The best baseball players born on April 4

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar.

Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for April 4.

1) Tris Speaker (1888)
One of the greatest all-around center fielders in baseball history, the Hall of Famer and 1912 American League MVP holds the AL/NL record for career doubles. After helping the Red Sox win the 1912 and 1915 World Series, Speaker was asked to take a pay cut when his batting average dropped from .338 to .322. He refused and was traded to Cleveland, where he immediately led the AL in hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS+, then helped Cleveland win the 1920 World Series as the team's player-manager. The deal was viewed as one of the worst in Red Sox history, even after a Speaker teammate was sold to the Yankees four years later -- Babe Ruth.

2) Gil Hodges (1924)
The manager of the World Series-winning 1969 "Miracle Mets," Hodges starred as a player with the Dodgers for 16 seasons and remains on a multitude of the team's career leaderboards. He's second all-time among Dodgers for home runs and RBIs. His 2022 induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame came more than 52 years after he first appeared on a ballot.

3) Scott Rolen (1975)
Wooed away from playing college basketball by the Phillies after being drafted in the second round, Rolen won the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year Award and the first three of eight career Gold Gloves before being traded to the Cardinals. With St. Louis, he reached the World Series in 2004, when he posted his best season, and won the title in 2006. Rolen was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.

4) Jim Fregosi (1942)
Before managing the Phillies to the 1993 World Series and posting 1,028 managerial victories, Fregosi starred for the Angels for their first 11 seasons. He was a six-time All-Star and won the 1967 AL Gold Glove at shortstop, and he's the Angels' franchise leader in triples.

5) Ray Fosse (1947)
A two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner with Cleveland, Fosse won the World Series twice after being traded to Oakland. He's perhaps best known for being demolished by Pete Rose in a home-plate collision to end the 1970 All-Star Game, but Fosse also played a part in two no-hitters, catching Dennis Eckersley's no-no in 1977 with Cleveland and entering as a defensive replacement for the final three innings of an A's combined no-hitter in 1975.

Others of note:
Mike Epstein (1943)
Nicknamed "Superjew," Epstein hit 130 homers over his nine-year career, peaking with 30 for the Washington Senators in 1969. He led the 1972 World Series champion A's with 26 dingers, one better than teammate Reggie Jackson.

Joe Vosmik (1910)
Before he broke into the Majors with Cleveland in 1930, Vosmik got fielding tips from a recently retired player with whom he shares a birthday -- Speaker. Vosmik twice led the AL in hits, including his All-Star season of 1935, when he also led the circuit in doubles and triples.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for April 4? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.