The Best Baseball Players Born on Feb. 8

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 Feb. 8.

1) Willard Marshall (1921)

Marshall made three All-Star teams with the New York Giants (1942, ‘47 and ‘49). He earned NL MVP votes in ‘47 and ‘49, too. Marshall was the only NL rookie on the '42 All-Star team. He started in right field in the ’49 All-Star Game, alongside Ralph Kiner in left field and Stan Musial in center. Marshall put up pretty solid numbers during his 11-year career. He slashed .274/.347/.423 with the Giants, Boston Braves, Reds and White Sox. He had a career-high 36 homers and 107 RBIs in 1947. Marshall served three years with the Marines (1943-45) during World War II, which would have been the second, third and fourth years of his career. Who knows what numbers he might have put up then, and who knows how it might have changed our memories of his career?

2) Dobie Moore (1896)

According to a SABR article, Casey Stengel once said about Moore, “Has anybody else told you about Dobie Moore? Well, I’ll tell you something about him. That Moore was one of the best shortstops that will ever live! That fella could stand up to the plate and hit right-handed, he could hit line drives out there just as far as you want to see.” Moore played only seven seasons (1920-26) with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, but he made a major impact. He slashed .350/.393/.524 in his career. He helped the Monarchs win the 1924 Negro World Series, too. Moore batted .400 in 17 games in 1926, the final year of his career. According to SABR, he got into a dispute with a woman in Kansas City, who shot him several times. He survived, but his leg was fractured in six places. He never played again.

3) Fritz Peterson (1942)

Peterson had a nice 11-year career from 1966-76, spending his first eight-plus seasons with the Yankees, before finishing up with Cleveland and Texas. He made the 1970 AL All-Star team, finishing 20-11 with a 2.90 ERA in 39 appearances (37 starts). He started for Cleveland on its infamous 10-cent beer night promotion in 1975. Peterson led the league in fewest walks-per-nine-innings for five consecutive seasons from 1968-72. He led the league in WHIP in 1969-70, too. But he is probably best remembered for the surprising 1973 Spring Training announcement that he exchanged wives and lives with Yankees teammate Mike Kekich. Peterson wrote a book about his life, including that.

4) Hoot Evers (1921)

Evers, who as a child took the nickname of cowboy movie star Hoot Gibson, played 12 seasons in the big leagues, beginning his career in 1941 with the Tigers. He spent the next three years in the military in World War II, before resuming play in 1946. He made the AL All-Star team in 1948 and 1950, receiving AL MVP votes in both seasons. Evers later served in the front offices of Cleveland and Detroit, serving as the Tigers’ longtime farm director.

5) Aaron Cook (1979)

Cook played 10 of his 11 seasons with the Rockies (2002-11) before pitching with the Red Sox (2013). He made the 2008 NL All-Star team, finishing 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA. He went 76-79 with a 4.60 ERA in his career. From 2004-09, he went 57-43 with a 4.09 ERA and 117 ERA+. Not bad, considering he pitched half his games at Coors Field.

Others

Joe Black (1924) was the 1952 NL Rookie of the Year with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He earned All-Star appearances with the Baltimore Elite Giants in the Negro Leagues in 1947-48. … Bert Haas (1914) made the 1947 NL All-Star team with the Reds. … Leslie Green (1914) made the 1940 Negro Leagues AL All-Star team with he St. Louis-New Orleans Stars. … Bug Holliday (1867) posted an 18.1 WAR from 1889-98 with the Reds.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for February 8? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.