If Your Birthday is May 13th...

...you share it with Justus Sheffield, the Seattle Mariners lefthander who was their key pickup in the 2019 James Paxton trade with the Yankees. He's shown bursts of talent, but hasn't yet attained the hoped-for success or consistency.

(The above image is from Spring Training 2018.)

Mickey Moniak, the young Phillies outfielder whose terrific spring training ended with a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch in the final Grapefruit League game. The first overall pick in the 2016 draft appeared to finally have found his game in Florida after disappointing in the minors and brief Philadelphia auditions. Now, he'll have to prove that his five home run burst accompanied by a 1.286 OPS wasn't just a mirage.

John Ryan Murphy spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher. He impressed enough with the Yankees that the Twins swapped him for Aaron Hicks, who remains with New York today -- while Murphy never hit above .202 in his time with Minnesota, Pittsburgh or Arizona.
Willson Contreras, the Cubs two-time All Star catcher, the last of the club's stars remaining from its 2016 World Series championship. A free agent at the end of this season, he'll be the subject of trade speculation until the August 2nd deadline.

Rounding out today's cake and candles group:
  • Barry Zito spent 15 seasons pitching in the majors all in the Bay Area. The lefty reached his peak, when he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award season with the 2002 A's. Though he was never that dominant again, he totaled 165 career victories and a victory in his only World Series start, the opening game of the 2012 Fall Classic with the Giants -- where he outpitched Justin Verlander.
And remembering:
  • Leon Wagner: "Daddy Wags" was part of the wave of talent produced by the Giants farm system just before the club moved to San Francisco. After an impressive 1958 debut, he struggled and moved onto the Cardinals before becoming a star with the expansion Angels, where he smacked 91 home runs in three seasons, was named MVP of the second 1962 All Star game and then enjoyed several more productive seasons with the Indians. After retiring, he acted in several films before substance issues overtook him. He died homeless in 2004.
  • John Roseboro: The catcher who succeeded Roy Campanella with the Dodgers began his career in Brooklyn understudying the legend, before taking over after Campy's accident. While never an offensive force, the six-time All Star was a capable hitter and a skilled backstop on three Dodger World Champions (1959, '63 and '65). But the most vivid memory of Roseboro is being bashed in head by Juan Marichal's bat during an ugly 1965 game with the arch-rival Giants. Roseboro, like Wagner, took advantage of the acting opportunities for an L.A. celebrity athlete, appearing in episodes of Mister Ed and Dragnet, and the movie Experiment in Terror.
  • Dusty Rhodes: The capable pinch hitter and backup outfielder for the 1950s Giants became a Polo Grounds legend when he hit .667 in the 1954 World Series -- where two of his four hits were home runs, including a game one walk off blast that set the stage for New York's sweep.

With no Hall of Famer having been born on May 13th, who would you tab as the greatest player born on this date: Zito, Wagner or Roseboro? You can make a good case for any of them.
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