Happy Birthday to Bobby Abreu, 18 year major leaguer. Abreu was a terrific ball player who had a career batting average of .291, with 291 home runs and 400 stolen bases.
He was also an all-star, a Silver Slugger award winner and a Gold Glove winner. He spent half of his career with the Phillies and put some great numbers together including 1999 when he hit .335, drove in 93 runs and had 27 stolen bases.
A great career well deserving of the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day,
"Dedicated to hitting, always runs hard, never looking for he easy way out. He's everything you want in a ballplayer."
--Richie Hebner, talking about Bobby Abreu
Chase Utley was born this day in 1978. Utley is the ultimate professional ball player even though as a Mets fan, I am still upset about the Ruben Tejada slide. Yet, I am still enough of a fan of the game to respect his work ethic and his clutch play.
From 2003--2015, Utley was virtually the everyday second baseman for the Phillies. You just put him in the lineup every day and he produced to all star level status on a yearly basis. Utley signed with the Dodgers during the 2015 season and was with the team for all of 2016.
He is a six time all-star and four time Silver Slugger. Sports Illustrated chose him as the second baseman of the all-decade team from 2000-2010.
For all these great accomplishments, Utley is today's recipient of the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day. Lots more Utley quotes at www.baseballquotations.com
"He's ferocious. When he shows up, he means business. There is no joking around. That's why he's go great."
--Greg Dobbs
