Best baseball players born on Christmas Eve
Perhaps within the spirit of giving, the baseball gods have gifted us a number of notable MLB gamers on Christmas Eve. Here’s a subjective rating of the highest 5 born on Dec. 24.
1) Kevin Millwood (1974)
Though Millwood may need been overshadowed on the late ‘90s Braves by several future Hall of Fame teammates, he more than held his own on a perennial contender. Millwood’s greatest yr got here in Atlanta’s pennant-winning season of 1999, through which he was an All-Star, led the National League with a 0.996 WHIP and completed third within the NL Cy Young voting. That season, he additionally threw 10 shutout innings towards the Cardinals on Aug. 28 and hurled a one-hitter towards the Astros within the NLDS. Other profession highlights embody throwing a no-hitter with the Phillies in 2003 and tossing the primary six innings of a mixed no-no for the Mariners in 2012.
2) Grégor Blanco (1983)
Blanco was a key cog for 2 World Series-winning Giants groups in 2012 and 2014, and he made it to the postseason with San Francisco once more in 2016. However, his single most heroic second got here within the common season, not the playoffs (although he delivered key hits and defensive performs in each World Series). On June 13, 2012, Blanco helped protect Matt Cain’s excellent recreation with an unbelievable diving seize within the seventh inning. Cain went on to finish the perfecto, the primary in Giants franchise historical past.
3) Jamey Wright (1974)
This right-handed hurler bounced round fairly a bit, pitching for 10 completely different groups over a 19-year profession. Wright handled some wildness throughout his taking part in days, main the NL in hit-by-pitches in each 2000 and 2001. He lastly made it to the postseason with the Rays in 2013, his 18th Major League season. After tossing greater than 2,000 innings in his MLB tenure, Wright launched into a brand new chapter when he turned a Minor League pitching coach for the Dodgers in 2021.
4) William Contreras (1997)
The Braves’ backstop is considered one of two Major League catchers in his household. His brother, Willson, debuted with the Cubs in 2016. William and Willson should not the primary brothers to catch within the massive leagues on the similar time — they comply with within the footsteps of Bengie, José and Yadier Molina, who’re the one three brothers in MLB historical past to all be catchers and all win World Series rings. In 2022, the Contrerases joined a brief checklist of brothers to begin an All-Star Game collectively.
5) Joe Quinn (1862)
This Australia native turned the primary participant from Down Under to play within the Major Leagues when he made his debut in 1884, and he spent 17 seasons within the massive leagues as an infielder and outfielder. Quinn transitioned to managing whereas he was nonetheless a participant, and he has the unlucky distinction of managing the 1899 Cleveland Spiders to their 20-134 document. After Quinn, it took 102 years till the following Australian participant, Craig Shipley, debuted for MLB in 1986.
Miguel Castro (1994)
Castro, a local of the Dominican Republic, made headlines on June 2, 2021, when he supplied up a very devastating slider to the D-backs’ Ketel Marte. The pitch made a pointy break down and in and Marte wildly swung and missed, falling to the bottom. With the whiff, Marte probably secured his place on a future blooper reel.
Victor Cruz (1957)
No, not THAT Victor Cruz. This MLB participant could not have salsa danced in the long run zone, however he did play for 4 completely different groups over 5 seasons. Cruz was concerned in three trades for notable gamers, first in 1977 for Pete Vuckovich (1982 AL Cy Young winner), then in 1978 for Alfredo Griffin (1979 AL Rookie of the Year) and once more in 1980 for Bert Blyleven (2011 Hall of Fame inductee).
Zeke Wilson (1869)
Wilson performed for 3 NL groups within the Nineties which have all since modified their names or ceased operations: the Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves), the Cleveland Spiders (folded after the 1899 season) and the St. Louis Perfectos (now the Cardinals). He and several other different Spiders gamers had been despatched from Cleveland to St. Louis in 1899 after the Spiders’ house owners purchased the Perfectos, thus decimating Cleveland’s roster and resulting in its notorious 20-134 season. Wilson completed his five-year profession with a 52-44 document, a 4.03 ERA and 84 full video games in 106 begins.
