 1921 Yankees and also tossed for the A's, Reds and Pirates during his six-year career. A baseball lifer who spent decades as a scout and minor league manager, he replaced Bill Rigney as the San Francisco Giants manager midway through the 1960 season. At age 66, he was then the oldest National League manager ever, but unlike the decades-later Jack McKeon, was unable to inspire his young talent to reach the post season.

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