July 3 – Happy Birthday Cesar Tovar, Juan Rivera & Brian Cashman
For Yankee fans not old enough to remember Cesar Tovar, think of a Chone Figgins with more defensive versatility. He spent his first eight big league seasons with Minnesota, where he played every position but catcher, led the league in hits in 1971, averaged .281 in 1,090 games and stole 186 bases. He then spent the final five years of his career playing for five different teams, ending up with the Yankees in 1976, where he played his final thirteen big league games.
Juan Rivera was a power hitting outfield prospect in the Yankee organization who played for the parent club in 2001, ’02 and ’03. New York was hoping he’d replace Paul O’Neil in right field.He got his longest shot during his last season in pinstripes, appearing in 57 games and smacking 7 home runs. But that wasn’t good enough for the Yankee brass, who bundled Rivera with Nick Johnson and Randy Choate in the trade with Montreal that brought Javier Vazquez to the Bronx the first time. Rivera’s now found a home in the Angels’ outfield.
Today is also Brian Cashman’s birthday. The Yankee GM started as an intern in the Yankee front office where he caught the eye of “the Boss” and the rest is history.
Pinstripe Birthdays 