If Your Birthday is June 17th...

...you share it with Matt Barnes. The Danbury, Connecticut native has spent the past seven seasons in the Red Sox bullpen (seen here May 8th, 2018 against the Yankees). He won six and saved 24 a year ago, but has struggled for much of this season.


June 17th is not a stellar day for talent: no Hall of Famers and just one player with borderline credentials for Cooperstown. That would be Dave Concepcion, the defensive glue of the Reds great 1970s teams. A nine-time all star and five-time Gold Glove winner, he played alongside inductees Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez. The Venezuela native had a terrific 10-year peak, batting .282, and averaging 37 extra base hits and 22 stolen bases a season, while the Reds enjoyed the greatest run in franchise history.

A few other names caught our attention, if only briefly:
  • Joe Charboneau was the 1980 American League Rookie of the Year. But injuries derailed his career and he was out of the majors two years later.
  • Shawn Abner has a cool nickname, inspired by the famed comic book character. But he never lived up to the being a 1st round pick of the Mets. Sent to San Diego in the Kevin McReynolds trade, he played parts of six big league seasons, but was never a regular.
  • Victor Mata hit over .300 in 30 games for the 1984 Yankees, but has been a far bigger contributor as a scout, helping discover such Yankees as Robinson Cano, Eduardo Nunez and Francisco Cervelli.
And remembering:
  • Pete Browning, a 19th century star who led his league in batting three times and hit a lifetime .341. And he accomplished that as a deaf player. I knew almost nothing about Browning and his legacy, until I checked out the impressive SABR biography on his life and career. Perhaps one day, in the spirit of inclusiveness -- and in recognition of his impressive play -- Browning will receive some love from Cooperstown.
On Saturday, it's cake and candles for a near-Yankee:


Jeremy Bleich was the Yankees 2008 1st round draft pick. The Stanford product spent 11 years in the minors, but never made it to the Bronx. His only major league experience was a pair of 2018 games with the A's. Bleich was a member of Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2021 Summer Olympics. (My image is from 2013, when he pitched for AA Trenton.)

Then on Sunday, the Yankees Iron Horse:

Lou Gehrig represented grace, consistency and courage -- alongside the remarkable talent that places him on the Yankees Mount Rushmore. 
2130 consecutive games -- a record that stood for more than a half-century; the only Yankee ever to wear number-4; and the first player in baseball to have his number retired. 
Without a doubt, the greatest  Yankee born in New York, Gehrig is also the greatest player ever to suit up for Columbia University.

Anyone lucky enough to have a June 19th birthday should consider themselves lucky to share the date with Lou Gehrig. Among them are several current players, including pitchers Collin McHugh of the Braves and Jacob deGrom of the Mets.




 


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