The best baseball players born on Dec. 20

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. 20.

1) Branch Rickey (1881)
Rickey tops this list not for his achievements as a player, but for his numerous contributions as an executive. Among the most noteworthy: his role in developing the modern farm system; opening the first full-time Spring Training facility; his early embrace of statistical analysis; and promoting use of batting cages, pitching machines and batting helmets. Of course, nothing he did was more significant than signing Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, permanently tearing down baseball’s color barrier.

2) Gabby Hartnett (1900)
The Hall of Fame catcher was a six-time All-Star and the 1935 NL MVP Award winner. Hartnett was a remarkably steady presence at backstop for 20 seasons, 19 with the Cubs (three of which he also served as player-manager). “Old Tomato Face” -- nicknamed as such because, as one might guess, he had a large, rosy-complected face -- slashed .297/.370/.489 for his career. He was behind the plate for Babe Ruth’s called shot, though his most memorable career achievement was his 1938 “Homer in the Gloamin’.” With darkness descending upon a pre-lights Wrigley Field, Hartnett’s walk-off shot put the Cubs in first place for good en route to winning the pennant.

3) David Wright (1982)
“Captain America” was the face of the Mets for a decade-plus, during which he made seven All-Star appearances and won a pair of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. He’s the Mets’ all-time leader in numerous categories, including hits, RBIs, total bases and wins above replacement. Wright was an extremely consistent hitter before injuries ended his career, putting up five seasons with an OPS above .900 and a career .296/.376/.491 slash line. He was also selected as the “Face of MLB” by fan vote in 2014.

4) Cecil Cooper (1949)
A five-time All-Star first baseman, Cooper twice led the Majors in RBIs (122 in 1980, 126 in ‘83), winning two Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Sluggers during an excellent 17-year career split between the Red Sox and the Brewers. He also won the 1983 Roberto Clemente Award and has been enshrined in the Milwaukee Brewers’ Wall of Honor, as well as the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. His game-winning hit in Game 5 of the 1982 AL Championship Series gave the Brewers their only World Series berth to date.

5) James Shields (1981)
“Big Game James” displayed remarkable durability throughout his career, making at least 31 starts in 11 of his 13 big league seasons and throwing over 200 innings in 10 of those years. He was an All-Star for the Rays in 2011, when he posted a career-best 2.82 ERA and an MLB-high 11 complete games, ultimately placing third in AL Cy Young Award voting.

Others of note:

Oscar Gamble (1949)
Gamble was a fan favorite in part because of his big personality and his big hair, but he also had a very good 17-year career as an outfielder and designated hitter. Seven of those seasons came with the Yankees, for whom he hit 87 homers and had a 141 OPS+.

Fred Merkle (1888)
Merkle is best remembered today for unfortunate reasons, having committed a baserunning faux pas as a rookie in 1908 that ultimately cost the New York Giants the pennant. (You know a play was bad when it gets its own nickname -- in this case, “Merkle’s Boner.”) But that’s somewhat unfair to the first baseman, whose overall Major League tenure was solid, albeit not exceptional; across parts of 16 seasons, he had a 109 OPS+.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Dec. 20? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.