A look at the Dominican Winter League.
All posts by Jeff A
Happy Birthday–January 7
Kitty Bransfield (1875)
Al Todd (1902)
Johnny McCarthy (1910)
Johnny Mize (1913)
Alvin Dark (1922)
Dick Schofield (1935)
Jim Hannan (1940)
Jim Lefebvre (1942)
Tony Conigliaro (1945)
Joe Keough (1946)
Ross Grimsley (1950)
Bob Gorinski (1952)
Jeff Montgomery (1962)
Craig Shipley (1963)
Allan Anderson (1964)
Rob Radlosky (1974)
Alfonso Soriano (1976)
Eric Gagne (1976)
Francisco Rodriguez (1982)
Edwin Encarnacion (1983)
Mexican Matchups
A look at the Mexican Pacific League.
Happy Birthday–January 6
George Shoch (1859)
Phil Masi (1916)
Jiro Noguchi (1920)
Early Wynn (1920)
Ralph Branca (1926)
Lee Walls (1933)
Lenny Green (1933)
Ruben Amaro (1936)
Don Gullett (1951)
Norm Charlton (1963)
Dan Naulty (1970)
Marlon Anderson (1974)
Brian Bass (1982)
Anthony Slama (1984)
Jiro Noguchi was one of the greatest pitchers in the early days of Japanese professional baseball, winning 237 games with an ERA of 1.96.
Venezuelan View
A look at the Venezuelan Winter League.
Happy Birthday–January 5
Ban Johnson (1864)
Bob Carruthers (1864)
Bill Dahlen (1870)
Art Fletcher (1885)
Rube Foster (1888)
Riggs Stephenson (1898)
Luke Sewell (1901)
Jack Kramer (1918)
Earl Battey (1935)
Bud Bloomfield (1936)
Charlie Hough (1948)
Jim Gantner (1953)
Bob Dernier (1957)
Ron Kittle (1958)
Milt Thompson (1959)
John Russell (1961)
Henry Cotto (1961)
Danny Jackson (1962)
Jeff Fassero (1963)
Brian Runge (1970)
Fred Rath (1973)
Mark Redman (1974)
Eduardo Escobar (1989)
Ban Johnson was one of the founders of and the first president of the American League.
Rube Foster was a player, manager, and owner in the Negro Leagues, eventually becoming president of the Negro National League.
Brian Runge was a major league umpire from 1999-2012. He is the son of major league umpire Paul Runge and the grandson of major league umpire Ed Runge.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to freealonzo.
Happy Birthday–January 4
Tommy Corcoran (1869)
Ernest Lanigan (1873)
Al Bridwell (1884)
Ossie Vitt (1890)
George Selkirk (1908)
Gabe Paul (1910)
Herman Franks (1914)
Don McMahon (1930)
Tito Fuentes (1944)
Charlie Manuel (1944)
Ken Reynolds (1947)
Paul Gibson (1960)
Daryl Boston (1963)
Trey Hillman (1963)
Ted Lilly (1976)
Willie Martinez (1978)
Ernest Lanigan was the nephew of the Spink brothers who founded The Sporting News and worked for the publication from the time he was 15. Among other things, he compiled baseball's first encyclopedia, published in 1922, and served as curator, historian, and director of the Hall of Fame from 1946 until his death in 1962.
Gabe Paul was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians (twice), and the New York Yankees.
Trey Hillman was the manager of the Kansas City Royals from 2008-2010.
Happy Birthday–January 1
Tim Keefe (1857)
Hugh Nicol (1858)
Webster McDonald (1900)
Ethan Allen (1904)
Hank Greenberg (1911)
Joe Reichler (1915)
Sherry Robertson (1919)
Earl Torgeson (1924)
Carl Scheib (1927)
Roy Majtyka (1939)
Bill Bethea (1942)
Rick Albert (1951)
Bob Owchinko (1955)
La Marr Hoyt (1955)
Fernando Tatis (1975)
Submarine-style pitcher Webster McDonald pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1940.
Joe Reichler was a long-time sportswriter and later worked in the commissioner's office. He was the editor of several editions of The Baseball Encyclopedia.
Roy Majtyka was a long-time minor-league manager, winning 1,832 games.
Rick Albert has been a minor-league coach or manager in the Braves' organization since 1978.
We would like to wish a very happy birthday to mrs. bhiggum.
Happy Birthday–December 31
King Kelly (1857)
Tom Connolly (1870)
Bobby Byrne (1884)
Syl Johnson (1900)
Tommy Byrne (1919)
Guy LaValliere (1931)
Alfredo Meli (1944)
Joe Simpson (1951)
Jim Tracy (1955)
Rick Aguilera (1961)
Esteban Loaiza (1971)
Brian Moehler (1971)
Julio DePaula (1982)
Tom Connolly was a major league umpire for many years. He umpired the first World Series game in 1903. He once went ten years without ejecting a player.
It does not appear that Bobby Byrne and Tommy Byrne are related.
Minor league catcher Guy LaValliere is the father of major league catcher Mike LaValliere.
Alfredo Meli is a member of the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the first man to win Italian championships as a player, a manager, and a general manager. He also founded the Italian Baseball Federation for the Blind.
Nobody ever makes a fuss about the last baby of the old year.
Happy Birthday–December 30
Frank Torre (1931)
Sandy Koufax (1935)
Jose Morales (1944)
Tom Murphy (1945)
Travis Baptist (1971)
A. J. Pierzynski (1976)
Brad Voyles (1976)
Grant Balfour (1977)
Jim Hoey (1982)