Birthdays: 1/22

[chicoruiz]

Reds:

Jimmy Anderson (36) -The Reds signed him in January of 2003. Seven months and an 8.84 ERA later, they'd seen enough, as we all had.

Keith Gordon (43) -An outfielder; came to the plate six times for the 1993 Reds. I have no memory of him.

Jeff Treadway (49) -His most-similar comp is listed as Jeff Keppinger, and that's exactly what he was; pretty much the same skill set.

Mike Caldwell (63) -Pitched briefly for the 1977 Reds, until they traded him to the Brewers for Dick O'Keefe and Garry Pyka. The next year he won 22 games for the Brewers and finished second in Cy Young voting. He went on to have a number of good years. This isn't often listed as one of the worst trades in Reds history, but it should be.

Others:

Chone Figgins (34) -2011 stats: Batting average- .188; OPS- 484; Salary: 9.5 million. He's still a career .280 hitter, but no one knows quite what to make of him nowadays.

Prince Oana -A big handsome guy who loved the night life. He was marketed as a Hawaiian prince in the Pacific Coast League to get some free publicity (they may have also played up the Hawaiian angle because Oana's complexion was a bit too dark for comfort in the baseball of that era). Actually his name was "Henry" and he was the son of a bookkeeper at a pineapple plantation in Oahu. Came up briefly as a hitter with Philadelphia, then many years later as a pitcher in Detroit. Eventually he lost most of his eyesight and ended up working at a school for the blind.