The best baseball players born on April 1

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 April 1:

1) Phil Niekro (1939)

The Hall of Fame (Class of 1997) knuckleballer won 318 games over a 24-year career with the Braves, Yankees, Cleveland and Blue Jays. A five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner, his wins combined with Joe Niekro's 221 are the most victories (539) by any brother combination in history.

Niekro's knuckler (his nickname was "Knucksie") was so good, even some of the game's best hitters couldn't solve it:

"Trying to hit that thing is a miserable way to make a living," said all-time MLB hits leader Pete Rose.

"Trying to hit Phil Niekro is like trying to eat jello with chopsticks. Sometimes you get a piece but most of the time you get hungry," said Bobby Murcer.

Niekro died on Dec. 27, 2020.

2) Rusty Staub (1944)

Staub played 23 seasons in the Majors with the Astros, Expos, Mets, Tigers and Rangers -- and was a fan favorite at every stop.

Staub is 14th on the all-time list in games played and is the only player in history to collect 500 hits with four different teams.

While playing in Montreal, the red-haired Staub was dubbed "Le Grand Orange" by sportswriter Ted Blackman of the Montreal Gazette after he starred in a win that broke a 20-game losing streak for the Expos.

Staub had 11 hits in the 1973 World Series for the Mets, who fell to the A's in seven games.

3) Sidd Finch (1985, fictitious)

Sidd Finch was the subject of the notorious Sports Illustrated article on April Fools' Day in 1985. "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" was written by George Plimpton about a Mets player named Hayden Siddhartha "Sidd" Finch -- raised in an English orphanage, a yoga master and amazing french horn player -- who could throw as fast as 168 miles per hour.

The article had photographs of Finch, played by a man named Joe Berton, including ones featuring Mets players and coaches. The Mets played along with the hoax, even providing a uniform for "Finch."

The story was so convincing, despite how preposterous it all was, that fans refused to believe it wasn't true.

"The funny thing is, people believed it. Everybody was talking about it, long after the truth got out," said Mel Stottlemyre, the Mets' pitching coach in the spring of '85 (and he appeared in photos alongside Finch). "The story was far-fetched, but I think the timing was right, because we had good pitching. Ron Darling. Dwight Gooden, who threw in the 90s, and had come up from nowhere too. Fans would call out: 'When's Sidd pitching?' I'd have to say something. 'Not ready yet! Soon, though!' "

4) Daniel Murphy (1985)

Murphy was a three-time All-Star -- once for the Mets, twice for the Nationals -- a two-time Silver Slugger at second base and the National League MVP runner-up in 2016 while with Washington. He's most famous for his historic postseason run in 2015 with the Mets, when he crushed seven home runs, including homering in a record six straight games, to lead New York to the NL pennant.

5) Ron Perranoski (1936)

Perranoski was a closer for both the Dodgers (1961-67) and Twins (1968-71) before the term became popular. Following his 13-year career as an active player, Perranoski served as a Minor League pitching instructor for the Dodgers (1975-80) and proceeded to serve as the Dodgers’ pitching coach from 1981-94. During his tenure, Los Angeles ranked first or second eight times among National League clubs. His staffs also led the Majors in ERA five times (1982, '83, '85, '89 and '91).

Others of note

Jeff Heath (1915): In 1938, Heath's batting average of .343 was second in the league behind Jimmie Foxx, and his 1941 batting average of .340 was fourth in the league. He was in the top 10 in slugging four times while with Cleveland, and in the top 10 in home runs three times in that period. He made All-Star teams in 1941 and 1943.

John Axford (1983): Axford was the NL leader in saves in 2011, converting 46 for the Brewers. Before his career took off, Axford worked as a cell phone salesman and bartender in Canada.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for April 1? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.