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 July 18.

1) Joe Torre (1940)
Would you like to talk about Torre the player first or Torre the manager? Both resumes are impressive. Let’s go in chronological order. As a player, Torre was so good at one point that he was the MVP of the National League, leading the Majors with 230 hits, 137 RBIs and a .363 average for the 1971 Cardinals. Over 18 seasons, Torre hit .297 with 252 homers and an .817 OPS. Good, but not quite Hall of Fame stuff. He took care of that as a manager, guiding the Yankees to six AL pennants and four World Series titles. Mr. Torre, as Derek Jeter always called him, led a team that was dynastic, winning four titles in five years, including three in a row from 1998-2000.

2) Torii Hunter (1975)

The friendly right-handed hitter had a tremendous and underrated career, belting 353 homers and making the All-Star team five times in his 19-year career. His best trait was his defense. Hunter, a gifted center fielder, won nine Gold Glove Awards. Hunter never got to a World Series, but was a regular in postseason competition, playing October baseball in 11 series over eight seasons for the Twins, Angels and Tigers.

3) Mike Greenwell (1963)

Overshadowed by teammates like Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans, Greenwell had a rock-solid career – all of it spent with the Red Sox from 1985-96. Nicknamed “The Gator”, Greenwell finished second behind Jose Canseco in the 1988 AL MVP race. That became controversial decades later when Canseco admitted he was on steroids that year, and Greenwell lobbied unsuccessfully to have MLB give him the trophy retroactively. Greenwell consistently barreled the baseball in a 12-year career, slashing .303/.368/.463 with 275 doubles and 130 homers.

4) Ben Sheets (1978)
The 10th overall pick in the 1999 Draft never quite turned into the stud the Brewers projected, and much of that was due to injuries. But the righty still had his share of solid moments and made four All-Star teams. Though you’d never know it by his 12-14 record, the best season Sheets had was 2004, when he had career-bests in ERA (2.70) and strikeouts (264).

5) Eugenio Suárez (1991)

A strikeout machine, Suárez makes up for it with his power. In 2019, he hammered 49 homers for the Reds. Though he hit below the Mendoza line at .198 in ’21, Suárez still managed to hit 31 homers. He was traded to the Mariners prior to the start of the 2022 season and slugged another 31 homers as Seattle ended its 21-year playoff drought.

Others of note

Allen Craig (1984)

Though Craig fell off the map far earlier than anyone expected due to a troublesome foot injury he never recovered from, the right-handed hitter had some unforgettable October moments for the World Series champion Cardinals in 2011. Craig wasn’t a big power hitter, but he knew how to drive in runs, finishing with 92 RBIs in ’12 and 97 more for the NL pennant-winning Cards of ’13.

Rudy May (1944)

There’s something to be said for longevity and versatility. May had both as a lefty swingman who pitched for 16 years and won 152 games – 24 of them shutouts. May had two stints with the Yankees totaling seven years. He also pitched for the Angels for seven years and had short stints with the Expos and Orioles.

Harry Davis (1873)

A key contributor during the “Dead Ball” era, Davis clearly roared his way to 28 triples for the Pirates in 1897. He lead the league in homers four times, but never hit more than 12.

Johnny Hopp (1916)

A left-handed hitter, Hopp had a habit for playing on winning teams over his career of 1,393 games. The lifetime .296 hitter won it all twice with the Cardinals (1942 and ’44) and twice more for the Yankees (’50, ’51).

Want to see more baseball birthdays for July 18? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.