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Watch Jose Contreras and his magical splitter make Angels hitters look like Little Leaguers

Jose Contreras, who turned 45 on Tuesday, had a baseball career unlike any other. From 1991-2001, he starred in Cuba -- pitching for the national team and winning multiple awards playing in the Cuban National Series. But a few years after dominating the Orioles during a 1999 exhibition game in Havana (8 IP, 10 K's, 2 H, 0 R), he defected to the U.S., signed with the Yankees and became the actual reason for New York's "Evil Empire" nickname.

Contreras went 7-2 with a 3.30 ERA in his first season for the Yankees. He would later lead the White Sox to their first World Series in 88 years with another stellar year in 2005 -- pitching a complete game to clinch the pennant. Unfortunately, Contreras, who started his big league career at the age of 31, was often injured and not always sharp during the rest of his MLB tenure (78-67, 4.57 ERA, 100 ERA+). But when he was on, and his splitter was on, he was fun to watch. Take the video in the main slot, when the righty struck out 10 and gave up three hits in eight innings during a game against the Angels in 2008. Ask Torii Hunter what he thought of Jose Contreras:

Or Garret Anderson:

Happy birthday, Jose.

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