The best baseball players born on Dec. 4

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. 4:

1) Jesse Burkett (1868)
A skilled hitter who was known for his cantankerous and confrontational demeanor on the field (and therefore nicknamed “The Crab”), Burkett had a .338 average and 2,850 hits over his 16-year career. At just 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds, Burkett was known for his ability to foul off pitches and was considered one of the era’s most skilled bunters. He won two NL batting titles with the Cleveland Spiders -- hitting .405 and .410 in 1895 and 1896, respectively -- and added a third in 1901 with the St. Louis Cardinals (.376). Burkett was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946.

2) Lee Smith (1957)
One of the greatest closers in baseball history who ranks third in all-time saves with 478, Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. He spent 18 seasons in the big leagues, pitching for the Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox, Angels, Expos, Reds, Yankees and Orioles. Smith’s career numbers include a 3.03 ERA, 802 games finished, 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings and 169 saves of at least four outs. He finished in the top five of the Cy Young vote three times.

3) Harvey Kuenn (1930)
Kuenn's best years came during his seven full seasons in Detroit, where he was voted Rookie of the Year in 1953, was an All-Star every year and won the batting title in 1959 (.353). While he only tallied double-digit homers twice in his 15-year career, Kuenn could get on base with regularity. He led the AL in doubles three times, topped the AL in hits four times and consistently had more walks than strikeouts. In June of 1982, Kuenn took over as manager of the Brewers after the firing of Buck Rodgers. Milwaukee would go 72-43 under Kuenn to finish with 95 wins, eventually reaching the World Series, with the hard-hitting club being dubbed “Harvey’s Wallbangers.”

4) Blake Snell (1992)
The lefty is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, and one of just seven pitchers to win the award in both the AL and NL. Snell was honored with his second Cy Young Award after posting the lowest ERA in the Majors in 2023 while pitching for the Padres. In 2018, after proclaiming to Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder at the start of the season that he would win the Cy Young Award, Snell went out and accomplished his goal, delivering one of the most dazzling pitching campaigns of all time. He set Rays franchise records for a starting pitcher with a 1.89 ERA and 21 wins, while racking up 221 strikeouts and finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting.

5) Carlos Gómez (1985)
Known for his all-out style of play and speed, Gómez put together a pair of All-Star seasons with Milwaukee in 2013 and ‘14, racking up a total of 47 home runs and 74 steals. He was a force in the Brewers’ run to the National League Championship Series in ’11, batting .357 in eight postseason contests. Among a number of memorable plays in center field, Gómez caused jaws to drop in Houston when he climbed Tal’s Hill on June 18, 2013, to make a wild over-the-shoulder catch.

Others of note:

Julie Croteau (1970)
Croteau was one of the first women to play men's NCAA baseball when she made the team at St. Mary's College of Maryland in 1988 as a walk-on at first base. She also became the first woman to coach at the Division 1 level, serving as an assistant coach at University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1994, she and pitcher Lee Anne Ketcham became the first women to play on a winter league team sanctioned by Major League Baseball, as they were teammates with the Maui Stingrays in the Hawaii Winter League. Croteau made an appearance in the film "A League of Their Own," and her glove and photo are on permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Dec. 4? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.