The best baseball players born on March 20

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 20:

1) Joe McGinnity (1871)
McGinnity is the only player born on this date to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Despite being a late bloomer -- he joined the Majors in 1899 at the age of 28 -- the right-hander emerged as one of the most dominant pitchers at the turn of the 20th century. He led the Majors in wins in four of his 10 seasons and earned the ERA title in 1904, when he recorded a 1.61 ERA with a Major Leagues-best .814 winning percentage. And McGinnity’s nickname of “Iron Man” was well deserved: He averaged more than 340 innings pitched per season, and his longevity perhaps was aided by a submarine-style arm motion that he said was easier on his arm.

2) Mike Griffin (1865)
Griffin began his 12-year tenure as an MLB center fielder as potentially the first Major Leaguer to begin his career with a home run in his first at-bat. (Cincinnati’s George Tabeau accomplished the same feat on the same day, but historians are unclear which happened earlier in the day.) The 5-foot-7 outfielder never kept that home run power, but he was a consistent producer, ending his career with 40.8 bWAR composed heavily of his speed on the bases; he stole 94 bases in his first season. Griffin’s career ended with a contract dispute with Brooklyn that went to court before he returned to his hometown of Utica as a businessman.

3) Chris Hoiles (1965)
Hoiles was a solid slugger, with a career .205 ISO powered by 151 home runs in 894 games while not whiffing much (a .267 average with less than 100 strikeouts in every season). That power continued even into his final season in 1998; on Aug. 14 of that year, he became one of only a few players to hit two grand slams in a game. Unfortunately, Hoiles’ career was ended by hip and back issues.

4) Stan Spence (1915)
One of the best players to come out of Kentucky, Spence got less playing time in the first two years of his nine years in the Majors -- for good reason. As a member of the Red Sox, he was blocked by Hall of Famer Ted Williams and seven-time All-Star Dom DiMaggio in the outfield. But once traded to the Senators in 1947, he found an everyday role in center field. In four of his five seasons in Washington, Spence was named to an All-Star team and received MVP votes. He finished with 1,090 hits in 1,112 games played, hitting well into his final season with the St. Louis Browns in ‘49.

5) George Altman (1933)
Altman was a feared slugger at his peak; from 1961-62, when he earned his two career All-Star nominations, he compiled a .909 with 49 homers in 285 games for the Cubs. Altman’s career in baseball transcended his nine years in MLB, though. His professional journey began in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs in ‘55, when he was signed by the Cubs at the end of the year on the recommendation of Monarchs manager Buck O’Neil. After nine seasons in MLB, where he had a .761 OPS as an outfielder and third baseman for three clubs, he spent eight prosperous seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Others of note:
Brad Hand (1990)
A three-time All-Star who led the Majors with 16 saves in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Hand played for his ninth big league club after he was acquired by the Braves in a trade in 2023.

Vern Kennedy (1907)
Kennedy pitched for 12 seasons in the Majors, compiling a 4.67 ERA in 2,025 2/3 innings as he was named to two All-Star teams.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 20? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.