Birthdays: 3/4

Reds:

Giovanni Carrara (44) -A native of Venezuela, but with an Italian birth certificate, he competed internationally for both nations. In the majors, he was a quad-A type who pitched for the Reds in'96 and '97.

Brian Hunter (44) -There were two Brian Hunters floating around at the same time. This is the 1B-OF; the center fielder will appear on this list very soon. A Red in '94-'95; now a Braves scout.

Jack Fisher (73) -A Red in 1969. "Fat Jack" had a penchant for giving up memorable home runs; he served up Ted Williams's last one, Roger Maris's 60th, and the first in the history of Shea Stadium.

Bob Johnson (76) -This is the utility infielder Bob Johnson. The Reds acquired him before the 1968 season in exchange for Art Shamsky; a year later he was part of the deal that brought us Clay Carroll, Tony Cloninger and Woody Woodward.. Bob had six straight pinch hits at one point in his career, which was a record at the time.

Dazzy Vance -One of the great baseball stories. He spent his twenties as a sore-armed minor league pitcher, until one night he banged the table with his pitching arm during a poker game and felt a sharp pain. After the doctor treated it, he found he could throw harder and without pain, and he almost instantly became one of baseball's best pitchers. He pitched for the Reds at the end of his career.

Others:

Lefty O'Doul -Notable in a number of areas; he came up as a pitcher, later became an excellent hitter (career .349; two batting titles); respected hitting coach; San Francisco restauranteur; pioneer of baseball in Japan. He was the first American in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, and there are many who think he should be in the American one as well. Funny story: He was considered a poor fielder; once when he heard that a man was visiting Bay Area bars claiming to be O'Doul and cadging free drinks, he said "Take him out back and hit him a few flies...if he catches any it isn't me."