January 22 – Happy Birthday Brian Dayett

Saint Leo University in St Leo, FL is not exactly a breeding ground for future Major Leaguers. Only six former Lions have made it to the rosters of big league teams. Three of those six were originally drafted by the Yankee organization. These include pitchers Bob Tewksbury and Jim Corsi and today’s Pinstripe Birthday celebrant. I remember when this hustling outfielder was a promising power-hitting prospect in New York’s farm system. During his final two full seasons as a Yankee minor leaguer, Dayett had smashed 69 home runs. Unfortunately, he could not maintain that power stroke once he got to the big show. After two disappointing part-time seasons with New York in 1983 and 1984, he was traded to the Cubs in 1985 in a fishy deal that brought pitcher Steve Trout to New York. Before the 1987 season, Dayett was scheduled to be Chicago’s starting right fielder. Then during spring training, the Cubs signed free agent Andre Dawson and Dayett found himself back on the bench. His most notable career achievement was that he made just one error during his entire five-year big league career.