The best baseball players born on July 27

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 July 27.

1) Alex Rodriguez (1975)
Three MVP Awards, 696 home runs and two record-shattering free-agent contracts tell only part of the story of one of the most dominant hitters of his or any generation. Rodriguez debuted with the Mariners at the age of 18 in 1994, one year after Seattle drafted him first overall, and within two years he was an MVP runner-up with a batting title (.358) to his name. The fourth of Rodriguez's 14 career All-Star selections came in his final year in Seattle; A-Rod signed a still-astounding 10-year, $252 million deal -- the largest in sports history at the time -- with the Rangers before the 2001 season, but he would spend just three seasons with Texas. What would have been a blockbuster trade between the Rangers and Red Sox fell through shortly after Rodriguez's first MVP season in 2003, allowing Boston's archrival to pull off a deal that sent A-Rod to the Bronx just before Spring Training 2004. With Derek Jeter entrenched as the Yankees' shortstop, the trade shifted Rodriguez from short to third base.

The career record holder for grand slams with 25, A-Rod opted out of his first contract after the 2007 season, then signed another record deal worth $275 million to remain with the Yankees. While Rodriguez won a World Series title and notched his 3,000th career hit during that contract, his legacy is dinged by an admission of performance-enhancing drug use as well as a season-long suspension in 2014 for PEDs. He retired in 2016 at 40, fourth on the career home runs list.

2) Max Scherzer (1984)
We should’ve known when he spun 4 1/3 perfect innings of relief in his Major League debut that Scherzer would become a legend. The fireballing righty, whose Heterochromia Iridum gives him one blue eye and one brown eye, has built up a stockpile of milestones and hardware throughout his career, including a pair of no-hitters, a record-tying 20-strikeout game, a World Series title and a 300-strikeout season. Scherzer won the first of three Cy Youngs in 2013 with Detroit, but the bulk of his achievements came after he signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals. He became the 19th pitcher to join the 3,000-strikeout club after a trade to the Dodgers in 2021, then signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets that set a new record for annual value ($43.3 million). He was dealt to the Rangers in a blockbuster deal prior to the 2023 Trade Deadline, and Texas went on to capture its first World Series title that fall.

3) Biz Mackey (1897)
Considered "the best catcher I ever saw" by Cool Papa Bell and "the master of defense of all catchers" by Roy Campanella, Mackey excelled defensively but also hit well above .300 for more than two decades, dominating the Negro Leagues on his way to the Hall of Fame. Mackey helped lead the Hilldale Giants to the Eastern Colored League pennant in 1924 and the Negro Leagues World Series title the following year, and in the '30s, he mentored a young Campanella, himself a future Hall of Famer.

4) Leo Durocher (1905)
Durocher made three All-Star teams during his 17-year playing career, even placing in the top 10 in MVP voting twice, but it was as a manager that he found the most success. Known as "The Lip" for his combustible temper with umpires and players, Durocher had the fifth-most wins in history (2,008) at the time of his retirement in 1973 and entered the Hall of Fame as a manager 21 years later. Although he managed the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs and Astros, Durocher earned his legacy with the Dodgers and Giants. He served as a player/manager and won one pennant in Brooklyn, then captured a pair of pennants and a World Series title with the rival Giants, thanks in part to Bobby Thomson’s pennant-clinching “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” against the Dodgers in 1951.

5) Joe Tinker (1880)
Tinker won a pair of World Series with the Cubs in 1907 and '08, but the Hall of Famer is best remembered as one-third of the most glorified double-play unit in history. "Tinker to Evers to Chance" is the highlight of Franklin P. Adams' 1910 poem about double plays, and the Cubs trio backed up its acclaim. Tinker, a shortstop for all but 49 of his 1,794 career games, led the National League in defensive WAR for five seasons between 1905 and 1911, and he earned MVP votes in ‘11 and ‘12 despite hitting .280 with four home runs across those two seasons. Tinker was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946 and died two years later on his 68th birthday.

Others of note:
Ray Boone (1923)
The father of Bob Boone and grandfather of both Aaron Boone and Bret Boone was the head of the first three-generation family in AL/NL history.

Rube Walberg (1896)
Often summoned by manager Connie Mack to face Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back, the lefty surrendered 17 homers to the Great Bambino -- more than any other pitcher in history.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for July 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.