The best baseball players born on April 11

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 11.

1) Bret Saberhagen (1964)
A pitcher can't be much more successful than Saberhagen was in 1985. At the age of 21 and only in his second MLB season, the right-hander went 20-6 with a 2.87 ERA in 32 starts for the Royals to win the American League Cy Young Award. He went on to help lead Kansas City to its first World Series championship in franchise history, which included him going 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA over two Fall Classic starts to earn Series MVP. He threw a five-hit shutout in Game 7 against the Cardinals, helping the Royals complete the comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Saberhagen had a successful 16-year big league career that included three All-Star selections and another AL Cy Young Award in 1989.

2) Mark Teixeira (1980)
Teixeira's 409 career home runs are the fifth most by a switch-hitter in AL/NL history, and he's in elite company. The four who rank ahead of him are Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504), Chipper Jones (468) and Carlos Beltrán (435). A three-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger and five-time Gold Glover, Teixeira was a prolific power hitter during his 14-year big league career in which he played for the Rangers, Braves, Angels and Yankees. His best season was his first in New York in 2009, when he led the AL in homers (39), RBIs (122) and total bases (344). He finished second in AL MVP Award voting that year behind the Twins' Joe Mauer, and he helped the Yanks win the World Series.

3) Jason Varitek (1972)
Varitek was one of the faces of the legendary Red Sox team that ended the "Curse of the Bambino" by winning the World Series in 2004. The switch-hitting catcher became Boston's captain in '05, a role he served in until his retirement at the end of the '11 season and one that had previously been held by Hall of Famers such as Jim Rice (1985-89), Carl Yastrzemski (1966, 1969-83) and Jimmie Foxx (1940-42). Varitek spent his entire 15-year career with the Red Sox, leading them to another World Series title in 2007. His best season came in '05, when he earned one of his three career All-Star selections and won both the AL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. Varitek also caught four no-hitters in his career, an AL/NL record he shares with Carlos Ruiz.

4) Trot Nixon (1974)
Nixon became a fan favorite over his 10 seasons with the Red Sox from 1996-2006, as he became revered for his hard-working attitude and scrappy style of play. He was a reliable right fielder who put up consistently solid numbers for most of his time in Boston. He missed some time due to injury during the Red Sox's magical '04 season, but he returned to make an impact during their incredible postseason run. In Game 4 of the World Series against St. Louis, Nixon had three doubles and two RBIs in Boston's 3-0 win that capped its sweep.

5) Kelvim Escobar (1976)
Escobar had a solid 12-year big league career in which he recorded 101 wins and posted a 4.15 ERA in 411 games (202 starts). In 2007, at age 31, he won a career-high 18 games and posted a 3.40 ERA in 30 starts for the Angels. However, he made only one more MLB appearance after that as shoulder injuries cut his career short. Escobar has four cousins who also reached the big leagues -- Ronald Acuña Jr., Vicente Campos, Alcides Escobar and Edwin Escobar.

Others of note:
Cavan Biggio (1995)
The son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, the younger Biggio reached the big leagues in 2019, alongside fellow Blue Jays legacy standouts Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Biggio finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting after hitting .234/.364/.429 with 16 homers and 48 RBIs in 100 games.

Kenta Maeda (1988)
Maeda impressed as a rookie with the Dodgers in 2016, going 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts and finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The right-hander has also pitched for the Twins and Tigers.

Barney McCosky (1917)
McCosky's big league career spanned from 1939-53, but he missed three seasons from 1943-45 while serving for the United States Navy in World War II. He batted .312/.386/.414 in 1,170 career games.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for April 11? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.