The best baseball players born on May 16

May 16th, 2022

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 May 16:

1) (1949)
It might be controversial to rank Reuschel No. 1 here over a Hall of Famer in Jack Morris, but there’s a pretty good argument that Reuschel had a better career. For one thing, Reuschel leads Morris by 26 wins above replacement (69.5 vs. 43.5, according to Baseball Reference), despite playing just one more season. And Reuschel’s 19-year career was a fine one, featuring three All-Star selections and two Gold Glove Awards. On Aug. 21, 1975, Reuschel and his older brother, Paul, combined on a shutout for the Cubs against the Dodgers, making them the only pair of brothers in AL/NL history to combine on a shutout. Since retirement, he has been honored with enshrinement in the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame and the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame.

2) Jack Morris (1955)
Morris being No. 2 here doesn’t mean his career wasn’t plenty impressive. The Hall of Famer and five-time All-Star won four World Series rings -- including 1991, when he was named the Twins’ World Series MVP. Morris sealed Game 7 of that Fall Classic by firing a 10-inning shutout, striking out eight vs. the Braves. He threw a no-hitter for the Tigers vs. the White Sox on April 7, 1984, and has his No. 47 retired by Detroit, with whom he spent 14 of his 18 big league seasons.

3) Rick Rhoden (1953)
The right-hander was a two-time All-Star, his selections coming at very different stages in his career -- the first in 1976 at age 23, when he posted a 2.98 ERA for the Dodgers; the second in '86 at age 33, when he had a 2.84 ERA for the Pirates. As solid as he was on the mound, Rhoden could also swing the bat a bit, winning a pair of Silver Slugger Awards and hitting nine career home runs. Rhoden continued to stay athletically active after retiring from baseball in '89, becoming a professional golfer and making several Champions Tour appearances.

4) Watty Clark (1902)
A southpaw, Clark pitched parts of 12 seasons in the Majors mostly with the Brooklyn Dodgers (322 games). He received MVP votes for his 1931 campaign, finishing 20th in NL balloting after recording a 3.20 ERA across 34 games (28 starts) with a 14-10 record.

5) Mitch Webster (1959)
Webster, an outfielder, played for six teams over the course of his 13-year career, including parts of four seasons for the Expos and parts of five for the Dodgers. With Montreal in 1986, he led the National League in triples with 13. The Larned, Kan., native is a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for May 16? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.