The best baseball players born on April 26

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 26:

1) Hack Wilson (1900)

Arguably the greatest Rule 5 Draft selection in Cubs history, if not all of MLB history, Wilson went on to become one of the most prolific sluggers in the late 1920s, leading the National League in homers in 1926-28 and 1930, when he clubbed a whopping 56 with 191 RBIs, the latter of which remains the highest all time. His showing that year is still recognized as one of the greatest offensive seasons in big league history. Wilson passed away in 1948 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in ’79. He hit a career .307/.395/.545 (.940 OPS) with 244 homers and 1,063 RBIs while racking up 38.7 wins above replacement, per Baseball-Reference.

2) Aaron Judge (1992)

The Yankees slugger is quickly climbing the WAR leaderboard with those whom he shares a birthday. The 2022 American League MVP holds the all-time AL single-season home run record with his 62 home runs that season. He was the unanimous 2017 American League Rookie of the Year Award winner, and is a five-time All-Star, widely recognized as one of the game’s most feared hitters. Judge hit a homer on his birthday in that ’17 season, when he hit 52 and was also the AL MVP runner-up.

3) Amos Otis (1947)

A 1986 inductee to the Royals Hall of Fame, Otis was known as one of the best center fielders of his era, having won three Gold Glove Awards during his 14 seasons in Kansas City. A fan favorite throughout his time there, he finished among the clubs all-time leaders in hits (1,977), home runs (193), runs scored (1,074), stolen bases (340) and games played (1,891). The five-time All-Star also helped K.C. win its first ever AL West title in 1976 and its first AL pennant in ’80. His 42.8 WAR are the most among any player who shares his birthday.

4) Virgil Trucks (1917)

Trucks twice led the AL in shutouts and was an All-Star in each of those seasons as part of a 17-year career, known best for his time with the Tigers. He also helped Detroit win the 1945 World Series over the Cubs, but not before serving most of that year in the U.S. military for World War II. He was discharged from the Navy just weeks before that year’s Fall Classic, and because of the unique circumstances, MLB waived its Sept. 1 deadline for players to be on a roster in order to participate. Trucks, who passed away in 2013 at age 95, threw two no-hitters during his career also.

5) Mike Scott (1955)

Scott put together one of the more dominant seasons of the 1980s during his NL Cy Young Award winning campaign in ’86, when he led the Majors in ERA (2.22), innings (275 1/3), strikeouts (306), FIP (2.16), WHIP (0.923), hits per nine innings (5.9) and strikeouts per nine (10). He also threw a no-hitter that year, helped the Astros win the NL West and was the NL Championship Series MVP, becoming the first to win the honor despite playing for a team that lost the series. A year later, he was the NL’s starting pitcher for the All-Star Game.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for April 26? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.