If Your Birthday is April 24th...

 

...you share it with Carlos Beltran, who'll enter Cooperstown this summer with 435 homers, 312 stolen bases. and three Gold Gloves.  One of the best all around center fielders ever, the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year made nine All Star teams in 20 years while posting eight seasons of 100 runs batted in and seven with 100 runs scored.  He starred for the Royals, Astros, Mets and Yankees -- where I caught him in action against the Red Sox in 2015.
Fellow Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, who ranks with Eddie Mathews as the Braves greatest ever 3rd baseman.   He is the only switch hitter to combine a .300 career batting average, .400 on-base percentage, and .500 slugging percentage -- and befitting a Braves legend, Jones had both the last official hit at Fulton County Stadium before its closure and the first at Turner Field.

And a pair of current players:  Willi Castro, the utilityman now with the Rockies.  I snapped him in a Twins uniform in 2023 in a game against the Phillies. 
Topping off today's birthday circle is JC Escarra, now in his second season as the Yankees backup catcher.  This photo is from 2024, when the former Indy-ball player's strong hitting at Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre put him on the Yankee radar.




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