The best baseball players born on Sept. 27
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. 27.
1) Mike Schmidt (1949)
So that whole disclaimer above about this list being subjective? You can forget that for the top spot. It is indisputable that honor belongs to one person: Michael Jack Schmidt.
A member of the 500-HR club, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest third basemen in history, Schmidt made an indelible mark on MLB during his brilliant 18-year career. The 12-time All-Star played his entire career in Philadelphia, where he led the Phillies to the 1980 World Series title, winning WS MVP in the process. Schmidt was a three-time NL MVP and won 10 Gold Gloves.
2) Whit Wyatt (1907)
Wyatt had a stellar career, playing from 1929-45, but it did not have the standard trajectory. Over the first nine years of his career, he pitched in the American League (primarily with the Tigers and White Sox) and went 26-43 with a 5.22 ERA. Then, in 1938, he was sent to the Minors. He returned to MLB in 1939 as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a completely different pitcher. Over the next six seasons, he went 80-45 with a 2.86 ERA, and made four All-Star teams. In 1941, he led the NL in wins (22) and was the winning pitcher in the Dodgers’ only win in the World Series vs. the Yankees. He also gained a reputation as a head-hunter. Joe DiMaggio called him “the meanest guy I ever saw.”
3) Mamie Johnson (1935)
Johnson was one of three women -- the first female pitcher -- to play in the Negro Leagues. Johnson was known as “Peanut" during her career due to her 5-foot-3, 98-pound frame and compiled a 33-8 record in her three seasons with the Indianapolis Clowns. She was also a two-way player, and while reports aren’t official, she’s believed to have hit between .260 and .285 in her career. Negro Leagues historian Larry Lester said of Johnson: “She was a history maker, without a doubt. Major League Baseball broke the racial barrier and the Negro Leagues broke the gender barrier.”
4) Jon Garland (1979)
A towering presence at 6-6, 210 pounds, Garland helped the White Sox win the World Series title in 2005 when he had the best season of his career. During the 2005 postseason -- the only time Garland pitched in the playoffs -- he made two terrific starts. In the 2005 ALCS, he earned the win in a complete game vs. the Angels in Game 3, allowing just two runs. In the World Series against the Astros, the righty allowed just two runs over seven strong innings in Game 3, which Chicago ultimately won in 14 innings en route to their sweep. Garland compiled an 18-10 record, finished sixth in the AL Cy Young voting and made the only All-Star appearance of his solid 13-year career in that memorable 2005 campaign. After playing his first eight seasons with the White Sox, Garland bounced around to five other teams over the last five years of his career.
5) Vicente Padilla (1977)
In his 14-year career, Padilla had his best campaign in 2002, when he made the All-Star Game as a member of the Phillies, going 14-11 with a 3.28 ERA. Padilla had a feisty side and sometimes found himself in the middle of controversy and benches-clearing brawls. He led the AL with 17 hit batters in 2006, and hit 106 batters in his career, 70th all time.
Want to see more baseball birthdays for Sept. 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.