The best baseball players born on Dec. 6

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. 6.

1) Tony Lazzeri (1903)
Sharing a roster with both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig certainly sounds like a daunting task, but Lazzeri was a Hall of Fame second baseman in his own right while co-starring with two larger-than-life legends. He spent most of his 14-year career in the Bronx and was integral to the immortal success of the 1927 Yankees, nicknamed “Murderer’s Row.” Lazzeri won five World Series rings with the Yankees, received MVP votes in five seasons and hit .292 for his career. On May 24, 1936, he set an American League record that still stands when he drove in 11 runs in one game while becoming the first player in AL/NL history to hit two grand slams in a game. Lazzeri was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1991.

2) Stan Hack (1909)
Nicknamed “Smiling Stan” for his wide grin and sunny disposition, the third baseman spent his entire career with the Cubs from 1932-1947. During his tenure, the Cubs went to the World Series four times, though they did not break their famous title drought until 2016. Hack twice led the NL in hits, received MVP votes in eight straight years, scored 100-plus runs in seven seasons and notched four All-Star selections, all while racking up over 2,100 career hits and a .301 batting average. Though Hack is not in the Hall of Fame, he accumulated more career WAR (55.5) than Hall of Fame third basemen Jimmy Collins (53.3), Pie Traynor (38.5) and George Kell (37.7), according to Baseball Reference.

3) Kevin Appier (1967)
Appier spent 13 of his 16 MLB seasons with the Royals, and worked his way toward the top of many franchise leaderboards in the process. As of 2021, he ranked first all-time for the Royals in WAR for pitchers (47.1, according to Baseball Reference) and strikeouts (1,458), fourth in wins (115) and innings pitched (1843.2), sixth in WHIP (1.250) and seventh in ERA (3.49) and FIP (3.49). Appier was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 2011. Though his best seasons were in Kansas City, including 1993 when he finished third in AL Cy Young voting, Appier’s only World Series ring came with the Angels in 2002.

4) Larry Bowa (1945)
Bowa’s baseball legacy spans both a lengthy playing tenure and an extensive coaching career. He first came up with the Phillies in 1970, placing third in that year’s NL Rookie of the Year voting. From there, he manned shortstop in Philadelphia for the next decade, compiling two Gold Gloves, five All-Star selections and four straight years receiving MVP votes. Bowa was at short when the Phillies won it all in 1980 and hit .375 in the World Series, though Mike Schmidt was the Series MVP. Since retiring from playing in 1985, Bowa has coached in three different roles for the Phillies (third base coach, bench coach and manager) while also coaching and managing for the Padres, Angels, Mariners, Dodgers and Yankees.

5) Adam Eaton (1988)
While with the White Sox, Eaton led the AL in triples in 2014 (10) and 2016 (nine). After injuries limited him to a combined 118 games across 2017 and 2018, Eaton’s resurgent 2019 season, in which he hit .279 over 151 games, helped steer the Nationals to their first World Series title. Standing at 5-foot-8, Eaton was nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” in college, and his moniker made the rounds in the MLB community after he wore a gray Mighty Mouse T-shirt to his first Spring Training with the Nats in 2017.

Others of note:

Jocko Conlan (1899)
Conlan is the second of two Hall of Famers born on Dec. 6, though his Hall of Fame résumé came from his lengthy umpiring career and not from his two years as a White Sox outfielder. Conlan began umpiring while still a player in 1935, filling in for Red Ormsby on one particularly hot day. He worked as an umpire from 1936 to 1965 and was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1974.

Kevin Cash (1977)
After retiring from playing baseball in 2010, Cash embarked on a scouting and coaching career. He landed the Rays’ manager job after the 2014 season and has guided them to five playoff berths (2019-23) and one World Series appearance (2020). In 2020 and 2021, Cash was named the AL Manager of the Year.

Cam Gallagher (1992)
Gallagher’s first career home run made quite a splash. On Aug. 14, 2017, one week after making his MLB debut, Gallagher launched a go-ahead grand slam against the A’s Jharel Cotton, helping propel the Royals to a 6-2 win. It was one of five grand slams Kansas City hit that season.

Jose Contreras (1971)
The Cuba native was a key cog for the World Series champion White Sox in 2005, pitching to a 3.61 ERA and earning MVP votes. He tossed a complete game in Game 5 of the ALCS to clinch the series for the White Sox and send them to the Fall Classic. Contreras earned his only career All-Star selection in 2006, also with Chicago.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Dec. 6? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.