A pretty okay Birthday Team today, apart from third base and the back of the pitching staff.

C: Ted Easterly (12.0 WAR)
1B/Manager: Don Mattingly (42.4 WAR)
2B: Germany Smith (21.5 WAR)
3B: Tommy Dowd (-1.7 WAR)
SS: Dave Bancroft (49.1 WAR)
LF: Brandon Belt (24.8 WAR)
CF: Charlie Hemphill (16.2 WAR)
RF: Heavy Johnson (chonky Negro Leagues masher)

SP: Milt Wilcox (13.3 WAR)
SP: Charlie Smith (8.5 WAR)
SP: Masato Yoshii (6.7 WAR)
SP: Johnny Wertz (2.5 WAR)
SP: Earl Harrist (-0.2 WAR)
RP: Sean Green (0.2 WAR)

Fun names: Steamer Flanagan, Ham Allen
Golden Greek: Harry Agganis
Spanish for "Girl Tony Perez"?: Tony Perezchica

Sneaky-good day for nicknames: Heavy, Germany, Beauty, Steamer, Donnie Baseball. Tommy Dowd was known as "Buttermilk Tommy." Brandon Belt doesn't need one, but Charlie Smith sure could have used a nickname.

Charlie Hemphill is a pretty good name for the 4/20 birthday team.

I believe that Germany Smith played more games at short than anyone whose entire big league career was in the 19th century. Good planning to come of age just as the schedule was expanding, and then to start back down through the minors in 1899.

Tommy Dowd's negative WAR is mostly down to his -10.2 lifetime dWAR; he was negative on defense every year of his career except his last one. He was mainly an outfielder; in his 37 games at 3B, he made 23 errors. Yikes!

There is a current NPB player who might be an infield option - Yota Kyoda of the Chunichi Dragons. He was Central League Rookie of the Year in 2017, and an All-Star in 2019. He's not much of a batter, a .249 career average hitter whose five HR last season was a career high, but he's a good defensive player who can steal a base. He's only played shortstop at the NPB level; obviously he's not going to take the job of a Hall of Fame shortstop such as Dave Bancroft. and Germany Smith was also primarily a shortstop, but both Bancroft and Smith played a few scattered games at second and third, so you could put them there, stick Kyoda at short and bench Dowd.

Mattingly, I thought I told you to trim those sideburns!

Mattingly hit .307/.358/.471 for his career and won nine Gold Gloves. He can grow out his sideburns on my team anytime.