The best baseball players born on Nov. 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 Nov. 26:

1) Lefty Gomez (1908)
The only Hall of Famer born on Thanksgiving, Vernon Louis “Lefty” Gomez once said, “I’d rather be lucky than good” -- but putting together a career like his would take an impossible amount of pure luck. Pitching all but one of his 14 seasons with the Yankees, Gomez was a four-time 20-game winner with five World Series rings, and he claimed baseball’s pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts) twice, in 1934 and ’37. He also led the AL to victory in the very first All-Star Game in 1933, and then earned a selection to the team every year after that through ’39.

2) Chuck Finley (1962)
A five-time All-Star who won 200 games, Finley pitched for 17 seasons, his first 14 with the Angels. Multiple team records, including wins (165) and innings (2,675), belong to him, and he was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in 2009. The left-hander tossed a league-leading 13 complete games in 1993.

3) Matt Carpenter (1985)
Carpenter made his MLB debut for the Cardinals in 2011 and remained with the team that drafted him until he became a free agent for the first time after the ’21 season. The infielder’s best campaign came in ’13, when he led the Majors in hits (199), runs (126) and doubles (55). He earned his first All-Star selection and took home a Silver Slugger that year, too.

4) Matt Garza (1983)
Garza’s biggest career moments came while he pitched for the Rays, though he also spent time with the Twins (who drafted him in the first round in 2005), Cubs, Rangers and Brewers during his 12 big league seasons. In ‘08, Garza pitched Tampa Bay past Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS to earn MVP honors for the series, and in ’10, he tossed a no-hitter at Tropicana Field against Detroit. It was the first no-no in Rays history.

5) Hugh Duffy (1866)
Duffy -- a player, manager and scout during his Hall of Fame career -- set the single-season mark for batting average in 1894 by hitting .440 for the Boston Beaneaters. The 5-foot-7 outfielder also won the Triple Crown that year, with 18 homers and 145 RBIs, and it was one of the eight times he knocked in at least 100 runs in a season.

Others of note:

Cal Raleigh (1996)
In 2022, the catcher's clutch walk-off homer sent the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001. Raleigh earned both a Gold Glove Award and a Platinum Glove Award for his stellar defense in 2024, his fourth season in the Majors with Seattle.

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