The best baseball players born on Dec. 15

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 Dec. 15:

1) Mo Vaughn (1967)
The 1995 AL MVP, Vaughn was one of the dominant hitters in MLB from 1993-2000. In those eight seasons, he had six with 30-plus homers, six with 100-plus RBIs and three top-five MVP finishes (including the top honor in ’95). Known for his imposing presence at the plate and towering homers, Vaughn led the Red Sox to two postseason berths. He finished his career with 328 dingers, including 230 with Boston, seventh in franchise history. Vaughn was also one of the last MLB players to wear No. 42 before MLB retired the number in perpetuity to honor Jackie Robinson.

2) Stan Bahnsen (1944)
Bahnsen played on the Yankees during a rare period of struggles for one of MLB’s iconic franchises. The Yankees didn’t make the postseason from 1965-75, but one of the few highlights was Bahnsen’s 1968 AL Rookie of the Year campaign, when he went 17-12 with a 2.05 ERA. He never reached that level of dominance again. In fact, that was his only year with a sub-3.00 ERA. But he did have an impressive career, winning 146 games over 16 seasons, finishing with a 3.60 career ERA.

3) Rick Helling (1970)
In 1998, Helling led MLB with 20 wins, the first of five straight years of double-digit victories. Helling was reliable, making 30-plus starts during those five years, including an MLB-best 35 in 1999 and 2000. He also was a member of the 2002 World Series champion Florida Marlins, making one appearance in the Fall Classic. In 2006 (his final season in the Majors), he threw an immaculate inning.

4) Art Howe (1946)
Howe played 11 years in the Majors, and even had an 18th-place showing in the 1981 MVP voting thanks to a career-best .365 on-base percentage. What he’s more remembered for, however, was a long managerial career. He served as the skipper for the Astros, A’s and Mets over 14 seasons.

5) Jonathan India (1996)
India’s debut season was tremendous as he won the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year, taking home 29 of 30 first-place votes after belting 21 homers and getting on base at a .376 clip. India also made a smooth transition to second base after spending most of his Minor League career at third. He spent four seasons with Cincinnati before he was acquired by Kansas City in a trade after the 2024 season.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Dec. 15? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.