In May, Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs and Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds became the first starting pitchers in major-league history to oppose each other on their birthdays
Backstory: Frankly, it’s amazing that baseball’s statmeisters would know this is a first over the entire sweep of big-league history. Bailey, the younger player by nine years, was unaware of the coincidence until a Baseball Hall of Fame rep approached him in the trainer’s room afterward.
Bailey and Dempster were asked to sign several balls to record the event. It was not really a happy occasion for Dempster, who had pitched eight scoreless innings and left the game with a 3-0 lead, only to see the Reds come from behind to win in the 10th inning.
