The best baseball players born on Aug. 28

August 28th, 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 Aug. 28.

1) (1950)
Known as “Gator” and “Louisiana Lightning,” Guidry was a four-time All-Star and a three-time 20-game winner who captured two World Series titles with the Yankees. He produced one of the most dominant pitching seasons in Major League history in 1978, when he went 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA to unanimously win the American League Cy Young Award. That year, Guidry also set new franchise records with nine shutouts, 248 strikeouts and 18 strikeouts in a single game (June 17 vs. the Angels) -- a performance that first inspired fans to stand and clap for a strikeout when the opposing batter got to two strikes.

A five-time Gold Glove winner, Guidry served as a Yankees' co-captain from 1985 through his retirement. In 2003, the Yankees dedicated a plaque to him in Monument Park and retired his uniform number (No. 49).

2) Tony González (1936)
A native of Central Cunagua, Cuba, González broke into the Majors with the Reds, but he appeared in only 39 games before being traded to the Phillies as part of a five-player deal on June 15, 1960. González enjoyed the best years of his career as an outfielder in Philadelphia, batting .302 with a career-high 20 home runs and 63 RBIs over 118 games in 1962. He drew National League MVP votes three times over his 12-year career, including in 1967, when he hit .339 to finish runner-up to Roberto Clemente in the race for the NL batting title.

3) Mike Torrez (1946)
Acquired from the A’s on April 27, 1977, Torrez played a pivotal role in helping the Yankees win it all that season. The veteran right-hander from Topeka, Kansas, went 14-12 with a 3.82 ERA over 31 regular-season starts in the Bronx, but he saved his best work for October. Torrez tossed two complete games to help the Yankees defeat the Dodgers in the 1977 World Series, earning the winning decision in the decisive Game 6 at Yankee Stadium. Torrez went on to sign a seven-year, $2.5 million deal with the rival Red Sox, but his first season in Boston ended in infamy, as he surrendered the go-ahead home run to Bucky Dent in the seventh inning of the 1978 tiebreaker game against the Yankees.

4) (1943)
“Sweet Lou” was a fan favorite in Kansas City, where he hit .282 with 11 home runs and 68 RBIs in the Royals’ inaugural 1969 season to earn AL Rookie of the Year honors. He delivered his lone All-Star campaign in 1972 before being traded to the Yankees in exchange for Lindy McDaniel the following year. Piniella spent the final 11 years of his playing career in New York, winning back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. He later transitioned into coaching, becoming a three-time Manager of the Year, capturing the 1990 World Series with the Reds and accumulating 1,835 wins, which ranks 16th on the all-time list.

5) Ryan Madson (1980)
A ninth-round Draft pick of the Phillies in 1998, Madson spent the first nine seasons of his career as a reliever in Philadelphia, where he won his first World Series title in 2008. He briefly retired from baseball after a difficult recovery from Tommy John surgery in 2012, but he made a successful comeback with the Royals in 2015, when he captured his second World Series ring. Madson made 57 postseason pitching appearances over his 13-year career, second on the all-time list behind Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.

Others of note:

Dode Paskert (1881)
Known as one of the finest defensive center fielders of the Deadball Era, Paskert batted .268 over his 15-year career with the Reds, Phillies and Cubs. He enjoyed his best season with the Phillies in 1912, when he batted a career-high .315 with 36 stolen bases to place 14th in NL MVP voting.

Joe Yeager (1875)
Yeager was a two-way player for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas, Tigers, Yankees and St. Louis Browns during his 10-year career in the Majors. He split his time primarily between third base and pitcher and is credited with inventing the squeeze play in 1898 in Brooklyn.

(1982)
A 2003 first-round Draft pick out of Stanford, Quentin earned two All-Star selections over his nine-year career with the D-backs, White Sox and Padres. He won a Silver Slugger Award and placed fifth in AL MVP voting in 2008, when he hit .288 with 36 home runs and 100 RBIs over 130 games with Chicago.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Aug. 28? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.