The best baseball players born on Nov. 27

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. 27.

1. Ivan Rodríguez (1971)
One of the best all-around catchers in Major League history, Rodríguez was a defensive wizard who won a record 13 Gold Gloves at the position, including 10 in a row in his first 10 full big-league seasons. By his early 20s, Rodríguez had developed into a dangerous hitter as well, winning six consecutive Silver Slugger awards and an American League MVP in 1999. That season in Texas, he hit .332/.356/.558 with 35 home runs and 113 RBIs. Four years later, Rodríguez won his first ring with the Marlins.

Following the conclusion of his 21-year career, Rodríguez earned election into Cooperstown in his first appearance on the ballot. No other baseball player born on Nov. 27 has come particularly close to matching Rodríguez’s Hall of Fame accolades.

2. Jimmy Rollins (1978)
The heartbeat of the 2008 World Series champion Phillies and the ’07 National League MVP, Rollins made three All-Star teams, won four Gold Gloves, earned a Silver Slugger and was a standout on multiple World Baseball Classic teams during a decorated 17-year career. In 2007, Rollins became only the fourth player in Major League history to finish with at least 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, joining Frank Schulte, Willie Mays and Curtis Granderson.

3. Mike Scioscia (1958)
Better-known to younger fans as manager of the Angels from 2000-18, Scioscia was a decorated player in his own right, winning two World Series rings with the Dodgers and making a pair of All-Star teams. A third championship came in 2002, when Scioscia guided the Angels back from a 3-1 Series deficit to win their first title. Upon leaving Anaheim, Scioscia won a silver medal managing Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

4. Eloy Jiménez (1996)
One of the most hyped international prospects in recent memory, Jiménez finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, then followed it up with an even better per-rate performance during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. When Jiménez signed a six-year, $43 million contract before his rookie season, it was the largest in history for a player without any Major League service time.

5. Bullet Joe Bush (1892)
Born Leslie Ambrose Bush, this longtime American League star earned his nickname due to the speed of his fastball. He used that pitch to great effect from 1913-24, winning 171 games with a 3.24 ERA for the Philadelphia A’s, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Bush won a World Series in each of those three stops, before kicking around elsewhere for the final four seasons of his career.

Others of note:

Randy Milligan (1961)
From 1989-92 in Baltimore, “Moose” Milligan submitted his best years as a slugging outfielder, hitting 59 homers with an .812 OPS. Upon retiring, Milligan became an area scout for the Mets and Orioles. While working for the former team, he wrote up the initial report on a notable Draft prospect named David Wright.

Bradley Zimmer (1992)
A first-round pick of the Guardians in 2014, Zimmer broke into the Majors three years later as a strong defensive center fielder with plenty of offensive potential. That summer, he hit eight home runs and stole 18 bases, joining Andrew Benintendi as the only rookies to reach those thresholds in 2017.

Johnny Schmitz (1920)
Had Schmitz not missed the 1943-45 seasons while serving in the military, he almost certainly would have cleared 100 career wins. As it was, Schmitz won only 93 games for the Cubs, Senators and a host of other teams, though he did lead the NL with 135 strikeouts in 1946.

Dave Giusti (1939)
Giusti served as the closer on the 1971 World Series champion Pirates, saving 30 games that season plus another three in the playoffs. The most memorable of them came in World Series Game 4, when Giusti set down six consecutive batters -- including future Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson -- to even the series at two games apiece.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Nov. 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.