The best baseball players born on Aug. 23

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 Aug. 23.

1) Julio Franco (1958)
Franco might be the most interesting man in the world. The three-time All-Star debuted for the 1982 Phillies club, which featured Pete Rose and Steve Carlton. He retired at 48 years old, after playing for the 2007 Braves, who employed Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann. The ageless wonder earned three All-Star selections and captured five Silver Slugger Awards from 1988-94. He played in just one MLB game from 1998-2000. But the Braves signed him out of the Mexican League near the end of the 2001 season and he ended up hitting .285 with a .771 OPS while adding another 1,618 plate appearances to his career total.

2) George Kell (1922)
Kell was a 10-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame by a Veterans Committee in 1983. The sure-handed third baseman debuted for the Philadelphia Athletics at the end of the 1943 season and became one of the game’s top players while playing for the Tigers from 1946-52. He won the 1948 American League batting title by a fraction of percentage points over Ted Williams, who consequently was denied his third Triple Crown.

3) George Davis (1870)
A Veterans Committee elected Davis to the Hall of Fame in 1998, 89 years after the former infielder last played in a Major League game. Davis was one of the game’s best switch-hitters during the 1890s and he was ahead of his time in that he was a power-hitting shortstop. His offensive production steadily decreased after he turned 30, but he did help the White Sox win the 1906 World Series. His Hall of Fame candidacy was strengthened by Bill James’ book The Politics of Glory, which evaluated the merits of those who were and were not enshrined in Cooperstown.

4) Ron Blomberg (1948)
Blomberg became the first designated hitter in MLB history when the Yankees utilized him in this role during their 1973 Opening Day game against the Red Sox. Blomberg hit .293 with a .832 OPS and an impressive 140 OPS+ over eight Major League seasons. But he never totaled more than 341 plate appearances during any season of his injury-plagued career.

5) Tyler Glasnow (1993)
Traded from the Rays to the Dodgers before the 2024 season, Glasnow then signed a five-year, $136 million contract with Los Angeles. In his first season out West, he set career highs in games started, innings and strikeouts -- along with making his first All-Star team.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Aug. 23? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.