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 Sept. 2:

1) Albert Spalding (1850)
A pitcher in the National Association from 1871-75 and then in the National League’s inaugural season in 1876, Spalding led each circuit in victories during those six seasons with these decidedly 19th century records: 19-10, 38-8, 41-14, 52-16, 54-5 and 47-12. After leading the Chicago White Stockings to the first NL championship (as both pitcher and manager at the age of 25), he pitched in just four games in 1877 while turning his focus more to managing and other administrative duties, eventually becoming owner.

Though a dominant pitcher in the early days of professional base ball (when it was two words), Spalding was elected to the Hall of Fame as an executive in 1939. His contributions to the game included the sporting goods business he ran with his brother Walter, a series of baseball guides that was published yearly from 1878-1939, an around-the-world tour in 1889 that introduced the game to other countries, and the now-debunked theory that the game was invented in Cooperstown by Abner Doubleday.

2) Monte Pearson (1908)
Seventeen years before Don Larsen pitched the first perfect game in World Series history, Pearson nearly threw the first no-hitter in the Fall Classic. The Yankees right-hander allowed just one walk to the Reds through 7 1/3 innings of Game 2 in 1939 before Ernie Lombardi singled to center to break up the bid. Though he missed out on history that day, just 14 months earlier, Pearson had authored the first no-hitter in Yankee Stadium history in a 13-0 blowout of Cleveland.

The Yankees won every World Series from 1936-39, and Pearson made one start in each one, winning all four outings and inducing 107 of the 108 outs in those games. His cumulative stats in those four Fall Classics: 4-0, 35 2/3 innings, 19 hits, 28 strikeouts, seven walks and five runs (four earned) for a 1.01 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP.

3) George Carr (1894)
A husky (5-foot-11, 200 lbs.) first baseman known as “Tank,” Carr was a member of the 1920 Kansas City Monarchs in the inaugural season of the Negro National League. He led those Monarchs in RBIs (52 in 80 games discovered as of this writing) and was second on the team in total bases. Despite his heft, Carr stole more than 100 bases in Negro Leagues play, surpassing 20 at least three times and leading the Eastern Colored League in 1925 (he also led the circuit in doubles and triples). He and the Hilldale Club won the Negro World Series that year, with Carr contributing a pivotal home run in Game 5 against the Monarchs. Bill James rated Carr as the fifth-best first baseman in the Negro Leagues.

4) Rich Aurilia (1971)
Having spent 12 of his 15 seasons with the Giants, Aurilia retired in 2009 as the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs by a shortstop (since surpassed by Brandon Crawford). Aurilia’s best season came in 2001, when he hit .324/.369/.572 (a .941 OPS and 146 OPS+) and led the NL with 206 hits, batting second in the lineup ahead of Barry Bonds. Named an All-Star for the first and only time in ’01, Aurilia earned a Silver Slugger Award and finished 12th in an MVP vote won by Bonds.

5) Jeff Russell (1983)
The closer of the Sept. 2 birthday boys, Russell saved 186 games in his 14-year career, spending 10 seasons with the Rangers and piling up 134 of those saves. A starter in 1988, Russell went 8-2 with a 3.16 ERA in the first half to earn his first All-Star selection. He never started a game after that season. In ’89, he was an All-Star again as a closer, saving 20 games with a 1.86 ERA in the first half and finishing with an AL-best 38. He’d have three more 30-save seasons before hanging ‘em up after the ’96 season. Jeff’s son James pitched for the Cubs, Braves and Phillies from 2010-16 and married Nikki Witt, the daughter of Jeff’s Texas teammate Bobby Witt.

Others of note:

Marv Throneberry (1933)
“Marvelous Marv” debuted with the Yankees and played for the Kansas City A’s and Orioles before landing with the expansion Mets in May 1962 -- making him the first player to play for both of those New York clubs. He hit 16 homers that year, second on the team in its inaugural season. Though he batted only .237/.311/.416 in seven seasons, perhaps he was destined to leave a mark in his only full season with the Mets. With a middle name of Eugene, his initials are M.E.T.

Willy Adames (1995)
Debuting on May 22, 2018, Adames was the Rays’ starting shortstop for almost exactly four years before Tampa Bay traded him to Milwaukee on May 21, 2021. In 332 games with the Rays, he hit .254/.320/.420, good for a .740 OPS and 102 OPS+. Something clicked when he joined the Brewers, though: Adames finished out the ’21 season hitting .285/.366/.521 (.886 OPS, 135 OPS+) in 99 games. He clubbed 20-plus homers in each of his first three seasons in Milwaukee.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Sept. 2? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.