“Let’s talk birthdays for a moment. If you are a parent, and you want a child who will someday be a superstar baseball player, you should probably hope he or she is born on January 31. That was the day Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks and Nolan Ryan was born. It is also the day that Yuniesky Betancourt was born, so the day is not without risk — the yin and yang of baseball fortune.”

-- Joe Posnanski, “No. 61 Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell.”

Shout-out to Tim Harrison, website manager, skinny lefty and long-suffering Mariners fan, who shares that birthday.

Talkin' Jaaaaackie, Ernie and the Tim. (Not pictured: Yuniesky Betancourt.)