Birthdays: 3/9

[chicoruiz]

Reds:

C.J. Nitkowski (39) -A former Reds 1st-round pick; his career has been never great but always interesting. Currently attempting a comeback after some unconventional arm surgery; I guess stranger things have happened.

Aaron Boone (39) -Hit the last homer in Riverfront history.

Benito Santiago (47) -Benito hit the first grand slam ever off of Greg Maddox, after Maddox had been in the league for almost a decade.

Darrell Chaney (64) -Backup SS on the Big Red Machine. I was surprised to learn that he once led the Southern League in homers; it must have been a pretty weak year for power hitters there.

Others:

Bert Campaneris (70) -Campy was a terrific player who holds an unfortunate record: most career errors since 1940.

Jackie Jenson -Former Cal football star who remains the only person to play in a Rose Bowl, a World Series and an All-Star Game (Chuck Essegian played in the first two). Married an Olympic diving medalist. Retired from the game in 1950 due in part to a severe fear of flying.

Arky Vaughan -Bill James makes a pretty good case for Arky being the best shortstop in history not named Honus. Arky died at age 40 in a drowning accident.

Billy Southworth -Won four pennants and two World Series as a manager, but was largely forgotten until tapped for the Hall of Fame in 2008.

[oneupper]

I remember when Chaney was traded to the Braves. His hitting instructor (a personal one, I believe) was making claims that with his system, Chaney would hit .400.
(No, I'm not making this up).

The Braves must have bought some of it, because Chaney was their regular SS for a year.

Campaneris most famous for the bat slinging in '72 and playing all nine positions in a game.

[Bob Borkowski]

Campaneris most famous for the bat slinging in '72 and playing all nine positions in a game.

When he took the mound, he pitched ambidextrously, throwing lefty to left-handed hitters and switched against right-handed swingers.