The best baseball players born on March 12

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 March 12.

Darryl Strawberry (1962)
"Once Upon A Time," there was a slugger who captured New York fans' hearts, but his career wasn't always a fairytale. There were great moments in Strawberry's career: No. 1 overall Draft pick, three World Series titles with the Mets and Yankees, 335 career homers, eight All-Star nods, a Rookie of the Year Award in '83 and even a guest appearance in a Simpsons episode titled "Homer at the Bat."

But his accomplishments on the field were oftentimes masked by his off-the-field problems with drugs and alcohol, derailing what many had destined to be a Hall of Fame career.

Selected by the Mets in 1980, the five-tool right fielder out of Crenshaw High School in California was an instant hit with the Mets, mashing 252 homers with the club and helping the team win its second World Series title in '86. After the 1990 season, Strawberry returned home, signing a five-year deal with the Dodgers. But he could not replicate his New York success in his hometown, with shoulder and back injuries limiting him to 214 games over five seasons in Los Angeles. Strawberry was released by the Dodgers in 1993, signed with the Giants in '94 and released again before the '95 season following a failed drug test.

After his 60-game suspension, Strawberry returned to New York in '95 -- with the Yankees, where he made his first playoff appearance since '88. But the Bombers fell to the Mariners in a thrilling five-game ALDS. A free agent again, Strawberry landed with the St. Paul Saints in the independent league, but the Big Apple beckoned again as the Yankees signed the slugger in July 1996. Three months later, the Straw Man was a champion again as the Yanks topped the Braves in six games -- the first of two titles that Strawberry won with the Yankees. He was not part of the '98 playoff run, however, as he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

His on-again and off-again struggles followed him after his playing days, but Strawberry is now helping others try to turn their lives around and not make the same mistakes he did.

Jimmy Wynn (1942)
He was the "Toy Cannon," and Wynn took his short build to great heights with the Astros. Listed at 5-foot-9, Wynn mashed 97 home runs in 678 games at the Astrodome. "That ballpark was built for defense and speed," Wynn told MLB.com during the Civil Rights Game festivities in 2014. "If you hit one there, it wasn't a cheapie." His 223 homers with the Astros ranks fourth in club history behind Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio. Two years after Houston dealt him to Los Angeles, in 1975, Wynn was traded by the Dodgers to the Braves for Dusty Baker, who now manages the Astros.

Dale Murphy (1956)
One of 32 players in MLB history to win at least two MVP Awards, Murphy was a force from 1982-87, compiling a 145 OPS+ with 218 homers and 629 RBIs. During this span, he was named an All-Star in all six seasons while winning five Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. Along with Roger Maris, Murphy is one of two players who has not been elected to the Hall of Fame after winning back-to-back MVP Awards. A little-known fact about the Braves star is that he was drafted (fifth overall in 1974) as a catcher before the club moved him to the outfield for good after the 1979 season.

Johnny Callison (1939)
The Oklahoma native is in the top 15 based on bWAR of players born in the Sooner State. The lefty-swinging outfielder made his mark over 10 seasons in Philadelphia, where he earned four All-Star selections and finished runner-up to the Cardinals' Ken Boyer in the 1964 NL MVP vote. Callison made a name for himself though at the '64 All-Star Game at Shea Stadium, hitting a walk-off, three-run homer off Red Sox right-hander Dick Radatz to cap the NL's four-run rally in the ninth inning. The reserve outfielder was named the All-Star Game MVP, still the only Phillies player to win the award. Callison was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in '97.

Vern Law (1930)
The two-time All-Star won the Pirates' first Cy Young in 1960 when it was awarded to just one pitcher from both leagues. He went 20-9, while tying runner-up Warren Spahn for the MLB lead with 18 complete games. The Pirates right-hander also bested the Yankees twice in Games 1 and 4 of the '60 World Series, which ended on Bill Mazeroski's walk-off homer in Game 7.

Honorable mention:

Raul Mondesi: The 13-year veteran unanimously won the 1994 NL Rookie of the Year Award, extending the Dodgers' streak to three straight years of ROY winners following Eric Karros (1992) and Mike Piazza ('93). The club would also win the award in '95 (Hideo Nomo) and '96 (Todd Hollandsworth). The right fielder displayed a powerful arm, winning a Gold Glove Award in 1997 while also leading the league in assists three times in his career ('94, '95 and 2001). Mondesi played for seven teams, hitting 271 homers and stealing 229 bases over 1,525 games. His son, Adalberto Mondesi, is a middle infielder for the Royals and is closing in on his father's stolen-base mark.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 12? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.