Birthday Boys.

[stringer bell]

Today is Byron Buxton's 30th birthday. Typically, age 30 is about the halfway point of a long career. Buxton has played in 670 games and has 2487 plate appearances, so about four full-time years worth of action on the field. His lifetime batting average is .239 and the OPS+ is 106. One can hope that the parade of injuries slows, but Buck would be an unlikely exception to the conventional wisdom that injuries increase as the years move along. Happy birthday Buck and best wishes for good health going forward.

It is also the birthday of the Twins' first AL MVP--Zoilo Versalles. Zoilo was fast with a rocket arm and surprising pop for a 155 pound shortstop. Billy Martin took him under his wing and he had a fantastic year as the Twins breezed to their first pennant in Minnesota. It seemed like the sky was the limit for Zoilo in the future, he never approached his numbers of the MVP year and injuries took a toll and he was out of major league baseball at 31 with only 210 plate appearances after his 30th birthday.

 

 

[Doctor Wu]

That's a rather sad late career stat for Zoilo Versalles. Let's hope his birthday buddy Buxton does not follow in those footsteps. I don't know what to expect of Buxton this coming season, but I remain naively optimistic.