Eric Hosmer celebrates 25th birthday with RBI single, World Series win
SAN FRANCISCO —The list of what Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer wanted for his birthday contained exactly one item.
"All I asked for was a win," said Hosmer, who turned 25 on Friday.
He got it. The Royals edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 in Game 3 of the World Series, taking a 2-1 advantage. He also helped it happen. Hosmer's RBI single in the sixth inning — which came after an 11-pitch at-bat against Giants reliever Javier Lopez — ended up being the difference in the game. (Though, the Giants' two runs came after Hosmer's single).
It's not quite teammate Brandon Finnegan's unique place in baseball history, but the list of players who have driven in a World Series run on their birthday puts Hosmer in cozy company.
Eric Hosmer is the first player with a World Series RBI on his birthday since 1991. He's just the ninth player to do it overall.
— Paul Casella (@paul_casella) October 25, 2014
Interestingly, the last time also happened to two Oct. 24 babies:
Eric Hosmer is1st player with a World Series RBI on his birthday since Junior Ortiz & Rafael Belliard on the same day 23 years ago today.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 25, 2014
Hosmer stood in front of his locker in AT&T Park's visitor's clubhouse after the game, all smiles. He was asked if this is the best birthday of his life.
"By far," he said immediately.
What was the best before this? He thought a second, not entirely sure.
"Driver's license," he said. "That was a good one."
Little did Hosmer know that 1,800 miles away in Kansas City's downtown Power and Light District, Royals fans were celebrating his birthday too. Here's a throng of Royals fans singing him "Happy Birthday."
Look at that! And Hosmer didn't even have to pick up the bar tab this time.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz