Happy birthday to Claudell Washington, who turns 55 today.
Washington is one of the prime examples of how sometimes, a player is as good at age 20 as he's ever going to get. The Rangers got him in 1977 for Jim Umbarger, Rodney Scott (who they had acquired just a week earlier), and cash, and dealt him in May, 1978, for Bobby Bonds.
Washington's most comparable player through age 23, 24, and 25 is Roberto Clemente. That's pretty good. His most comparable player through ages 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 is Jose Cardenal. That's not so good.