The best baseball players born on Jan. 22

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 Jan. 22:

1) Amos Strunk (1889)
A Philly native, Strunk began his 17-season career in 1908 with the Philadelphia Athletics. A center fielder, Strunk won three World Series championships with the Athletics (1910, '11 and '13) and one with the Red Sox (1918).

2) Carlos Ruiz (1979)
Ruiz spent almost 11 years of his 12-year career with the Phillies, who first took a chance on the young catcher in 1998 when they signed him as an amateur free agent. He helped the Phils to their 2008 World Series championship and made his only All-Star appearance in 2012, the same year he won his first of two NL Wilson Defensive Players of the Year Award (the second came the following year).

3) Chone Figgins (1978)
Perhaps best known for being part of one of the most lopsided trades (a July 13, 2001, deal between the Angels and Rockies), Figgins (a Minor Leaguer at the time of the trade) won a World Series championship the following year with Anaheim. The infielder spent eight years with the Angels, including six postseason appearances, four top-24 finishes in American League MVP voting and an All-Star Game in 2009. He even retired as an Angel, when Los Angeles signed him to a one-day contract in 2016.

4) Ubaldo Jiménez (1984)
The best pitcher in Rockies history, Jiménez owns the team record for lowest career ERA (3.66), the most career shutouts (three, tied with Jason Jennings) and the best WAR among pitchers (18.9). Jiménez made his only All-Star appearance in 2010, when he went 19-8 with the best win percentage in the National League (.704) and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting (behind winner Roy Halladay and runner-up Adam Wainwright).

5) Mike Caldwell (1949)
A 14-year veteran, the southpaw finished his career with the Brewers, for whom he produced a dominant 1978 season with a 22-9 record and a league-best 23 complete games. A reward for his stellar stuff, Caldwell finished second in AL Cy Young voting behind Ron Guidry (Yankees).

Others of note:
Jon Berti (1990)
Berti hit four homers for the Marlins in 2021, while making appearances at six positions (second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and right field). A year later, he led the Majors in stolen bases despite appearing in just 102 games.

Jay Hughes (1874)
Hughes led the NL with the most wins (28) and the best win percentage (.824) in 1899 with the Brooklyn Superbas.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Jan. 22? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.