The best baseball players born on Feb. 18

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 Feb. 18.

1) Joe Gordon (1915)
The former second baseman is the only Hall of Famer born on Feb. 18. He started his career with the Yankees in 1938. Four years later, Gordon won the American League MVP, hitting .322 with 18 home runs, 103 RBIs and leading New York in Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference, with 7.7. After serving in the military in World War II, Gordon returned to the Yankees in 1946 before being traded to the Indians a year later for right-hander Allie Reynolds. Gordon’s best season in Cleveland was in 1948, when he led the Indians to their most recent World Series title.

Gordon was more than just a baseball player in Cleveland -- he became friends with teammate Larry Doby, the first African American to play in the American League. According to researcher Joseph Wancho, they often played catch before games and Gordon often positioned Doby in the outfield during games. For his work on the field, Gordon was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2009.

2) John Mayberry (1949)
Mayberry started his career with the Astros, but he made his mark with the Royals and was a two-time All-Star in 1973 and ’74. He provided plenty of power for Kansas City from 1973 to 1977 and helped the Royals win division titles in 1976 and ’77. In six years with Kansas City, Mayberry averaged 24 home runs and 92 RBIs per season and hit .261. He didn’t have as much success with the Blue Jays and Yankees in the latter half of his career, and he retired after the 1982 season. Mayberry’s son, John Jr., played seven years in the Majors from 2009-15.

3) Didi Gregorius (1990)
He was a Punch and Judy hitter during his first three seasons with the Reds and D-backs, respectively. But the Yankees acquired his services after the 2014 season to replace the great Derek Jeter, who retired that year. Gregorius did a fabulous job as Jeter’s replacement, hitting .269 with 97 home runs and 360 RBIs over five seasons in New York. With Gregorius at shortstop, the Yankees went to the postseason four times.

4) Ila Borders (1975)
Borders always played with the big boys. She played NCAA and Minor League Baseball with men, and she was the first woman to pitch in a men’s college baseball game. Borders pitched for Southern California College and once pitched a five-hitter against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Feb. 15, 1994. Borders then played independent baseball for four seasons from 1997-2000, going 2-4 with a 6.73 ERA. For her pioneering baseball career and contributions to the game, Borders was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2003.

5) Manny Mota (1938)
Mota is one of the best pinch-hitters in the history of Major League Baseball. He once held the career record for pinch-hits with 150, though Lenny Harris has since broken that record with 212. Overall, Mota was a valuable player with the Giants, Pirates, Expos and Dodgers. He retired with a .304 batting average and a .355 on-base percentage after 20 years in the big leagues.

Others of note:

Kevin Tapani (1964)
The right-handed hurler spent 13 years in the Majors, seven of them in Minnesota. He helped lead the Twins to the 1991 World Series title with a stellar season, in which he went 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.086 WHIP over 244 innings. Tapani’s standout campaign earned him a seventh-place finish in that year’s AL Cy Young voting.

Ryan Mountcastle (1997)
Due to the shortened 2020 season, Mountcastle was eligible for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in both 2020 and 2021. He finished eighth and sixth, respectively, on those ballots while leading all Major League rookies with 33 home runs in 2021. He tied an Orioles franchise record with nine RBIs in a game in 2023.

John Valentin (1967)
On July 8, 1994, Valentin turned the 10th officially recognized unassisted triple play in MLB history, and the second unassisted triple play in Red Sox history. It came at Fenway Park and helped the Red Sox escape a sixth-inning jam against the Mariners in a game they won, 4-3. Two years later, on June 6, 1996, Valentin hit for the 20th cycle in Red Sox history.

Dal Maxvill (1939)
Maxvill didn’t hit much (.217 career average) during his 14 years in the big leagues, but his defense helped the Cardinals win two World Series titles (1964 and 1967), and he won his only Gold Glove Award in 1968. The defensive specialist also helped the Athletics win the World Series in 1972 and 1974 -- Maxvill was also a member of the 1973 A’s, but he was traded to the Pirates midseason and did not appear in the ’73 Fall Classic. After his playing career ended, Maxvill spent 10 years as the Cardinals’ general manager from 1985-94. Under his watch, St. Louis won two pennants in 1985 and ’87.

Luis Arroyo (1927)
Arroyo played eight years in the big leagues -- his best year was in 1961 with the Yankees, though it was perhaps overshadowed by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’ famous home run race. Not to be outdone, Arroyo was an All-Star that year and finished sixth in the AL MVP voting after going 15-5 with a 2.19 ERA and 29 saves.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Feb. 18? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.