Steve Finley, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #47

Today is Steve Finley's 47th birthday! I always feel like birthday posts are a bit of a cheat, so I'll try to dig up some interesting bits of trivia:

-Others born on March 12 include Daryl Strawberry (age 50) and Dale Murphy (56). Together with Finley, that's one mighty outfield! If you have different tastes, you could sub in fellow birthday boys Raul Mondesi, Jimmy Wynn, or Johnny Callison.

-Steve batted .409 (9-for-22) against Chuck Finley, with no extra-base hits. They are the only two pro baseball players with that surname since World War II.

-The Orioles drafted Finley with the 7th pick in the 13th round of the June 1987 draft (325th overall). He was chosen immediately after the Braves took pitcher Mike Stanton. Both players lasted 19 big league seasons, their careers spanning the years 1989-2007. Finley is 40th all-time with 2,583 games played, and Stanton is 2nd among all pitchers with 1,178 games pitched. They each played for eight different teams, and were finally teammates with the 2006 Giants.

-For some reason, I've always been obsessed with the notion of one player suiting up for each of the five California teams in his career. No one has done it yet. Steve is a near-miss, checking in with the Padres, Dodgers, Angels, and Giants. Didn't make it to Oakland.The other players in the Four-for-Cali club, and the team they didn't join:

• Derrel Thomas (also missing the Athletics)
• Rickey Henderson (Giants)
• Jay Johnstone (Giants)
• Elias Sosa (Angels)
• Brett Tomko (Angels...but he's still active!)
• Mike Aldrete (Dodgers)
• John D'Acquisto (Dodgers)
• Dave Kingman (Dodgers)
• Stan Javier (Padres)

-Steve hit 304 home runs in his career, including 257 after his age 30 season. He is currently tied with Miguel Tejada for 129th all-time. A partial list of players who stalled out between 250 and 300 homers: Tim Salmon, Rickey Henderson, Kent Hrbek, Bobby Bonilla, Jimmy Wynn, Rusty Staub, Will Clark, Ryne Sandberg, Roger Maris, Steve Garvey, Joe Morgan, Brooks Robinson, Kirk Gibson, Joe Torre, Robin Yount.

Gregg Olson, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #35

I realize that Gregg Olson's nickname was "Otter" but with eyebrows like those, he probably should have been called "Caterpillar".

Bob Milacki, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #22

I can't believe that we've got actually breaking news about Bob Milacki in 2009, but so it is. The former O's righthander is entering his tenth season as a minor league pitching coach, and he's just gotten a promotion. He'll be mentoring the staff of the AA Reading Phillies, a year after coaching for the South Atlantic League champion Lakewood Blue Claws. Prior to that, he'd been in the Pirates organization since 2001. If he plays his cards right, he could be wandering back to a major league mound in a few more years to impart wisdom like "keep the ball down" and "work quickly". Godspeed, Bob. Godspeed.

Craig Worthington, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #25

I've been acting in plays for almost ten years. I enjoy having an audience to provide instantaneous feedback, and the ability to slip into different characters is a great escape from the relative mundaneness of everyday life. Plus, I've made some really great friends in theatre. I've always had a knack for memorizing and reciting lines, but the physical aspect of my craft has proven much more difficult. Above all else, I find myself struggling with the question of what the hell to do with my hands. I'm about 6'1" tall, and I have long, gangly limbs. One of the first rules of the dramatic arts is that you do not put your hands in your pockets. But I always feel like a dork when I just leave them hanging at my sides, so I usually spend the duration of the show crossing my arms across my chest or resting them on my hips. Apparently I also spend much of the time gesturing and flailing like I have some sort of palsy, as was brought to my attention by watching my friend Mike's short student film. Take a look if you're so inclined; I'm the straight-haired guy and the first character to appear.

Anyway, I don't mean to belabor the point. What I can tell you is that Craig Worthington is one player that never had trouble with his hands. As a rookie in 1988-1989, the third baseman earned a job alongside Cal Ripken, Jr. on the left side of the O's infield primarily on the strength of his defense. Overeager fans marveled at his diving stops and just-in-the-nick-of-time throws and uttered comparisons to the great Brooks Robinson. Craig held his own with the bat in his first full season, belting 15 home runs and driving home 70 runs for the second-place Birds. His combination of slick defense and above-average hitting helped him to finish fourth in Rookie of the Year voting (teammate Gregg Olson took the honors), though he won The Sporting News' version of the award.

Unfortunately, Worthington's bat couldn't keep pace with his glove, and he'd lost his hold on third base by 1991, pushed aside for the next hot rookie: Leo Gomez. (With names like these, it's not surprising that third base has been a revolving door in Baltimore for much of the three decades following Brooks Robinson's retirement.) Craig was out of organized baseball by the age of 31, a man with great hands but not much else to recommend him. I'd gladly borrow those hands from him for a show or two.