If Your Birthday is March 4th...

 

...you share it with one of the best remaining free agents. Nicholas Castellanos. The 3rd baseman-turned-outfielder enjoyed his best season yet with the 2021 Reds -- with 34 home runs, 100 RBI and a .309 average -- before opting out of the remainder of his contract. He should be one of the most in-demand players once (if?) a new CBA is reached.

Only three other players born on this date played more than 1000 major league games.

  • Infielder Cass Michaels played for several American League teams in the decade after World War Two. He owns a bizarre distinction: he played for the 1951 Washington Senators, 1952 St. Louis Browns and 1953 Philadelphia A's -- franchises that all eventually relocated.
  • Outfielder Red Murray attended Notre Dame and played for several National League teams, including the pennant winning 1911, '12 and '13 New York Giants.
  • Clyde McCullough caught for the Cubs and Pirates, but likely left his greatest mark as a member of the Mets organization. A coach for Casey Stengel on the 1963 club that said goodbye to the Polo Grounds, he managed several Mets minor league teams during the '60s. There, he helped develop future big leaguers such as Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Danny Frisella (with whom he shared a March 4th birthday), Amos Otis, Ken Singleton, Tug McGraw and Jim McAndrew.
There's a member of a unique baseball fraternity: Jose DePaula, appeared in just one major league game. He pitched 3-1/3 innings for the Yankees on June 21st, 2015 -- and never took the mound again. Since then, he's worked in Mexico, the Dominican, and the last two seasons in Taiwan -- winning 16 games in both '20 and '21.

Lefty O'Doul struggled as a pitcher for the Yankees between 1919 and '22. Returning to the minors, he re-invented himself as a hitter -- which proved his ticket back to the show. Twice finishing in the top three for National League MVP during the 1930s when he won battling titles with the Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers, his lifetime .349 average is the highest for someone yet to be chosen for Cooperstown and not tainted by scandal.

Finally, a salute to the only Hall of Famer born on March 4th. Dazzy Vance had a unique career -- he didn't stick into the majors until he was 31 -- the age when, typically, players begin going into their decline. Instead, the Iowa native went on to lead the National League in strikeouts for seven consecutive seasons from 1922-'28. 
If there'd been a Cy Young Award in the 1920s, Mr. Young could easily have presented this Brooklyn Dodger legend the trophy himself. Such as in 1924, when he went 28-6... and led the NL in strikeouts, complete games and ERA. Perhaps his being elected to Cooperstown was a good omen -- he was voted in during the winter of 1955 -- months before Brooklyn won its only World Series title.
While he never played in L.A., the Dodgers ought to consider retiring his number 15 -- he was that good a pitcher.

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