Saturday, June 03, 2006 |
Today's Birthdays
John Dobbs BRO b. 1875, played 1903-1905, d. 1934-09-09
Jim Gentile BRO,LAN b. 1934, played 1957-1958, All-Star: 1960-1962. The poster boy for minor league free agency and the Rule 5 draft, Gentile couldn't displace either of Gil Hodges or 1960 All-Star Norm Larker, and found himself getting sent down to the minors, again and again and again... until he was down for eight years; the Dodgers finally moved him to the Orioles in 1960. In 1961, he exploded for 46 home runs, five of which were grand slams, tying an AL record that stood until 1987. Ironically enough, just as Gentile was blasting balls out of the park for the O's, Gil Hodges was aging his way off the team, and Larker was proving he wasn't much of a hitter, either. It does go to show the hit-or-miss nature of rookies.
Nelson Liriano LAN b. 1964, played 1997
Barry Lyons LAN,CAL b. 1960, played 1990-1991
Jose Molina ANA,LAA b. 1975, played 2001-2005. Between Jose Molina and Juan Rivera, only Juan will end up on the roster next year... at least, that's my guess.
Juan Rivera LAA b. 1978, played 2005
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