Purple Row After Dark: Always Play the Birthday Guy

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 13: Mickey Moniak #22 of the Colorado Rockies flips his bas as he rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run in the fifth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on May 13, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images I was having trouble settling on a Purple Row After Dark topic tonight because I was distracted by the absurdity that was the Rockies game today.By the time it was over, Colorado had scored 23 runs on 24 hits.

Every Rockies starter had at least one hit. Every Rockies starter scored at least one run.Nobody in the Rockies lineup had a birthday today, but it might as well have been everyone’s birthday.

Which brings me to a baseball belief I have always had:Play the birthday guy.Baseball is already loaded with superstition. Lucky socks, rally caps, dugout routines, not saying certain things out loud — this sport has never been shy about chasing vibes.

So if a player’s birthday offers even the smallest chance of baseball magic, why not lean in?Mickey Moniak gave the theory a pretty strong push earlier this season. On his birthday, he did exactly what the birthday guy is supposed to do: he homered.

View LinkThat is pretty much all the evidence I need.But because baseball is baseball, there is actual data for this. Baseball Savant has a Birthday Index, built by Sarah Langs, that compares how players perform on their birthdays against how they perform every other day.

Naturally, I opened it.The June 14 leaderboard had a familiar name at the top: Greg Brock.Brock played 10 MLB seasons with the Dodgers and Brewers, finishing with 110 home runs, 10 WAR, and a 105 OPS+.

He also hit 44 home runs for the 1982 Albuquerque Dukes, giving Rockies fans a loose Albuquerque connection through today’s Isotopes.Greg Brock was also my high school baseball coach.At that point, I was fully invested.

As for the Rockies, Moniak is the easy headliner because he already delivered t