The best baseball players born on May 3

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 3.

1) Red Ruffing (1905)
The Hall of Famer was a six-time All-Star and a six-time World Series champion with the Yankees. The right-hander led the American League strikeouts in 1932 and he led the AL in wins in ’38. He compiled 273 wins over his 22 years in the Majors with the Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox, and he was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1967.

2) Eppa Rixey (1891)
The left-hander compiled 266 career wins over his 21-year Major League career with the Phillies and Reds. He retired after the 1933 season and was elected to the Hall of Fame in ’63 by the Veterans Committee.

3) Davey Lopes (1945)
Lopes was a four-time All-Star second baseman who played 16 seasons in the Majors with Dodgers, A’s, Cubs and Astros. He had 557 career stolen bases and led the NL in steals two times, while also winning a Gold Glove Award in 1978. Lopes ranks second all-time in steals for the Dodgers and set a then-MLB record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without getting caught for Los Angeles in 1975. He went on to manage the Brewers from 2000-02 and he was also a first-base coach for five teams. He retired from coaching after the 2017 season, having spent a total of 45 seasons in the game.

4) Ryan Dempster (1977)
Dempster was a two-time All-Star and won a World Series ring with Boston in 2013, his final season in the Majors. The right-hander compiled 132 career wins and 87 saves over 16 seasons in the bigs with the Marlins, Reds, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox. The British Columbia native was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, and he joined Marquee Sports Network as an analyst and host when the network launched in 2020.

5) Dan Bankhead (1920)
Bankhead was a Negro League All-Star who played for the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox before becoming the first African American pitcher in the Majors when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers on Aug. 24, 1947, to become Jackie Robinson's first black MLB teammate.

Others of note:
Homer Bailey (1986)
The right-hander cemented his status in Reds lore by tossing a pair of no-hitters. Bailey’s first no-no came in Pittsburgh in 2012, and then he shut down the Giants in Cincinnati in ‘13.

Austin Meadows (1995)
Meadows was an All-Star in 2019 for Tampa Bay when he blasted 33 homers and hit .291. The Rays acquired the left-handed-hitting outfielder in the same deal which brought them Tyler Glasnow from the Pirates in 2018. After spending four seasons for Tampa Bay, Meadows played two seasons with Detroit from 2022-23.

Amir Garrett (1992)
The left-hander, who played college basketball at St. John’s, spent five seasons with the Reds and two seasons with the Royals before joining the Angels in 2024.

Darren Dreifort (1972)
Dreifort was a two-time college All-American pitcher at Wichita State, and he won the 1993 Golden Spikes Award before the Dodgers selected him with the second overall pick in the ‘93 MLB Draft, one pick after Alex Rodriguez went to the Mariners. The right-hander became one of the few players to bypass the Minor Leagues and make his professional debut in the Majors when he made Los Angeles' roster in 1994. He went on to have a nine-year career with the Dodgers, and he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for May 3? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.