The best baseball players born on March 26

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 26:

1. Kevin Seitzer (1962)

The right-handed-hitting third baseman reached double-digit home runs in three of his 12 seasons for the Royals, Brewers, Cleveland and Oakland, and he topped 75 RBIs just twice. But Seitzer was a very steady performer, surpassing .300 in six different seasons with a career average of .295. Seitzer finished with a .375 on-base percentage and drew 669 walks compared to 617 strikeouts over 6,062 career plate appearances. He was named an All-Star in 1987 and 1995 and topped the American League with 207 hits in ’87. He mixed in a little speed, as well, producing 80 stolen bases and 35 triples. His 28.9 bWAR is tops for all players born on March 26.

2. Shane Reynolds (1968)

Reynolds was a steady and often elite starting pitcher for 11 years with the Astros, with one-year stops with Arizona and Atlanta to end his career. Reynolds’ 17.8 bWAR ranks him behind Seitzer for players with March 26 birthdays and his one All-Star appearance pairs him with Seitzer as the only players born on this day to reach the Midsummer Classic.

Reynolds finished 104-96 with a 4.09 ERA, 20 complete games, seven shutouts and 1,403 strikeouts against 419 walks over 1,791 2/3 innings. He topped 200 strikeouts in both 1996 (204) and 1998 (209). And here’s an interesting sidenote: Reynolds was on the mound for Houston when Kerry Wood threw his 20-strikeout, one-hit masterpiece against the Astros on May 6, 1998. Reynolds struck out 10 and allowed two runs in a complete game, 2-0 loss at Wrigley Field.

3. Jack McCarthy (1869)

McCarthy was one of three players born on March 26 to play 1,000 games, suiting up for 1,092 overall with 4,200 at-bats from 1893 to 1907. The outfielder only hit eight total home runs, with four coming in 1898 and four coming in 1899 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also finished with 147 RBIs combined over those two seasons to go with 35 doubles and 29 triples. McCarthy had 145 stolen bases over his time with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, the Cubs, Cleveland and the Brooklyn Superbas. He also ranks 41st all time, per Baseball Reference, with 26.6 at-bats per strikeout. His 10.4 bWAR ranks fourth all-time on this birthday.

4. Mel Queen (1942)

Queen put up solid numbers in the Minors offensively, driving in 259 from 1961-63 as part of the Reds system. But the left-handed hitter switched over to the mound, where the right-handed pitcher produced a 20-17 record with a 3.14 ERA and 14 saves in 140 career big league appearances. Queen also had 305 plate appearances, making his Major League debut in 1964 as an outfielder and knocking out the only two home runs of his career with the Reds. In 1966, he hit and pitched before moving primarily to pitching. Queen was the Blue Jays' pitching coach from 1996-99, overseeing American League Cy Young Awards for Pat Hentgen and two for Roger Clemens, and even had a 4-1 record as the Blue Jays interim manager in 1997.

5. Jose Vizcaino (1968)

Vizcaino played parts of 18 seasons and 1,820 games for eight different teams. He played regularly from 1993-97, with his best seasons coming in 1993 with the Cubs and 1995 with the Mets, hitting .287 in both seasons and driving in 54 in ’93 and 56 in ’95. He played shortstop, second base and third, with even one game at first and one game in left. The switch-hitter had 110 career playoff plate appearances; one of his biggest postseason hits came for Houston in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series, when he pinch-hit for Adam Everett and singled home the game-tying two runs off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks with two outs in the ninth. Scott Podsednik walked off the Astros in the bottom half of the frame, contributing to the White Sox sweep.

Others of Note

Brendan Ryan (1982)

The right-handed hitting utility infielder played 896 games over 10 seasons for the Mariners, Cardinals, Yankees and Angels, posting a 15.4 bWAR, which is third highest among players born on this day. He finished as a .233 hitter and pitched two scoreless innings in a game for the Yankees in 2015. Ryan also was the last out of White Sox right-hander Philip Humber’s perfect game on April 21, 2012, striking out on a 3-2 checked swing and being thrown out at first by catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Michael A. Taylor (1991)

The Nationals selected Taylor in the sixth round of the 2009 Draft, and he has knocked out 95 home runs over 10 seasons since reaching the Majors. Taylor homered in his one at-bat during the Nationals’ World Series win over the Astros in 2019. He set a career high with 21 home runs last season with the Twins.

Hernan Perez (1991)

Perez hit .250 with 45 homers over 10 seasons for the Brewers, Tigers, Nationals and Cubs. Perez’s top two seasons came in 2016 and 2017 with the Brewers when he combined to hit 27 homers with 37 doubles and 47 stolen bases.

Cristian Javier (1997)

At 27, the right-hander is just getting going for Houston. He went 30-17 with a 3.57 ERA over his first four seasons in the Majors. In 2022, Javier helped guide the Astros to a World Series championship and started in the Houston's combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the Fall Classic.

Matt Davidson (1991)

Davidson deserves a mention for 46 home runs combined over the 2017 and 2018 seasons for the White Sox, punctuated by a three-homer Opening Day outburst in Kansas City on March 29, 2018. The right-hander also made six career pitching appearances, with three scoreless trips to the mound for the White Sox and three for the Reds.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 26? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.