Bo Bichette turns 27 today.
He’s played six seasons in the MLB. He has a .290/.332/.466 batting line in 609 games played, with 93 home runs and 56 steals.
Until 2024, he was very consistent, but a slow start and some injuries caused him to be below a 120 OPS+ for the first time in his career with a 71. Hopefully this year will see him back at his usual numbers.
Bo is starting to climb up the Jays all-time lists:
18th in bWAR among position players: 17.5
26th in hits: 723
23rd in home runs: 93
28th in runs: 360
25th in RBI: 343
23rdin stolen bases: 56
Happy Birthday, Bo. I hope it is a good one.
Brad Mills turns 40 today. Not the Brad Mills, who managed the Astros during the tanking era.
Brad was a left-handed pitcher the Jays picked in the 22nd round of the 2006 draft but didn’t sign. They then picked him in the 4th round of the 2007 draft, and this time they agreed. How often has a team selected the same player in the draft two years in a row?
Mills had a quick rise through the Jays’ minor league system. I remember thinking he was a decent prospect. In 2008, he made it to Double-A. And, in 2009, he got called up to the majors, making two starts for the Jays. Unfortunately, they weren’t successful ones, giving up a total of 12 earned in 7.2 innings.
Over the next two seasons, he pitched in 12 Jays games, having about the same level of success.
After the 2011 season, he was traded to the Angels for Jeff Mathis. After that, he bounced around to a few teams before the Jays took him off waivers from the A’s in 2014. He made two relief appearances (13 earned in 4.1 innings) and was allowed to leave as a free agent at the end of the season. After that, the A’s and Mariners gave him a look, but he was out of baseball after the 2016 season. He also had a season in Japan.
Happy Birthday, Brad.
Felipe Crespo turns 52 today.
Felipe was a 3rd round pick in the 1990 draft out of Notre Dame, but not the college, a high school in Puerto Rico. A switch-hitting infielder
He had a slow but steady rise through our minor league system. He played 22 games for the Jays in 1996 (hitting .184/.375/.265). It is too bad he didn’t hit a little better since Tomas Perez didn’t have a lock on the second base job. And he played 12 games in 1997, hitting a better .286/.333/.465, getting into a couple of April games as a defensive replacement and then playing more as a September callup.
In 1998, Felipe spent the season with the Jays, hitting .262/.342/.362 in 66 games, mainly as a defensive replacement/utility player. He played all over the field. He was released in spring training in 1999.
After that, he bounced around from the Giants, Phillies, Reds and Marlins and spent some time in Japan.
Career, he played 262 games, hitting .245/.330/.380.
Happy Birthday, Crespo.
Phil Roof turns 84 today. He spent most of his career as a backup catcher, playing 15 seasons in the majors. His last MLB action was 5 hitless at-bats with the Jays in 1977. He hit .215/.283/.319 in 857 games (most with the Twins and A’s). My only memory of him is his baseball card. As a kid, I could have sworn his card was in every pack I bought.
Brian Lesher turns 54 today. He played 24 games for the Jays in 2002 at the end of a five-year career, totalling 108 major league games. He was a first baseman who didn’t show much power (though he did have some home runs in the minors, including 21 for the Edmonton Trappers back when I went to some games.
Happy Birthday, Brian and Phil.