Birthdays- 8/23

[chicoruiz]

Reds:

Marcus McBeth (31) -Remembered as the PTBNL in the Chris Denorfia deal.

Lonny Frey- A member of the marvelous infield of the McKechnie era; lived to age 99.

Others:

Bobby Estalella (37) -Grandson of the ML catcher of the same name.

Julio Franco (53) -A fun career, and who knows- he may not be done...

Mike Boddicker (54) -Oriole pitcher from Norway, Iowa

Ron Blomberg- (63) -The first DH.

George Kell- HOF third baseman

George Davis- 19th-century star who finall got into the Hall a few years ago.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Julio Franco (53) -A fun career, and who knows- he may not be done...

Come on... 53? Are we believing that "birth certificate" he has used for the last 40 years or the truth. Minnie Minoso says Julio Franco ain't got game over him.

Hate to bring it up (fuel on the fire that always burns), but I wonder if Julio Franco ever took PEDs?

[Bob Borkowski]

George Kell- HOF third baseman

I always enjoyed Kell as a broadcaster for the Tigers. Great voice, fun to listen to. But he had quite a record as a player: 8 consecutive .300 seasons; holds record for fewest strikeouts by a batting champion (13 in 1949); 10 time All-Star and twice led the league in hits and doubles.

A favorite story of his was about the incident when his jaw was broken by a line drive off the bat of Joe DiMaggio. "I got up, made the play at third, then passed out."