Happy Birthday Ozzie Smith!!!

Today is Ozzie Smith’s birthday.  And as I love to do, I am going to dedicate a day’s worth of posts to the greatest defensive infielder we have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Mr. Smith, this one’s for you!!!

Happy Birthday Rickey Henderson!!!

A majority of the world is celebrating a special holiday today.  And in the ‘30-YOC’ household we join in that celebration too!!

But I also save a few minutes of every Christmas to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite baseball players from my youth – Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

And following suit, I will dedicate a day’s worth of posts to the newest player to be enshrined at Cooperstown!

Happy Birthday Rickey!!!

1990 Headline: Tim Raines Traded To Chicago White Sox!

1990 Headline: Tim Raines Traded To Chicago White Sox!

During the offseason of 1990, Tim Raines was shipped off to the Chicago White Sox after 12 seasons with the Montreal Expos.  In typical Expos form, it was out with the old and in with the new.  The Expos had a talented crop of young rookies in the early 1990’s and wanted to give them playing time so they dumped their veterans – including their 7-time All-star Raines.

During his 12 years with Montreal, Raines shined as one of the game’s best lead-off hitters.  With a solid, and decade-long .300 batting average, Raines was the ideal guy to start each game with the goal of igniting his team’s offense.  And boy did he deliver…  With the Expos, Raines collected 634 stolen bases while scoring 934 runs.  He also developed a knack for driving in runs as he collected 552 RBI while batting lead-off.  He even hit 96 home runs!!!

Montreal’s loss eventually became the White Sox, Yankees, A’s, Marlins, and Orioles gain as Tim Raines was a classy ballplayer both on and off the field!!!

Happy Birthday Steve Carlton!!!

Steve Carlton turns 65 years old today.

Steve Carlton is one of the game’s greatest pitchers of all-time.  And one of its most under-appreciated as well…

Carlton had a dominant 24-season major league baseball career.  A first ballot Hall of Famer, Carlton’s resume boasts some incredibly impressive accomplishments:

• 4 Cy Young awards
• 10-time All-star
• 329 career victories
• 4,136 strikeouts
• 1 Gold Glove award
• 1972 National League Triple Crown winner
• Member of the 1967 World Series champions

See what I mean??  Not too many men that have played this game can compare. 

Cheers to you, ‘Lefty’!!!  And Happy Birthday too!!!

Happy Birthday Steve Garvey!!!

Steve Garvey turns 61 years old today!!!

Garvey was a monster during the mid-to-late 1970’s while with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  From 1974 to 1981, Garvey finished in the Top 25 in the MVP race each season which validates how solid of a player he was during the prime of his career.  While winning the award in 1974, Garvey hit .312 while slugging 21 home runs and driving in 111 runs.

A 10-time All-star selection and winner of 4 consecutive Gold Glove awards, Garvey held down the spot as one of the game’s great first baseman during the mid-70’s and into the ’80s. 

Garvey was also an instrumental player in helping his team reach 3 World Series championship match-ups in a 5-year span.  Garvey’s Dodgers made it to the Fall Classic in 1974, 1977, and 1978 – losing all three times.  But during those championship games, Garvey shined.  He boasts a .319 batting average in World Series play along with 1 home run, 6 RBI, and 5 runs scored.

Happy Birthday Mr. Garvey!!!

Happy Birthday Craig Biggio!!!

Craig Biggio turns 44 years old today.

A true baseball star, Biggio shined during his 20 seasons with the Houston Astros.  And while he was never classified as the best player in the game, and at times not even the best player on his own team, Craig Biggio may end up being a first ballot Hall of Famer!!

A member of the 3,000 hits club, a 7-time All-star, a 5-time Gold Glove winner, and a 4-time Silver Slugger winner, Biggio’s all-around game made him a a fan favorite and hero in the Houston area for 20 years.

It feels like it was just yesterday that I was scooping up his rookie cards – it’s hard to believe that he is now 44 years old.

Happy Birthday Mr. Biggio!!

1973 Headline: Santo Traded To The Other Team In Chicago

On this day in 1973, Ron Santo was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Chicago White Sox.

After 14 glorious seasons in which he called Wrigley Field home, Ron Santo was traded to the White Sox where he would play his 15th and final season in the big leagues.

During his time with the Cubs, Santo established himself as one of the best third basemen in all of baseball.  A 9-time All-star and winner of 5 consecutive Gold Glove awards, Santo was a fan favorite.  As the team started to tear apart it’s core, Santo was gone along with Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams.

In that 1 year he played for the White Sox, Santo hardly lived up to his reputation.  At just 34 years of age, his prime was past him.  Gone were the double-digit home runs and gone were the 80+ RBI tallies.  Still, Santo enjoyed one more year in the city he loved.  And the fans showered him with appreciation!!!

Happy Anniversary Joe DiMaggio!!!

The power of Joe DiMaggio’s name still carries an incredible amount of weight with it 58 years after his retirement from the game.  “Joe D” personified what baseball and specifically what baseball in New York was all about during the 1930’s and 1940’s. 

Amazingly DiMaggio’s legendary status was built on just 13 seasons as a major leaguer.  Joe missed 3 seasons during the prime of his career due to his commitment to serve his country.  Many players from his era fought in the war and it always makes me wonder what we as fans missed during those years when these guys were away from the game.

In 13 seasons, ‘The Yankee Clipper’ finished in the Top 12 for the MVP in 11 seasons.  The numbers are pretty impressive:  (3) 1st place finishes, (2) 2nd place finishes.  Along with these honors, Joe DiMaggio compiled 2,214 career hits with 361 home runs and 1,537 RBI.  Joe also made the All-Star team in each of his 13 years in the majors.  WoW!!!  The Gold Glove was not awarded during Joe’s playing days, but if it had been he would own quite a few as his range in the outfield was unparalleled back then.

One of the main factors of DiMaggio’s fame was due to his incredible World Series accomplishments.  Joe played in 10 World Series contests, and won 9 championships!!! 

And then, there is a little thing known as baseball’s grandest milestone – “The Streak”.  In 1941, DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games.  Since then, only 1 player has hit safely in 40+ games and nobody has come close to 50 again. 

Joe DiMaggio is a true legend in the game of baseball and today we salute him for his amazing career and desire to be the best player in the game.

Happy Birthday Mike Mussina!!!

Mike Mussina turns 41 years old today.

Although Mussina has rarely been mentioned as one of the greatest pitcher’s from his era, his numbers are quite impressive.  Having played his entire career for just 2 teams – the Orioles and Yankees – Mussina has compiled some pretty solid stats.

In his 17 years as a full-time starting pitcher,  Mussina recorded double-digit wins in each season.  The most impressive part of this is that accomplished this while playing for a Baltimore Orioles team that was terrible for most of Mussina’s early years with the team.  With a lifetime win/loss record of 270 & 153, ‘The Moose’ finished his career with a very solid 63% winning percentage.

Mike Mussina was only selected as an All-Star 5 times during his playing days; but he did finish in the Top 6 for the Cy Young Award a very respectable 9 times.  Again, this is very impressive for a player that was never known as a dominant pitcher.  Clearly, his reputation as a solid pitcher that was going to give you good innings helped his cause for being one of the decade’s greats.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mussina!!!

 

Happy Belated Birthday Johnny Bench!!

My apologies to Mr. Bench.  I missed his 62nd birthday yesterday so I could dedicate the day’s posts to my baseball card show experience from the weekend…

Bench is one of the greatest players from the 1970’s and possibly the greatest catcher in the history of the game. 

His impressive career includes World Series Championships, MVP trophies, and an endless string of offensive and defensive accolades a mile long.

Happy Birthday Mr. Bench.  I am sorry for missing your big day and I promise that it won’t happen again(unless there is another card show in town…)