9 outstanding baseball birthday performances
Birthdays are essential. It’s at all times enjoyable to do one thing thrilling in your birthday — and for a baseball participant, it’s onerous to think about something higher than handing over a powerful efficiency on one’s big day.
Some stars — like Clayton Kershaw (March 19), Buster Posey (March 27), Ronald Acuña Jr. (December 18), amongst many others — have birthdays which are sometimes throughout the offseason, and have due to this fact not gotten the possibility to shine on that individual day. But loads of others, like Gerrit Cole and Randy Johnson, have proven us simply how nice they’re on the anniversary of the day they entered the world.
One efficiency not talked about beneath that also deserves a point out: Warren Spahn’s thirtieth birthday in 1951. He pitched a whopping 15 2/3 innings, probably the most by any birthday boy. But he doesn’t make the highest birthday performances checklist as a result of his outing ended within the backside of the sixteenth, when he allowed a walk-off single to Carl Furillo. The run, nonetheless, was unearned.
Here is a take a look at 9 excellent birthday performances, in each the common season and postseason, in reverse chronological order.
Max Scherzer, thirty eighth birthday, July 27, 2022: 7 scoreless innings
With a summer season birthday, Scherzer isn’t any stranger to pitching that day. His 2022 birthday begin was the fifth of his profession. He went seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts towards the Yankees at Citi Field. At 38 years previous, Scherzer turned the second-oldest pitcher since a minimum of 1900 with a scoreless begin of any size on his birthday, youthful than solely Sad Sam Jones, with a shutout on his forty second birthday on July 26, 1934.
The six strikeouts introduced Scherzer to 41 whole on July 27, passing Johnson (39) for many profession strikeouts by a pitcher on his on birthday.
Gerrit Cole, twenty ninth birthday, Sept. 8, 2019: 15 strikeouts
On Cole’s twenty ninth birthday towards the Mariners, he turned in his fifth straight begin with a minimum of 10 strikeouts — a streak that might run all the best way to 9 straight regular-season begins, a single-season Major League file. His 15 strikeouts had been one shy of tying his profession greatest, however he truly set a distinct file within the course of. Cole’s 15 K’s on today had been probably the most by any pitcher on his birthday. It was the twenty third double-digit strikeout recreation by a pitcher on his birthday.
Cole was virtually flawless, permitting only one hit and one run — each approaching a fourth-inning Shed Long solo homer — and he didn’t stroll a batter. The right-hander went eight innings, reaching 99 mph in his last body of labor, and the Astros gained in a blowout, 21-1.
Barry Bonds, thirty ninth birthday, July 24, 2003: walk-off HR
Bonds hit a Major League-record 762 house runs in his profession, however solely two of these got here on his birthday: one in 1989, when he turned 25, and this one, on his thirty ninth birthday. He made it depend, knocking a solo homer off Mike Myers to win it for the Giants within the backside of the ninth. Bonds’ walk-off shot was one among 11 walk-off homers by gamers on their birthday. The most up-to-date was hit by Andruw Jones on April 23, 2010.
Bonds walked twice within the recreation, two of his 11 profession walks on his birthday. That’s probably the most walks on a participant’s birthday — which ought to come as no shock.
Alex Rodriguez, twenty seventh birthday, July 27, 2002: 2 HRs, together with a walk-off
Rodriguez celebrated his birthday in model in 2002, hitting two of his six profession house runs on that date. He and Mark Reynolds are tied for probably the most birthday house runs. This recreation on Rodriguez’s twenty seventh birthday was significantly particular as a result of he hit a walk-off house run to ship Texas followers house pleased. His first homer of the sport got here within the first off Aaron Harang, a solo shot to chip away at a 4-0 Rangers deficit. The recreation was tied at six apiece within the sixth, then each groups remained scoreless till the tenth, when Rodriguez got here to the plate towards Billy Koch. A-Rod hit a walk-off grand slam, sending the Rangers to a 10-6 win. It was his first profession walk-off homer — he’d go on to hit 9 whole.
Rodriguez hit 25 grand slams in his profession, probably the most in Major League historical past, however this was the one one he hit on his birthday.
Nomar Garciaparra, twenty ninth birthday, July 23, 2002: 3 HRs, 8 RBIs
Nomar celebrated his birthday in a method no person else had, or has since, in 2002: by hitting three house runs. Garciaparra’s three-homer birthday efficiency got here within the Red Sox’s 22-4 win towards the Devil Rays within the first recreation of a July doubleheader. It was his second profession three-homer recreation — he’d additionally carried out it in May 1999 towards the Mariners. Garciaparra knocked in eight runs within the recreation, too, setting a birthday file since RBIs turned an official stat in 1920.
He didn’t simply hit three house runs, although. He did it in solely two innings, and so they had been consecutive. Garciaparra’s first two homers got here within the Sox’s 10-run third inning, when he hit a two-run homer off Tanyon Sturtze, then one other off Brandon Backe later within the body. In the fourth, he went yard off Backe once more for a grand slam. Talk a few birthday bash.
Randy Johnson, thirty seventh birthday, Sept. 10, 2000: 14 strikeouts
Age was really only a quantity for the Big Unit, and by no means was that extra clear than on the day he turned 37 in 2000. To usher in one other yr, he went out and struck out 14 Marlins batters, setting a file on the time for many strikeouts on a birthday — later damaged by Cole, as famous above. Johnson threw 119 pitches over seven innings, permitting three runs (one earned). He recorded a number of strikeouts in 5 of his seven innings.
The D-backs weren’t capable of ship Johnson a workforce win on his birthday, although. He departed after the seventh in a tie recreation, and the Marlins gained within the twelfth on a walk-off single. Johnson’s 39 strikeouts on his birthday in his profession are probably the most by any pitcher.
Willie Aikens, twenty sixth birthday, Oct. 14, 1980 (WS Game 1): 2 HRs
Only three gamers have homered on their birthdays within the postseason: Aikens, Kolten Wong and Evan Longoria. Aikens’ efficiency stands out as a result of he went deep twice on today. In Game 1 of the 1980 World Series for the Royals, Aikens hit cleanup and made his presence recognized early, going deep within the third to increase the Royals’ result in 4-0. In the eighth, Aikens got here up with George Brett on base and none out with the Royals trailing by three. Aikens went yard once more, bringing the Royals to inside a run. At that time in his profession, he had simply two regular-season multi-homer efforts in 309 video games.
Kansas City couldn’t muster one other run and misplaced the sport, 7-6, however Aikens actually had a historic birthday. Though the Royals misplaced the Series, Aikens had some good performances, hitting a walk-off single in Game 3 and delivering a second multi-homer recreation in Game 4.
Johnny Podres, twenty third birthday, Sept. 30, 1955 (WS Game 3): Complete recreation
Podres debuted for the Dodgers as a 20-year-old in 1953, and by the point he celebrated his twenty third birthday, he was already making the second World Series begin of his profession. The Dodgers trailed the Series, 2-0, to the Yankees coming into Game 3, and Brooklyn wanted a great outing to keep away from happening 3-0. Podres did precisely that, pitching the one birthday full recreation in postseason historical past.
Podres went on to win MVP of the Series, handing over one other full recreation in Game 7, that point in shutout trend, to seal the primary championship in Dodgers franchise historical past.
George Mullin, thirty second birthday, July 4, 1912: No-hitter
There’s solely been one birthday no-hitter on file, and it belonged to Mullin, who was born on the fourth of July. In the second recreation of a doubleheader in 1912, Mullin saved the St. Louis Browns hitless and his Tigers gained, 7-0. It was the primary no-hitter in Tigers franchise historical past.
There have been 5 birthday complete-game one-hitters since then. The most up-to-date birthday one-hitter in a whole recreation was by Andrew Heaney, on June 5, 2018.
