Birthday Consistency from Frank Viola and Spike Owen
Plum 'em in, let 'em go ... and maybe stop for a slice of cake here and there
If you like consistency in your ballplayers, you might check out baseball’s April 19 birthday boys … at least a couple of them.
Frank Viola was born on April 19, 1960, and pitched in the Major Leagues from June 1982 through 1996.
Spike Owen was born exactly one year later, on April 19, 1961, and played in the Major Leagues from June 1983 through 1995.
Synchronicity wasn’t all these guys had in common, though.
During a career that saw him win a Cy Young Award with the Twins in 1988 and 20 games with the Mets in 1990, Viola reeled off ten straight seasons (1983-92) during which he made at least 35 starts in every campaign. His innings total never fell below 210 during that stretch, either.
And Viola was a rotation man through and through — out of 421 games pitched in his career, the lefty started 420 of them, his single relief appearance coming in 1983 with Minnesota.
In the postseason, all five of his appearances were starts, including three in the 1987 World Series, where he picked up MVP honors.
While Owen never reached the superstar levels that Viola touched, the compact shortstop was as plug-and-play as they came.
During his entire 13-year career, Owen never hit more than seven home runs in a season … but he also never went a whole year without at least one dinger. He put together a nearly identical streak for triples, reaching a high of eight (twice) and never whiffing on three-baggers.
And, until he hooked up with the California Angels to wrap up his career in the strike-torn 1994 and 1995, Owen had spent his entire fielding tenure at shortstop — all 1343 games. (He supplemented that with a handful of DH, pinch-hitting, and pinch-running assignments).
In case you’re wondering, Owen faced Viola more than any other pitcher during his career. In 71 plate appearances, Spike hit Frank to the tune of a .369 batting average with two triples and, of course, a single home run.
Viola did coax ten strikeouts from Owen, though, the only pitcher who can make that claim.
