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 Jan. 7:

1) Johnny Mize (1913)
Mize is the only Hall of Famer born on Jan. 7. Over his 15-year career, Mize was an All-Star 10 times and was one of the game’s premier hitters with a career .313 average and .959 OPS. He was a key cog in for the Yankees in the twilight of his career, as he helped the team win five straight World Series titles from 1949 to ‘53. He could have ended his career with even more accolades as well, but instead served three years in the United States military during World War II.

2) Jon Lester (1984)
Lester has done it all in his 16-plus years in the Majors. He’s won three World Series titles with the Red Sox and Cubs, tossed over 2,700 innings and been top-five in Cy Young award voting three times. His efforts in 2016 will go down in history, as he tossed 202.2 innings with a 2.44 ERA en route to the Cubs' first World Series victory in 108 years, earning NLCS MVP honors in the process.

3) Alvin Dark (1922)
Dark was the 1948 Rookie of the Year, beating out Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn. That same year, he came in third in NL MVP award voting, thanks to his .322 average that season. Dark went on to enjoy a solid big league career, earning three All-Star nods and one other top-five MVP finish in 1954, a season where he won his lone World Series ring with the New York Giants.

4) Edwin Encarnación (1983)
One of the premier home run hitters of the 2010s, Encarnación blasted 335 homers and made three All-Star teams during the decade. His finest work came during the 2016 season, when Encarnación led the league with 127 RBIs and tied his career-high with 42 long balls on the year. He added an additional nine RBIs and three homers as the Blue Jays surged to the ALCS as a Wild Card team before falling to Cleveland in five games.

5) Alfonso Soriano (1976)
Soriano had one of the most impressive seven-year peaks that baseball has ever seen. From 2002 to ‘08, Soriano made seven straight All-Star teams, won four Silver Slugger awards and had four 30-30 seasons, including a 40-40 season in ‘06 with Washington. He almost had another 40-40 season in his second full season in the big leagues as well, coming one home run short.

Others of note:

Francisco Rodríguez (1982)
K-Rod was one of the games most feared closers from 2002 to ‘17 and holds the single-season saves record after he shut the door for the Angels 62 times during the ‘08 season.

Ozzie Albies (1997)
The switch-hitting second baseman had one heck of a 2021 season, winning the World Series with Atlanta and earning his second career All-Star selection and Silver Slugger award. In 2023, Albies hit 33 homers with 109 RBIs, was selected as an All-Star for the third time in his career and earned All-MLB Second Team honors for the second time in his career.

Tony Conigliaro (1945)
Before injuries derailed his career, Conigliaro was one of the game’s most promising young players. His 24 home runs at 19 years old are still an MLB record for the most home runs hit by a teenager.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Jan. 7? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.