The best baseball players born on March 27

March 27th, 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 March 27:

1) Buster Posey (1987)
Posey, who retired after the 2021 season, had a baseball career that is Hall of Fame worthy; he ranked 12th among the Giants' franchise in Wins Above Replacement (44.9). Posey did it all in his 12 years in San Francisco, winning Rookie of the Year ('10), National League Most Valuable Player ('12) and guiding the team to three World Series titles ('10, ‘12 and ’14). He also caught three no-hitters -- Matt Cain’s perfect game ('12), Tim Lincecum ('13) and Chris Heston ('15).

2) Miller Huggins (1878)
This Hall of Famer made his mark as a manager, and what a career he had with the Yankees. He won six pennants, three World Series titles and oversaw a lineup that was second to none. That lineup included Hall of Famers like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs and Tony Lazzeri. In 12 years with the Yankees, Huggins won 1,067 games, but his career and life were cut short in 1929, when he died from a rare skin infection. Huggins was 51 years old.

3) Effa Manley (1897)
For her work in baseball, Manley became the first woman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Along with her husband, Abe, Effa was part owner of the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues from 1935-48. Effa did more than own the team -- she was in charge of the team’s business operations; it was her show. It was an era when women were not known to be executives, but Manley was like no other. She was one of the first Negro League executives to receive compensation after one of her players, Monte Irvin, signed with a Major League club -- the New York Giants. Manley assembled her best team in '46, when the Eagles defeated the Kansas City Monarchs in seven games in the Negro League World Series. That Eagles team featured Irvin, Larry Doby, Biz Mackey and Leon Day -- all Hall of Famers.

4) Dick Ruthven (1951)
Ruthven had a solid 14-year career with various teams including the Braves, Phillies and Cubs. He won 123 games and helped the Phillies win a World Series title in 1980. His best outing in the ‘80 postseason occurred in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, when Ruthven pitched the final two innings and helped Philadelphia win, 8-7, in 10 innings over the Astros in the clincher.

5) Bill Sudakis (1946)
Sudakis was a catcher who spent most of his time as a backup from 1968-75. He played for six teams in those eight years. His best year came in '69 with the Dodgers, when he hit .234 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Others of note:

Wes Covington (1932)
This corner outfielder played with Hank Aaron and helped the Milwaukee Braves win two pennants and one World Series title in the late 1950s. Covington had a career that lasted 11 years. Besides the Braves, Covington played largely with the Phillies, including brief stints with the Dodgers, Cubs, A's and White Sox.

Matt Harvey (1989)
It looked like he was going to be the second coming of Tom Seaver after making his debut with the Mets in 2012. He reached his peak in '15, when he guided the Mets to their first National League East Title since '06. That season, Harvey won a career-high 13 games, had 188 strikeouts and won two postseason games. But injuries caught up to him after ‘15. He moved around quite a bit after that, playing for four teams in four seasons after the Mets traded him to the Reds in '18.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.