The best baseball players born on May 1

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 May 1.

1) Marcus Stroman (1991)

Stroman has the most career WAR, according to Baseball Reference, of any player born on May 1. And of course, that number will continue to grow as his career continues. Stroman was an All-Star in 2019 and '23, and won a Gold Glove Award in 2017. He’s one of three players born on May 1 to be named an All-Star in his career.

2) Scooter Gennett (1990)

Gennett is one of just 18 players in AL/NL history to achieve a particularly notable feat: hit four home runs in a game. He joined the record books on June 6, 2017, for the Reds against the Cardinals. He went 5-for-5 in the game overall, with 10 RBIs. In his first at-bat in the bottom of the first, he hit an RBI single off Adam Wainwright, and then it was homer time. In the third, he crushed a grand slam off Wainwright, in the fourth, it was a two-run homer off John Gant, then a solo home run off Gant in the sixth. He got his chance for four in the bottom of the eighth against John Brebbia, and hit a two-run homer for the historic feat.

3) Heinie Meine (1896)

Meine is predominantly here for an outstanding name -- but he also had a great nickname, and a unique career, to boot. Known as “The Count of Luxemburg,” he had no actual connection to Luxembourg, but instead got the moniker based on the unincorporated area of south St. Louis, where he was born. He played baseball with his fellow soldiers in World War I and played the semi-pro circuit upon his return until a scout from the St. Louis Browns signed him, though he was predominantly a spitball pitcher -- a pitch that had been banned at the MLB level. He debuted in August 1922 as a 26-year-old and pitched in one game. He spent the next six years in various organizations and leagues and eventually made it back to MLB in 1929 with the Pirates.

4) José Urquidy (1995)

Through just five MLB seasons, Urquidy already has extensive postseason experience. He’s thrown 46 1/3 innings across 15 playoff games in five separate October runs, including four wins and a hold. He’s the only Mexican-born pitcher in postseason history with multiple World Series wins, and he has three -- equal to the total of all other such pitchers combined (one each for Fernando Valenzuela, Aurelio Lopez and Victor Gonzalez).

5) Zach Vincej (1991)

Yes, Vincej played 10 career MLB games and amassed -0.1 WAR. But he’s here because of a unique spot in baseball history: his last name. Vincej, pronounced VINCE-ee, in case you were curious, is one of just two players in MLB history with a last name ending in the letter J. The other? Johnny Welaj, who played from 1939-43, and happened to make his debut the day after Vincej’s birth date, on May 2.

Others of note:

Casey Mize (1997)

Mize was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Auburn University, taken by the Tigers.

Ray Searage (1955)

Searage threw 287 2/3 career MLB innings from 1981-90, but is perhaps best known for being the Pirates’ pitching coach from 2010-19.

Al Zarilla (1919)

Zarilla is one of three players born on May 1 to make an All-Star team, along with Stroman and Gennett.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for May 1? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.