The best baseball players born on Aug. 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 Aug. 27:

1) Jim Thome (1970)
Only seven players have hit more home runs than Thome’s career total of 612, and they are a veritable who’s who of all-time sluggers. And yet Thome, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, only led his league in homers one time, when he hit 47 in 2003. One time. That’s a product in part of how consistently good Thome was as a power hitter (nine straight seasons of 30-plus homers), but also how he flew under the radar during a 22-year career that coincided with flashier stars such as Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Thome won only one Silver Slugger Award (1996) and never finished higher than fourth in MVP voting. Still, he’ll always be remembered for his prodigious power, most notably an estimated 511-foot home run that has its own plaque where it landed in Cleveland’s ballpark.

2) Buddy Bell (1951)
The son of Gus Bell and part of one of only four three-generation MLB families, Buddy certainly stepped out of his father’s shadow during his 18-year career. He came into his own upon joining the Rangers in 1979 in a deal that sent Toby Harrah to Cleveland. In Texas, Bell emerged as one of the top three third basemen in baseball at the time, alongside Mike Schmidt and George Brett, making the All-Star Game four times and capturing six consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He racked up more than 2,500 hits over an 18-year career and received MVP votes five times, finishing as high as 10th.

3) Ernie Broglio (1935)
Broglio for Brock. It’s the deal that Cubs and Cardinals fans, bitter rivals as it is, will never forget, both for very different reasons. Broglio was coming off an 18-win season when he was dealt to the Cubs in June of 1964. He’d been a 21-game winner for St. Louis in 1960, when he pitched nine complete games and finished third in Cy Young voting (behind Vern Law and Warren Spahn) and ninth in the NL MVP vote. The Cubs considered it a coup. Bob Smith, a columnist for the Chicago Daily News, wrote: “Thank you, thank you, oh, you lovely St. Louis Cardinals. Nice doing business with you. Please call again anytime.” Hoping to be a Cardinal for life, Broglio was miffed by the deal, and it stung even more when St. Louis went on to win the 1964 World Series. He did not receive a ring or a share of playoff money, but he did pop his own bottle of champagne after the Cardinals won the title and “drank along with them.” Broglio’s career lasted only two more years in Chicago, and Brock of course would go on to win two World Series with the Cardinals and earn induction into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

4) Jose Vidro (1974)
A staple of the Expos’ infield in the years leading up to their move to Washington, Vidro was a three-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner in 2003. He hit .300 or better in five consecutive seasons with Montreal, topping out at .330 in 2000. The switch-hitter, alongside Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, helped navigate the Expos through some dreadful seasons, though he was a part of two winning seasons in 2002 and ’03. Vidro never appeared in the playoffs, but he remains in the top 10 of various offensive categories for the Montreal/Washington franchise, including tied for second in batting average (.301), trailing only Guerrero.

5) Joe Cunningham (1931)
Sometimes referred to as “the man with a thousand batting stances,” Cunningham was a savvy, hard-working hitter who would adjust his stance based on the pitcher he was facing. “The pitchers didn’t know what the hell was going on,” Bill White once said of Cunningham’s tweaks in the box. With a nose for getting on base, Cunningham finished his 12-year career with a .403 OBP, which puts him in the top 60 on the all-time list. He was an All-Star with the Cardinals in 1959, when he hit .345 and finished second only to Hank Aaron in the batting title race.

Others of note:

Peanuts Lowrey (1917)
The diminutive Lowrey stood in at 5-8, 170 pounds but managed a solid 13-year career in the Majors with his best seasons coming with the Cubs from 1945-47, including an All-Star appearance in 1946. But Peanuts was in the spotlight long before that as a child actor on the “Our Gang” comedies, some of which were filmed on his grandfather’s farm.

Luis E. Tiant (1906)
A legend on the barnstorming circuit, the elder Tiant carved out an impressive and lengthy career between Cuba, the Negro Leagues, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. His son, who carried the same name, was one of the greatest pitchers to call Cuba home, winning two ERA titles across his 19-year career.

Phil Collins (1901)
No, not the “In the Air Tonight” singer. We’re talking about Fidgety Phil Collins, who lasted eight years in the Majors and won 80 games. The, er, genesis of his nickname, which is written on his gravestone, is unclear.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Aug. 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.