The best baseball players born on April 14

April 14th, 2024

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 14.

1) Greg Maddux (1966)
Maddux was one of the best pitchers of the Modern Era and a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2014. His 106.6 WAR ranks eighth all-time for a starting pitcher. He won four straight Cy Young awards from 1992 to 1995, won four ERA titles, earned eight All-Star nods and won a whopping 18 Gold Glove Awards.

2) Pete Rose (1941)
With 4,256 hits across his 24-year career, Rose is MLB’s all-time hits leader. He also holds the crown for most games played, most at-bats and most plate appearances. Surprisingly enough, Rose led the league in batting average only three times during his career and ended his career with a .303 average.

3) David Justice (1966)
One of three members of the World Series-winning 1995 Braves team born on April 14, Justice was one of the top hitters during the '90s. Justice took home the 1990 NL Rookie of the Year Award and two Silver Slugger awards, was named an All-Star three times and swatted 234 home runs during the decade.

4) Brad Ausmus (1969)
Despite being drafted in the 48th round of the 1987 Draft, Ausmus has managed to carve out a career in baseball that’s lasted over 30 years. He won three Gold Glove awards behind the plate during his 18-year playing career. He also managed the Tigers from 2014 to 2017, leading them to the playoffs in his first season, and the Angels in 2019.

5) Steve Avery (1970)
Maddux’s rotation mate from 1993 to 1996, Avery was a key piece in the Braves’ 1995 World Series run. Despite his 4.19 career ERA, Avery turned it up a notch in the playoffs with an ERA of just 2.90.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for April 14? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.