The best baseball players born on Nov. 7

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. 7.

1) Jim Kaat (1938)
A definitive baseball lifer, Kaat spent eight decades in the game -- from a playing career that spanned 25 Major League seasons to an Emmy-laden broadcasting career that followed. Kaat pitched 15 seasons with the Twins, including their first in Minnesota, and helped lead the new team to its first pennant in 1965 -- he tossed a complete game with 10 K's for the clincher in the club's old D.C. stomping grounds before memorably dueling with Sandy Koufax in three World Series games, winning one with another CG. During a career that saw him win 25 games in '66 and collect an astounding 16 consecutive Gold Gloves, it took him 17 years to get back to the Fall Classic, when he won it all with the Cardinals in '82 -- "getting the ring overshadows any individual accomplishments, by far," he said. Kaat's crowning achievement arrived when he was elected to the 2022 Hall of Fame Class by the Golden Days Era Committee. Among the overwhelming number of congratulations and well-wishes, one stood out. A call from one Hall of Famer to another: "It's long overdue," Koufax said.

2) Joe Niekro (1944)
The crafty knuckleballer pitched 22 seasons in the Major Leagues, 11 with the Astros, and recorded 221 career wins. He was an All-Star with Houston in 1979, when he tallied 21 victories, including five shutouts, for the first of two consecutive 20-win seasons while finishing second in Cy Young voting. In Game 163 of the '80 season, Niekro tossed a complete-game gem against the Dodgers to secure the division and send Houston to its first postseason before tossing a 10-inning shutout in Game 3 of the NLCS. Following his days with the Astros, who inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2019, Niekro won a World Series title with the Twins in '87, a season in which he was infamously ejected and suspended for doctoring the baseball. The event became legendary when he subsequently appeared on "Late Night With David Letterman" -- wearing a tool belt and carrying a power sander.

3) Sonny Gray (1989)
Gray spent his first five Major League seasons with the A's (2013-17). He started two ALDS games in '13 -- outdueling Detroit's Justin Verlander with eight scoreless innings in Game 2 -- before earning his first All-Star nod and finishing third in Cy Young voting in '15, during which he tossed two shutouts for the second consecutive year. He also nearly tossed a no-hitter on Opening Day of that season, giving up his first knock in the eighth and settling for an eight-inning one-hitter. In '17, Gray was traded to the Yankees, with whom he primarily struggled, before he was dealt to Cincinnati, where he revitalized his career with a second All-Star selection and Cy Young votes in '19. He was traded to the Twins in 2022, and was an All-Star again in '23, while helping Minnesota to the AL Central title. Gray also picked up a Postseason win in the AL Wild Card Series in '23, when the Twins eliminated the Blue Jays, before joining the Cardinals as a free agent.

4) Dick Stuart (1932)
"Dr. Strangeglove." "Stonefingers." "The Man With the Iron Glove." Not the nicknames you want to have when we're talking about fielding, and Stuart wore all of them due to his almost mythical lack of prowess defensively. (Let's put it this way: he once received a standing ovation for cleanly fielding a hot dog wrapper that blew onto the field.) He also earned the reputation of being an all-or-nothing hitter, but when he connected, Stuart could seriously mash. He helped lead the Pirates to the World Series title in 1960 before he broke out in '61 as a two-time All-Star, hitting over .300 for the only time in his career (.301) with 35 home runs and 117 RBIs. After being traded to Boston the following year, Stuart led the AL with 118 RBIs while clubbing 42 home runs, both career highs, in '63. He played for six teams over a 10-year Major League career, with a two-year stint in Japan from '67-68.

5) Kris Benson (1974)
Selected by the Pirates as the first overall pick in the 1996 MLB Draft, Benson finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in '99 and appeared to be on his way with an even stronger 2000 season. But injuries and a tumultuous personal-turned-public life with his wife, Anna, overshadowed and ultimately defined his career that saw him play with five teams over nine seasons. Benson, who retired after the 2010 campaign, supported several charities throughout his career and earned consistent recognition for his numerous humanitarian efforts.

Others of note:

Dave Fleming (1969)
Selected by the Mariners in the third round of the 1990 MLB Draft after leading Georgia to the College World Series title, Fleming won 17 games -- including nine straight decisions -- and tossed four shutouts in '92 to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting. He began to deal with arm issues, and after he was traded to the Royals in '95, he underwent surgery which ultimately ended his Major League career.

Glendon Rusch (1974)
Rusch played with six teams over a 12-year Major League career. In his MLB debut with Kansas City in '97, Rusch tossed an eight-inning gem, retiring 19 in a row at one point, to earn the win. With the Mets on July 14, 2001, he gave up a close-call bunt single in the first inning and nothing else against the Red Sox, settling for a one-hitter over eight innings in what was then-manager Bobby Valentine's 1,000th victory. Rusch also played three seasons with the Cubs, including a career-best '04 campaign, but he was hospitalized with a blood clot in '06 and missed the following season. He returned with the Padres, then played two seasons with the Rockies before retiring in '09.

Buck Martinez (1948)
Martinez played 17 seasons and 1,049 games in the Major Leagues for three teams (Royals, Brewers and Blue Jays). Following his playing career, the former catcher served as a broadcaster for the Blue Jays and ESPN before managing Toronto for the 2001 season and into '02. He then became a television analyst for the Orioles before rejoining the Blue Jays' broadcast team. Martinez also managed the United States team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in '06.

The Only Nolan (1857)
The only reason he made this list is quite obvious -- so, congratulations if you share a birthday with this character, even if his birth year may be in dispute. A Hall of Fame fireballer may have something to say about his brazen moniker, but it has prompted some expert sleuthing that dug up some theories about its origin along with an array of eccentricities surrounding this intriguing pitcher (and outfielder, and third baseman) -- who didn't have the numbers, but apparently had a blistering underhand fastball (according to "The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches").

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Nov. 7? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.