The best baseball players born on March 5

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 March 5:

1) Paul Konerko (1976)
They don’t build statues for just anybody. Konerko’s legacy on the South Side is forever cemented at Guaranteed Rate Field, a bronze re-creation of his raised-fist celebration after his grand slam in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series. It’s a fitting tribute for Konerko -- “Paulie” if you’re a die-hard -- who was the ALCS MVP that year and finished an 18-season career (16 in Chicago) with 439 homers, 1,412 RBIs, six All-Star nods, a retired No. 14 and one life-size monument.

2) Sam Thompson (1860)
“Big Sam,” inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1974, was an RBI machine, one of the game’s premier sluggers of his time. In his 15-year career, the left-handed hitter drove in 100 or more runs eight times -- including a career-high 166 in 1887 -- and scored more than 100 runs in 10 seasons. He was the first left-handed hitter to reach 20 homers and the game's first player with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season (1889).

3) Bo Bichette (1998)
A star with favorable genes, Bichette broke out in 2021, leading the AL with 191 hits while slugging 29 homers and stealing 25 bases. The son of former MLB slugger Dante, the younger Bichette became an All-Star in ‘21 for the first time, and his much-discussed flowing locks were a hit with fans. Bichette led the AL in hits for a second straight year in 2022, and was an All-Star for the second time in his career in '23. After being limited to 81 games due to injury in 2024, Bichette arrived at spring camp with a significantly trimmed signature flow in '25 and bounced back to bat .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers and 94 RBIs in 139 games. He was on pace to lead the AL in hits again before being sidelined for most of the Blue Jays' epic run to an AL East title and World Series berth. He returned for the Fall Classic, hitting a memorable home run in Game 7 vs. the Dodgers as Toronto came up agonizingly short of its third World Series title, then signed a three-year deal with the Mets.

4) Del Crandall (1930)
An 11-time NL All-Star catcher, Crandall was a central figure in Milwaukee Braves/Brewers history. He caught more than 2,400 innings of Warren Spahn’s Hall of Fame career and helped the Milwaukee Braves win the 1957 World Series. He managed the Brewers for four seasons, including 1975, when the club signed Hank Aaron, one of Crandall’s longtime teammates. One more Hall of Fame link? Crandall was the manager in 1974, when he inserted a mostly untested 18-year-old named Robin Yount at shortstop on Opening Day.

5) Kent Tekulve (1947)
Tekulve was the definition of a workhorse reliever, even if he didn’t exactly look the part. Think high school physics teacher: gangly limbs and darkened specs (the Pirates’ pillbox hats didn’t do him any favors either). But the unorthodox sidearmer was incredibly durable, rightfully earning the nickname “The Rubber Band Man.” He led the NL four times in relief appearances, and at the time of his retirement in 1989, he held the MLB record for relief appearances with 1,050.

Others of note:

Kyle Schwarber (1993)
Blessed with big-time power, Schwarber was a key cog in the Cubs' 2016 World Series team, staging an unforgettable return from a severe left knee injury to hit .412 in the Fall Classic. He was called "a Cubs legend" by Jed Hoyer, the team's president of baseball operations, after he was non-tendered in 2020. After spending '21 with the Nationals and Red Sox, he inked a four-year deal with Philadelphia in '22. Schwarber led the NL with 46 homers and helped the Phillies win the NL pennant in his first season with the club. Schwarber then clubbed 47 homers for the Phils in '23 and 38 in 2024, marking his sixth season with at least 30 dingers. The three-time All-Star set the MLB single-season record for leadoff homers with 15, eclipsing Alfonso Soriano's mark of 13, which stood since 2003. He was even better in '25, setting career highs with 56 homers, 132 RBIs, a 150 OPS+ and 4.7 WAR while also propelling the National League to a win in the first "swing-off" in All-Star Game history. He capped it off by signing a 5-year, $150 million deal to remain with the Phillies.

Elmer Valo (1921)
The Slovakia native broke into the bigs at 19 years old with the Philadelphia Athletics and played 20 seasons, losing two years (1944-45) to military service. The outfielder finished his career with a healthy .398 on-base percentage.

Lu Blue (1897)
The swtch-hitting first baseman had a steady if unspectacular 13-year career, and ranks second only to the Hall of Famer Thompson among all players born on this date with a career WAR of 37.6. While he never made an All-Star team, Blue received down-ballot MVP votes six times and hit .300 or better five times.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 5? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.