Is today the greatest and most important shared birthday in major league history? No, we're not going to build an all-1/31 team here, though we certainly could, but rather, just take a look at this ....
Today's birthday produced two absolutely no-doubt-about-it slam-dumk Hall of famers in Nolan Ryan (alll-time leader in strikeouts pitched and no-hitters among other categroies, not to mention one of the most improbably successful front-office figures in recent memory) and Ernie Banks (arguably the greatest power-hitting shortstop of all time and the iconic "Mr. Cub" of one of the sport's flagship franchises) -- and oh by the way, a third Hall of Famer who might be the most important player in the sport's history, Jack Roosevelt Robinson.
That's not to mention ...
... George Burns -- not the comedian, but rather the lifetime .307-hitting 1B who won the '26 AL MVP ... Hank Aguirre, a sturdy 16-season lefty who won 75 ganes and saved another 32; the All-Star Aguirre once led the AL in ERA with a flashy 2.21 in 1962, just ahead of guys with names like Roberts, Ford, Chance and Kaat ... Current All-Star lefty Josh Johnson and recent stalwarts like C Fred Kendall (Jason's pa). RP Ted Power amd SS Yuniesky Betancourt ... and one of the truyly great nicknames in the sport's history, 1871-84 infielder Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson.
Seriously, can anyone even remotely come close to topping that? I'm calling you out, Other 364.25 Days of the Year!
