Birthdays: 1/16

[chicoruiz]

Reds:

Matt Maloney (28) -Not great or anything, but I wish we still had him.

Ron Villone (42) -Had a long career in which he never played for more than two seasons with any team. Only Mike Morgan and Octavio Dotel have pitched for as many teams. I believe he pitched more innings for the Reds than anyone else.

Jim Owens (78) -Mostly a Phillie, but pitched for the Reds in 1963, during which he set a record by committing three balks in one inning. This record lasted for only a month, however, before Bob Shaw topped it with five. Later an Astro pitching coach.

Others:

Albert Pujols (32) -Here's some trivia for you: In his first game for Maple Woods Community College, Albert hit a home run and turned an unassisted triple play.

Jack McDowell (46) -AL Cy Young winner in 1993, during which he set about as obscure a record as you're likely to run across: 27 consecutive starts without a no-decision.

Steve Balboni (55) -Still holds the Royals franchise record for homers in a season.

Dizzy Dean - Too many stories about Ol' Diz to list here, although I will mention his invention of the word "slud" as a past tense for "slide".

Jimmy Collins -The Brooks Robinson of his era; a slick-fielding third baseman with a reputation as a nice guy. Sometimes considered the best 3B ever before Pie Traynor edged into that role.

[oneupper]

Albert Pujols (32)

[chicoruiz]

Enough birthdays today for a whole 'nother list:

Reds:

Dick Sipek played for the 1945 Reds, batting .244. He was the last deaf player in the majors until Curtis Pride.

Others:

Reid Brignac (27) - A lot of us on this board wanted the Reds to acquire him to play short a few years ago, but his last two seasons have somewhat cooled everyone's interest.

Dave Stapleton (59) -Most famous for a game he didn't appear in; he was Bill Buckner's usual late-inning defensive replpacement who was sitting on the bench when Billy let the fateful grounder go between the wickets.

Ron Herbel had the lowest career BA of anyone with more than 100 ABs: .029. He was a pitcher, but even that doesn't excuse .029.

Ferdie Schupp had a couple of great years pitching for John McGraw's Giants. In 1916 he threw 140 innings with an ERA of 0.90, and the next year he pitched 272 innings with a 1.90 ERA. I'm currently in a computer sim league where we can draft any player in history based on his best season; I'm going to remember old Ferdie.