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Happy birthday to Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1931 – Babe Ruth becomes the first major leaguer to hit 600 career home runs as the Yankees defeat the Browns, 11-7, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1926 – White Sox hurler Ted Lyons pitches a no-hitter, beating the Red Sox, 6-0, in just 67 minutes at Fenway Park.
• 1971 – For the second time in ten days, Dave Roberts of the Padres and Tom Seaver of the Mets lock up in a pitchers duel, but this time, Seaver comes out on top, 2-1. Cleon Jones ends the game with a walk-off home run with two outs on the bottom of the ninth, only the third hit allowed by Roberts. Seaver and Roberts will finish first and second respectively in the National League ERA race.
• 1972 – Phil Niekro and the Braves beat the Phillies, 2-1, in 11 innings, to snap Steve Carlton‘s 15-game winning streak. After retiring 19 batters in a row, Carlton (20-7) puts two runners on in the 11th, before Mike Lum singles home the winner.
• 1977 – Tom Seaver makes his first appearance in Shea Stadium as a member of the Reds, and pitches a six-hitter to beat the Mets, 5-1. Tom Terrific strikes out 11, has a double at the plate and scores twice.
• 1980 – Rob Wilfong‘s first-inning single is the only hit off Jack Morris. The Tiger ace beats the Twins, 4-2.
• 1982 – Brewer reliever Rollie Fingers become the first player in major league history to record 300 career saves as Milwaukee defeat the Mariners, 3-2.
• 1996 – Phils ace Curt Schilling faces 28 batters in a two-hit, 6-0 win over the Dodgers. Schilling strikes out 12. Rookie Scott Rolen hits his first two major league homers, both off Hideo Nomo.
• 1996 – Cal Ripken is 4 for 5, including a homer, to lead the surging Orioles to a 10-5 win over the Mariners. 
• 2004 – At Dodger Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero hits his 226th career home run breaking Andre Dawson‘s club record. The Expos right fielder hits his milestone round-tripper off Odalis Perez, a 454-foot shot over the left field wall.
• 2011 – With 3B Alex Rodriguez back in the line-up for the first time since July 7th, the Yankees shut out the Twins, 3-0. A-Rod and Jim Thome become the first members of the 600 home run club to appear in the same contest since Willie Mays and Hank Aaron 38 years prior.
• 2013 – With a 1st-inning single off Toronto’s R.A. Dickey, Ichiro Suzuki gets his 4,000th hit between Japan (1,278) and the United States (2,722). He is only the third player to reach the milestone at such a high level, following Ty Cobb and Pete Rose,

Today in Cubs history:

• 1913 – The Giants increase their National League lead to ten games by smoking Eddie Stack and the Cubs, 8-2. Christy Mathewson rolls to his 22nd win, allowing eight hits. Johnny Evers collects three hits, including a homer in the fifth.
• 1917 – Now with the Philadelphia Phils, Charles Bender, 34, pitches his third straight shutout, winning 6 0 over the Cubs. In his last active season, Bender will turn in four shutouts and win eight with two losses and a 1.67 ERA.
• 1975 – The Reuschel brothers of the Cubs join forces to blank the Dodgers, 6-0. Rick goes 6.1 innings and Paul finishes the game for the first (and still the only) combined shutout thrown by siblings.
• 1987 – Andre Dawson belts his 39th and 40th home runs of the season and Lee Smith picks up his 30th save in Chicago’s 7-5 win over the Astros.
• 1989 – Cubs rookie OF Jerome Walton goes 0 for 4 in a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Reds, ending his hitting streak at 30 consecutive games.
• 1990 – Billy Hatcher ties a major-league record with four doubles to pace the Reds to an 8-1 win over the Cubs. Rick Mahler beats Mike Harkey. The only score for Chicago is Ryne Sandberg‘s 29th homer. 

Cubs Birthdays:Tim Collins, Jesse Chavez, Jason Marquis, Ismael Valdez, Karl Rhodes*, Jim Bullinger, Vern Fear, Whitey Platt, Jim Mosolf, Frank Isbell.

Today in history:

• 1858 – First Lincoln-Douglas debate in Illinois.
• 1888 – American inventor William Seward Burroughs patents the adding machine.
• 1897 – Oldsmobile is first manufactured by Olds Motor Vehicle Co. in Lansing, Michigan.
• 1955 – Chicago teenager Emmett Till arrives in Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives, a week before he is murdered.
• 1959 – Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States.
• 1961 – American country singer Patsy Cline records struggling songwriter Willie Nelson‘s song “Crazy” in Nashville, Tennessee.
• 1966 – The Beatles headline their second show of the day at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, after playing in the afternoon 341 miles away in Cincinnati, Ohio, following a rainout the night before.
• 1996 – Netscape Browser 3.0 is released.
• 2001 – “How You Remind Me” single released by Nickelback.
• 2025 – A 1642 will at the center of a legal battle over Shakespeare‘s home is found after 150 years in an unlabeled box at the National Archives.

*pictured.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 2-0 (7) vs. Charlotte Knights

2B Anthony Volpe 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, fielding error — fourth blast in 20 games with Scranton
DH Cody Bellinger 1-3
RF Jasson Domínguez 0-3
C Mitch Garver 0-2, 1 BB, 2 K
LF Marco Luciano 0-3, 1 K
LF Duke Ellis 0-0
3B Max Schuemann 1-2
SS Oswaldo Cabrera 0-1, 1 R, 1 BB
1B Tyler Hardman 0-2, 1 K
CF Kenedy Corona 1-2, 1 2B

Adam Kloffenstein 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 K (win)
Hayden Merda 1 IP, 0 R, 1 K (save)

Double-A Somerset Patriots: Postponed due to rain, doubleheader scheduled for today

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades: Postponed due to rain, doubleheader scheduled for today

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 8-12 vs. Daytona Tortugas

SS Dax Kilby 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, throwing error
DH Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 R
C Bear Harrison 0-3, 2 BB
1B Luke Pettitte 1-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K — two-run double in the ninth made it interesting
LF Luis Puello 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 K
RF Diego Castellanos 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, throwing error
2B Blake Cyr 0-4, 1 K
CF Brando Mayea 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB
3B Luis Escudero 2-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, fielding error

Edinzo Marquez 3.2 IP, 7 R, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR (loss)
Josh Tiedemann 0.1 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 BB — came in to help put out a fire in the fourth and added to it
Danny Flatt 2.1 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K
Rafael Arias 2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Florida Complex League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Yankees:L, 1-7 at DSL Reds (Pool Play Day 1)

CF Isaias Castillo 1-4, 1 2B, 2 K
LF Luis Cruz 1-3, 1 BB
SS Stiven Marinez 0-4
3B Juan Torres 0-4, 1 K
C Juan Martinez 0-4, 1 K
RF Alfiery Matos 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K, assist
2B Stalen Ramirez 1-4, 1 RBI, throwing error
DH Kendry Diaz 0-2, 1 K
PH-DH Manuel Aguilar 0-2, 1 K
1B Jose Peralta 2-4, 1 K

Jhosneyker Colina 4 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K (loss)
Luis Rodriguez 2 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 K
Emanuel Vargas 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Season over

The Detroit Tigers have been in a bit of a slump of late, having lost five of their last six, which includes a sweep at home at the hands of the Chicago White Sox and dropping two of three on the road to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Just when they were one game from reaching the .500 mark, things once again came unraveled for the Olde English D.

The Motor City Kitties now move on to the second leg of their current road trip with three games against the Kansas Royals — who have won five straight and six of the last seven — at Kauffman Stadium this weekend. Still well within striking distance of a wildcard spot in a weak American League playoff race, AJ Hinch’s squad could really use a strong showing against the division’s bottom dwellers.

First up on the mound for the Tigers is left-hander Framber Valdez, who has had two straight rough outings after posting a pair of quality starts to open up August. Over the 32-year-old’s last 11 1/3 innings, he has put up a 6.35 ERA and 5.47 FIP, allowing 11 hits (one home run) and nine walks while striking out eight, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch.

Valdez has faced Kansas City twice this season — both in Detroit — with varying results. On April 14, he tossed seven frames of one-run ball on four hits and two walks with a strikeout for a no-decision in a 2-1 team win; on July 26, he served up three runs (two earned) on four hits (0ne home run) and three walks with four strikeouts over five frames, also failing to figure in the decision in an eventual 5-4 loss.

For the Royals, fellow southpaw Noah Cameron will take the mound in the series opener coming off the best start of his two-year career. The 27-year-old tossed a complete-game shutout against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing just a single hit and walk while striking out eight in a 3-0 home win.

Cameron has taken on the Tigers twice this season, and like Valdez, produced much different results between the two. On May 10 in Kansas City, he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over four frames for a no-decision in a 6-3 team loss; on July 24 in Detroit, he threw seven innings of scoreless ball on two hits and three walks while striking out eight also for a no-decision in an eventual 2-1 loss.

Take a look at how the two match up on Friday night below.

Detroit Tigers (61-66) vs. Kansas City Royals (55-74)

Time (ET): 8:10 p.m.
Place: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
SB Nation Site:Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 128: RHP Troy Melton (7-1, 1.71 ERA) vs. LHP Noah Cameron (7-8, 4.16 ERA)

MELTON

CAMERON

An oddity began last November when the Cardinals chose to carry an almost unheard of five catchers on the 40-man roster. At the time, Pedro Pages, Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks, Yahel Pozo and Leo Bernal occupied those spots. While five was pretty unusual, some explanation could be found due to the uncertainty of Ivan Herrera, who would undergo off-season elbow surgery and was mired in a deep throwing slump. Still, 12.5% of the roster being dedicated to catching seemed to create pinch points in other areas. How would this resolve? Many advocated for clearing up this apparent roster logjam.

As spring turned to summer, concerns about Herrera’s health dissipated, but the view on his throwing remained a tempest. In spite of the varied opinions, it had become apparent that the Cardinals see Herrera as a legit option at C (to the chagrin of many who looked at the CS rate), catching him regularly on the short end of a 60:40 rotation. Further evolution has led to an additional split, where Jimmy Crooks has taken the primary catching duties with Pedro Pages on the shortest end of a now three catcher rotation. Herrera’s slice is largely unchanged, although he isn’t bolted to the same two pitchers anymore. Meanwhile, Pozo was DFA’ed when roster needs elsewhere became acute, and picked up by Baltimore (who now, interestingly, carry 3 catchers). Perhaps the Cardinals have discovered the new market inefficiency.

Yet even four catchers on the 40-man seems an unusual allocation, particular over a longer period of time. Even more pressing, another one young catcher (if you haven’t heard) by the name of Rainel Rodriguez has played well enough at A+ and then AA that his name enters almost any catching conversation, even though his name does not yet appear on the 40-man roster. He is quite precocious. This isn’t article about Rainel, but if it was, I would be regaling you with statistical accomplishments he has achieved already that compare quite favorably to some of the league’s top hitters over the last generation.

All this leads many pundits and fans to comment that this situation needs resolution. Many expected Pages to be moved at the trade deadline. To think a bit asynchronously, does 4 catchers on the 40-man roster really require resolution? Granted it is unconventional, but does it really require some management intervention? If so, when?

Complicating any future plan is the difficulty in evaluating each of the individual players and more so, figuring out who might be the best fit on a roster that in and of itself is undergoing more churn. For instance, it seems the club preferred Pages defense, but his offense really doesn’t fit well on this weak-hitting roster. If the club had more good hitters, he would be a better fit.

Some look at Crooks as a better blend of offense and possibly even superior defense, but in his second go at MLB really has done little to impress. Some underlying metrics do support the notion of his blend, but how long might it take to emerge?

Bernal, unseen in the MLB, is a mystery, with widely varying views of both his offense and defense. Some evaluators believe Crooks far superior defensively, others with the opposite point of view. Which is it? And how do they tell? As we’ve seen, catching at the MLB level is different than Memphis or elsewhere in the minor league circuit.

Ivan Herrera’s offensive chops are now well established. He is clearly the best hitter of the current group, although Rainel seems destined to challenge that. Ivan’s offense is prolific enough that Oli works very hard to get his bat in the line-up each and every day. His offense is enough that some might argue he is an everyday bat if not an everyday catcher, and this leads to some advocating for a position change.

Rainel seems a bit of a mystery defensively, but it is becoming very clear that his bat has the chance to be very special. Special enough that the arguments around Herrera are extended to RainRod even more emphatically. Many will say a bat like that needs to be in the line-up every day and not subjected to the rigors of MLB catching. I have no good argument for that point of view. Unless he is Pudge Rodriguez or Yadi Molina defensively, they say, catching is not where his greatest value is to be found.

How does all this unfold? Straight up, I don’t know. But based on conversations I’ve had and actions I’ve observed, I’m developing a framework for how it could unfold.

Many people expected Pages to be moved at the deadline and, absent that, to be moved this winter. Possible, but I’m not so sure on the timing. Some believe that this off-season, the Cardinals need to choose a path and that RainRod is going to be the ultimate victor in this positional competition. The goal for them becomes to “sell high” and get prospect returns from some of the others. Again, I’m not so sure. Let’s be clear, I’d suspect if the right deal came along, they’d probably take it. But I’m beginning to suspect that is not their primary plan going forward.

Let’s unpack this individually first, then treat these guys as a group to try and formulate that framework.

Pages will not be eligible for arbitration until the end of the 2027 season. That is an important consideration, in the sense that there really isn’t pressure to move him. He is major league minimum salary for 2027 and there is no alternative that would be cheaper. But, but…wouldn’t they rather have a pitcher using that 40-man spot?

I’m going to publish an update that looks at 40-man issues that might be appearing this fall. You will get the details next week, but it turns out there really isn’t a significant 40-man roster pressure, pitchers or otherwise. The Cardinals have lots of pitchers in the pipeline, but only a few need 40-man protection. They are in zero danger of losing a needed pitcher even if the keep all 4 catchers on the 40-man roster. Unconventional? Certainly. Possible. Yes. Achievable. Definitely. It turns out management has finessed the 40-man roster, as a whole, quite nicely. Read the article next week, in the meantime trust me that the 40-man roster can handle 4 catchers for another year or so. On to the individuals:

Crooks is a runway guy. He has enough scouting data and underlying metric to forecast the potential for better offense and better defense than Pages. So, he gets runway. That runway will run into next year, almost certainly.

Bernal is also a runway guy. He profiles different than Crooks in how he gets there, but he also projects to be better offensively and defensively than Pages (and perhaps Crooks). He will get his shot, in St. Louis, unless someone blows Bloom and Company away with a trade offer.

Herrera is an established top-flight hitter. They’ve played him EVERY day. If that doesn’t speak volumes, I don’t know what will. I don’t know if they view him as cemented in at C, but there is no data to suggest he will be moving on to another team or another position. Moving him to another team would be problematic in that it would leave them with the need to acquire another top-flight hitter when they are short of that talent already. Again, the right offer might dislodge him, but that seems the less likely path.

That leaves RainRod. As each day passes, the confidence that his bat will be special grows. He keeps doing things that only Hall of Fame caliber players have done before him. I’m not projecting HOF status for him (it’s a wee bit soon), but his trajectory is unmistakable. I would think of him as untouchable, so a trade seems unlikely. Given his trajectory, a position switch seems unlikely too. Remarkably, he is too close to MLB already and learning a new position would require they slow down his ascension. That seems counter-productive. He is getting time at 1B, which I find notable if I think some about Alec Burleson’s primary weakness as a hitter (LHP platoon splits).

So, how does all this work?

Let’s introduce the idea I think of as Three-into-Four. Hear me out.

The three is this equation are the catchers: Today, the three are Pages, Crooks, Herrera. By this time next year, good chance the three are Crooks, Herrera and Bernal. Much beyond that horizon comes another name. Rodriguez. That is the three part of 3into4.

To understand the Four, let’s go conventional. Most teams carry 2-3 catchers on their 40-man and carry two catchers on their active roster, right? The Cardinals (today) are clearly not “most teams”. Conventionally, each team has a DH (either a dedicated one or a rotation through), a primary C, and backup C and a primary first baseman. That is the Four I write of.

Now, let’s move off conventional and look at the Cardinals rather unconventional situation, and picture this scenario. They have some challenges:

1. They have too many catchers (as compared to conventional)
2. They have a first baseman with a serious LHP platoon split that degrades his value.
3. They have a bat-first, short-side platoon catcher who needs protection to stay healthy, who by the way, is a really, really good hitter.

How can these be made to work to advantage? Let’s look at next season for starters, and leave RainRod out of the discussion on the assumption that his ETA is really more like 2028. I’m not writing that in stone, but positing that to understand the strawman I think the Cardinals have built around this situation.

Start with the idea that out of 3 catchers, on any given day, one can catch and one can DH, so they can always play 2 of them. Remember that Crooks is a LH batter, Herrera a RH batter and Bernal a switch hitter. Flexibility exists here. The biggest obstacle here isn’t carrying 4 catchers. It is ridding themselves of the notion that DH is a position to rotation various players through. In this strawman, DH will be a spot to rotate a solid hitting catcher into to keep their bat in the line-up while protecting them physically from the rigors of catching.

It looks like this:

When there is an LHP on the mound, in addition to one catching and one DHing, the last one can play first base (likely Bernal, who is working there at AAA). This approach would serve to alleviate the LHP platoon split presented when Alec Burleson plays 1B or DH with an LHP on the mound. This approach requires that Bernal’s bat be MLB ready. When?

When there is an RHP on the mound, Crooks or Bernal catches (depending on matchup and who caught yesterday) and Herrera DHs, with Burleson manning first.

This approach actually results in a 40-30-30 catching ration (with Herrera now on the long side of the platoon, although not catching any more than this year). The allocation of most of the DH spots to catchers on days they aren’t catching ends up with each guy getting into around 120 games, which tends to be on the high side for a catcher. It preserves their body, though, and results in end of the season flexibility to go with a hot hand.

At some point in time, RainRod will be ready and, bluntly, when he is, he dislodges one of the three. It is not only hard to predict exactly when this may happen, but also who he dislodges. Who is dependent on performance we have yet to see as well as any MiLB action RainRod encounters at other positions. Maybe a catcher. Maybe a first baseman. Maybe a third baseman. Hard to say. But until the day RainRod arrives, it strikes me that the current catching carousel can continue without pressure to make a move. This will allow the team to let development and competition settle out who goes and who stays in due time, not under any pressure to “get something done”.

Where does Pages fit in all this? I think he has a spot until they are ready to bring Bernal up, and then, not. Will that be out of 2027 spring training? Who knows? But I can begin to see how they have a plan to let all this organically work itself out without feeling pressure to make a move and try to pick the winner of this derby too early.

For those of you who think the Cardinals need to clear this up this coming off-season, don’t expect it to occur that fast unless a mind-blowing offer accompanies it.

The Phillies are about to face an Arch-enemy. Not in the sense of their most loathed foe, but in the sense that their opponent plays under an arch.

On to the links.

Phillies news

Helping first responders is personal for Kyle Schwarber.

Bryson Stott has shined bright in the new-look Phillies infield. ($)

MLB news

Seattle is calling up LHP Kade Anderson, the #1 pitching prospect in the sport, for his MLB debut.

The stolen base was resurrected by a few timely rules changes. Is it dying again? ($)

The Brewers earned a 22-0 triumph over Seattle a few days back. But there have been bigger blowouts.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers bounced back nicely this week, as they maintained (and even slightly outplayed) the Cubs this week to stay atop the NL Central with just over a month to go.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

Hello, friends.

Just when you thought you were in, they shove you back out. That’s the 2026 Orioles guarantee. Three straight exciting wins against the Rays to start a tough ten-game stretch have now been followed by four straight losses, ground gained by those wins evaporated along with any fan excitement. A 6-1 setback to the Yankees last night sealed a sweep, a lifeless affair by the O’s that saw them allow two more unearned runs to head towards the probable franchise record there. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.

As far as their lingering wild card hopes, the Orioles are only two games back even after the four-game losing streak. Their problem is going to be more that they have five teams to pass. They’re going to have to be at least a game and as many as three games hotter than all five of those teams from this point forward. They probably won’t be able to do it. There are too many flaws going on with the roster, especially if the starting pitching is losing its edge as the inning totals creep up.

The Rays are next. The Orioles played them pretty well down in the Trop. Maybe they can pull another reversal for us; it wouldn’t be the first time this year that they’ve tempted people to give up on them only to see them find another rally. It’s been a regular feature of the team going back to the start of the season. Always bad enough to inspire disgust, never quite bad enough to completely give up on them.

They are, however, running out of room to make the big move to the front of the pack. Only 34 games remain to them now. The Orioles might need to go 23-11 to do it. That’s asking a lot of a team that hasn’t had that kind of baseball in them for much of the season. We’ve all experienced too much of the stupid stuff that they can pull to believe in things going that way for that length of time.

But, it’s not over til it’s over, as the cliche goes. It’s not over yet for the Orioles. They could keep slim hopes alive for a while longer while also maybe even stoking some hopes for next year if certain players – especially Gunnar Henderson – are able to revive their fortunes between now and the end of the season.

Tonight’s game will air on Apple+ TV and on Apple+ only, so if you don’t have a subscription to that service, you have an easy excuse to take a day off from the Orioles if you want. Trevor Rogers and Freddy Peralta are the scheduled starting pitchers for the 7:15 game.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

The AL Wild Card mess is competitive balance, and it isn’t pretty (FanGraphs)
After recent games, the Orioles are increasingly less a part of this mess. It’s even less pretty for us. Jay Jaffe’s focus particularly is on the possibility of a sub-.500 team getting into the postseason in a 162-game season for the first time ever. If that’s in play, then maybe the Orioles only need to go 20-14 – still asking a lot, if not quite as much.

How Pete Alonso is taking a hands-on role in helping Gunnar Henderson salvage his season (The Baltimore Banner)
This is the kind of thing the Orioles just haven’t had in recent seasons. Unfortunately, there are a whole bunch of other problems involved.

Bautista back in Baltimore before eventual rehab assignment (School of Roch)
The rehab assignment for Bautista is starting soon. I’m nervous for him!

This lefty Orioles prospect could join bullpen for stretch run (Orioles.com)
An actual article about something I mentioned yesterday, namely that prospect Luis De León has moved into the bullpen to have him as a possible callup option for September.

Since trade from Seattle, Alex Hoppe has been bringing the heat (Steve on Baseball)
Having a 0 ERA in six games as an Oriole is sure a nice beginning.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1977, Brooks Robinson retired after 23 major league seasons and 2,896 games played for the Orioles.

In 2001, Tim Raines Sr. and Jr. were opponents in a Triple-A game that involved the Orioles then-Triple-A affiliate Rochester. By the end of the season, they were major league teammates with the Orioles.

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2019-20 outfielder Mason Williams, and 1971 infielder Jerry DaVanon. Today is DaVanon’s 81st birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: jazz pianist Count Basie (1904), basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain (1936), musician Kenny Rogers (1938), System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (1967), sprinter Usain Bolt (1986), and actress Hayden Panettiere (1989). Panettiere passed away earlier this week.

On this day in history…

In 1791, enslaved people in Saint-Domingue in Haiti attended a “voodoo” ceremony that is now recognized as the beginning of the twelve-year Haitian Revolution, in which the enslaved people of Haiti overthrew their French colonizers and enslavers all at once.

In 1911, an Italian working at the Louvre stole the Mona Lisa with the aim of restoring the painting to Italian control. It was recovered three years later.

In 1959, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th of the United States.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 21. Have a safe Friday. Go O’s!