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 June 5.
1) Jack Chesbro (1874)
Chesbro gets the nod because he's the only Hall of Famer born on June 5 and he also was the leader in bWAR with 42.7 over an 11-year career that spanned from 1899-1909. In 1904, while pitching for the New York Highlanders of the American League, Chesbro went 41-12 with a 1.82 ERA in 55 games (51 starts). The right-hander tossed 48 complete games that year as the Highlanders finished second in the AL with 92 wins. Chesbro was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Old Timers' Committee.
2) Ray Lankford (1967)
Lankford was a center fielder on some really good Cardinals teams in the 1990s and spent 13 seasons in St. Louis and two in San Diego. He had his best offensive campaign in 1997, when he slashed .295/.411/.585 and made his only All-Star Game appearance starting in center field for the NL. One year later, he was nearly as good while primarily hitting behind Mark McGwire, who set a new single-season home run record of 70. Lankford was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2018.
3) Eddie Joost (1916)
Joost put together a 17-year big league career with the Reds, Boston Braves, Philadelphia Athletics and the Red Sox from 1936-55. The shortstop was named to two All-Star teams (1949 and '52) while finishing in the top 15 in the AL Most Valuable Player Award voting five times. Joost served as player-manager for the A's in '54, hitting .362 in just 47 at-bats while the A's finished 51-103. Joost was fired by the A's and finished his career in '55 with the Red Sox.
4) Joe Ryan (1996)
As Ryan celebrates his 30th birthday, he's already cracked the top five in WAR for players born on this date with a 12.8 mark. A seventh-round pick by the Rays in 2018, Ryan was sent to the Twins as part of the Nelson Cruz trade at the '21 Trade Deadline. He made his big league debut a little more than a month later as a September callup and has been one of the anchors of the Minnesota rotation since. He enjoyed a breakout season in '22, notching 13 wins with a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts, and Ryan earned his first All-Star berth in '25.
5) Duke Sims (1941)
Primarily a catcher, Sims also played some outfield during an 11-year career from 1964-74 with the Indians, Dodgers, Yankees, Tigers and Rangers. Sims was the Indians' catcher from 1964-70, working with some outstanding Cleveland pitching staffs including Sam McDowell. Sims' best season came in 1968, when he slashed .249/.366/.399 for an OPS+ of 133.
Want to see more baseball birthdays for June 5? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.