March 18

Ok, to get us started, lets look at today, March 18. 47 people born on this date have played Major League Baseball. Chad Cordero, Scott Podsednik, Andy Sonnanstine, Fernando Rodney, Corky Miller and Craig Tatum are all currently active.

No big stars today. Offensively, our choices include Podsednik, 1980s A's centerfieler Dwayne Murphy, and '30s and '40s Braves and Pirates first baseman Elbie Fletcher. Pods, clearly, has the wheels, but he's been a pretty bad offensive player every year after his rookie season in 2003, with a career OPS+ of 89. Murphy actually had a pretty solid career - decent power, six straight Gold Gloves, and a lifetime OPS+ of 115. Fletcher was also an above-average player with an OPS+ of 117, and led the NL in OBP three times in a row from 1940-42. The two are pretty close, but I'll give the edge to Dwayne Murphy.

Its almost as bad on the mound for today. Scary fact - Tomo Ohka, who had his best years with the Expos in the early 2000s, has the most starts for anyone born on March 18, with 178. But with just a 105 ERA+, I'll ignore him for a few other interesting fellows. Nixey Callahan played at the turn of the 20th Century for both the Cubs and the White Sox, notching 99 wins and a ERA+ of 109. He also played quite a bit as an outfielder, collecting over 900 hits. But my choice for today's birthday pitcher is Al Benton, who primarily pitched for the Tigers from the late '30s through the '40s. He had several solid seasons for a powerhouse Detroit team, both as a starter and as a reliever, compiling 98 wins, 66 save sand a 115 ERA+ for his career. He also missed two of his prime years due to World War II. But Benton's biggest claim to fame is that he pitched against both Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle - the only man to do so.

So Happy Birthday to Dwayne Murphy, Al Benton and the other Major Leaguers who were born on March 18!