The best baseball players born on May 10

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 10.

1) Salvador Perez (1990)

Perez is the easy choice here. He is a World Series champion, World Series MVP, eight-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger winner. Perez led baseball with 48 home runs and 121 RBIs as a 31-year-old in 2021, after never having more than 27 homers or 80 RBIs in a season. “Salvy” has joined George, Bo and Alex as the Royals’ one-name celebrities in Kansas City. Former Royals manager Ned Yost once said, “It took about two days for me to realize he was special. I've been in this game a long time. I've been at the big league level a long time and seen hundreds of catchers come through. And I've never seen one like him. He's a very rare find.”

2) Robby Thompson (1962)

Never to be confused with New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson, Thompson spent his entire 11-year career with the Giants (1986-96), making two All-Star teams and winning the 1993 NL Gold Glove at second base. The Giants’ first-round pick in the 1983 Draft, Thompson made his big-league debut in 1986, despite not having played a single game above Double-A. He batted .271 with seven home runs and 47 RBIs, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting to the Cardinals’ Todd Worrell. He made All-Star teams in 1988 and 1993.

3) Ken Berry (1941)

Berry won two Gold Gloves in a 14-year career with the White Sox, Angels, Indians and Brewers. He made the 1967 AL All-Star team with the White Sox. He batted .255 with 1,053 hits in his career, playing mostly a stellar center field. Berry coached after his career and even is credited as the role of a heckler in “Eight Men Out,” where he worked as a consultant.

4) Jim Hickman (1937)

Hickman made the 1970 NL All-Star team with the Cubs, even finishing eighth for NL MVP. It was by far the best season of his career, slashing .315/.419/.582 with 32 home runs and 115 RBIs. He never had more than 21 homers or 64 RBIs in any other season. Hickman originally signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1956. The Mets selected him with the 36th pick of the 1961 expansion draft.

5) Ted Blankenship (1901)

Blankenship played nine seasons for the White Sox (1922-31), his only years in the big leagues. He went 77-79 with a 4.29 ERA in 241 appearances (156 starts). His brother Homer Blankenship appeared in eight games over a couple seasons with the White Sox (1922-93) and appeared in five games for the 1928 Pirates.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for May 10? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.