About Robin Ventura
Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. Ventura played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was also the manager for the White Sox for five seasons. The White Sox selected Ventura with the tenth overall pick in the 1988 amateur draft from Oklahoma State University (OSU). He is a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner, two-time MLB All-Star selection and a National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. While playing college baseball for the Cowboys at OSU, Ventura was a three-time All-American who achieved a Division I-record 58-game hitting streak. In 1988, he won the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award and played for the gold medal-winning Olympic baseball team. In his MLB career, he hit 18 grand slams, ranking fifth all-time. In Game 5 of the 1999 National League Championship Series, Ventura hit the "Grand Slam Single" that won the game but did not actually become a home run because he was unable to complete the circuit around the base paths. Later in his playing career, cartilage and arthritis issues in his ankle hampered his abilities in the field. After the 2011 season, the White Sox hired Ventura to be their manager. He managed the team from 2012 until 2016. In 1987, he had an NCAA-record 58-game hitting streak, breaking the previous record of 47; he also led Division I in RBIs two years in a row.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.