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 Nov. 12:
1) Moonlight Graham (1876)
Perhaps the most well-known cup of coffee player in baseball history, Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham’s story was famously dramatized first in W.P. Kinsella’s novel “Shoeless Joe” and then in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.” Graham made his lone Major League appearance for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905, replacing George Browne in right field in an 11-0 win over the Brooklyn Superbas; he did not have the opportunity to make a play on defense or have an at-bat. Note that there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding Graham's birth date and year, though most major sources list it as Nov. 12.
2) Sammy Sosa (1968)
Sosa, who played for 18 seasons with the Rangers, White Sox, Cubs and Orioles, is best known for his part in 1998’s thrilling home run race with Mark McGwire as well as the controversy that surrounded him following his appearance in a 2005 Congressional hearing on performance-enhancing drugs. Sosa finished the ’98 campaign with 66 homers to McGwire’s 70 and again reached the 60-HR milestone in ’99 and ’01. His 609 career home runs rank ninth on the all-time leaderboard.
3) Charlie Morton (1983)
After being drafted by the Braves in 2002 and making his MLB debut with the team in ’08, Morton spent seven seasons with Pittsburgh and then had stints with Philadelphia, Houston and Tampa Bay before returning to Atlanta in its 2021 World Series title campaign. Morton -- a two-time All-Star -- started Game 1 of that Fall Classic but exited his scoreless outing 16 pitches after a Yuli Gurriel comebacker struck and fractured his right fibula to end his postseason. The Braves’ championship was Morton’s second; he also won a title with the Astros in ‘17. Morton added another 14-win season in '23 with Atlanta, and he split last season with the Orioles and Tigers before returning to Atlanta to retire with the Braves.
4) Marcell Ozuna (1990)
A three-time All-Star who debuted with the Marlins in 2013, Ozuna took his game to another level '17, when he hit 37 homers with 124 RBIs while posting a .924 OPS and a 5.7 WAR and winning both Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. Ozuna signed as a free agent with the Braves in January 2020 and immediately led the NL in homers (18) and RBIs (56) during that COVID-shortened season. He also put together back-to-back huge years with Atlanta in 2023 and '24, hitting 40 and 39 homers, respectively, while collecting triple-digit RBI totals and an OPS of above .900 each season.
5) Ed Killian (1876)
Killian notably gave up only nine home runs during his eight seasons in the Majors, and in fact went 1,001 innings -- the span between Sept. 19, 1903, and Aug. 7, 1907 -- without allowing a homer. The left-hander spent most of his career with the Tigers, twice winning 20 games (23 in 1905; 25 in ’07) and helping Detroit to three consecutive American League pennants (1907-09).
Others of note:
Carl Mays (1891)
A four-time World Series champion during a 15-year career with the Red Sox, Yankees, Reds and Giants, the righty submariner was a teammate of Babe Ruth's during The Bambino's final seasons in Boston and his early years in the Bronx, but he wasn't just riding the legendary slugger's coattails. Mays won 21 or more games four times from 1917-21, including a league-high 27 with New York in '21. His career WAR of 51.3 ranks second to Sosa (58.6) amongst all players born on Nov. 12.
Bruce Bochte (1950)
Bochte played exclusively in the American League during his 12-season career, mostly with the California Angels and the Seattle Mariners. The first baseman/outfielder’s best campaign came with Seattle in 1979, when he batted .316 with 100 RBIs to earn an All-Star selection; that was also the year he and Tom Paciorek coined the term The Mendoza Line in reference to Mariners teammate Mario Mendoza’s batting average.
Want to see more baseball birthdays for Nov. 12? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.