The best baseball players born on Oct. 11

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 Oct. 11.

1. Will White (1854)
White was a workhorse pitcher in the early days of organized baseball. While modern starting pitchers strive to reach 200 innings in a season, White tossed a record 680 innings in 1879 for the Cincinnati Reds, four outs more than Old Hoss Radbourn’s 678 2/3 innings in ‘84 for the Providence Grays. He started 75 of the Reds’ 81 games that season, and he finished each of those 75 starts -- yes, that’s 75 complete games. White had six seasons of 456 or more innings in his 10-year career, and he won 30 or more games five times, topping out at 43 wins in ‘79 and ‘83. He also lost 42 games in ‘80, the second-most losses in a single season.

2. Orlando Hernandez (1965)
Hernandez starred for 10 seasons in Cuba and helped his homeland win the gold medal in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona prior to defecting in '97 at 32, joining his half-brother Livan Hernandez in the Major Leagues. Despite not debuting in the U.S. until well into his 30s, he went on to an eventful nine-year career after bursting onto the big league scene and going 12-4 with a 3.13 ERA as a rookie in 1998 while helping the Yankees to the World Series title. “El Duque” finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year Award voting that season, and he followed that up by winning 17 games in ‘99 and 12 games in 2000 as a key part of the Yanks’ three-peat. Hernandez went 8-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 73 2/3 innings over those three postseasons, winning the ALCS MVP Award in ‘99. He won a fourth ring in ‘05 with the White Sox, before spending time with the D-backs and Mets. Hernandez attempted comebacks in the Minor Leagues with the Rangers in ‘09 and the Nationals in ‘10 before officially retiring in August 2011 at 45.

3. Gregg Olson (1966)
Olson was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1988 Draft out of Auburn University by the Orioles, and he quickly made his way to the big leagues that fall. He won the O’s closer job in ‘89 and earned a club-record 160 saves over the next five seasons, winning the 1989 American League Rookie of the Year Award (the first reliever to do so) and finishing sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting that season as well. Olson garnered his lone All-Star nod in ‘90, when he saved a career-high 37 games in a season in which Baltimore won just 76 times. After injuring his right elbow in August 1993, he bounced around to the Braves, Indians, Royals, Tigers, Astros, Twins, D-backs and Dodgers over the next eight seasons, enjoying mostly modest success, with the exception of 44 saves for Arizona in ‘98-99.

4. Dmitri Young (1973)
Young was the fourth overall pick by the Cardinals in the 1991 Draft, and he played for the Cards, Reds, Tigers and Nationals over his 13-year career. His lone postseason appearance came as a 22-year-old rookie with St. Louis just a month after his Major League debut, but he enjoyed plenty of regular-season success, reaching double digits in homers eight times, topping out at 29 with Detroit in 2003, the first of his two All-Star seasons. Young won the National League Comeback Player of the Year in ‘07 with the Nats, his second All-Star season. He is an avid baseball card collector, and his brother Delmon Young was the top pick in the 2003 Draft by the Rays and played 10 seasons in the Majors.

5. Bob Chipman (1918)
Chipman enjoyed a successful 12-year career with the Dodgers, Cubs and Braves from 1941-52 as a left-handed swingman, appearing in 293 games (87 as a starter). He made his debut in September 1941 after Brooklyn had clinched the National League pennant, but he was not eligible to pitch in the World Series. Chipman did appear in the Fall Classic in ‘45 for Chicago, facing two batters in Game 5 of the Cubs’ eventual loss to the Tigers in seven games.

Others of note

Gio Urshela (1991)
Urshela had modest success in a couple of seasons with the Indians and one with the Blue Jays, but he busted out with the Yankees in 2019 after starting third baseman Miguel Andújar went down with an injury. Urshela batted .314/.355/.534 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs that season along with solid defense at the hot corner. He then led American League third basemen in fielding percentage in ‘20. The Yankees traded Urshela to the Twins in 2022, and he was delt from Minnesota to the Angels after the season.

Ty Wigginton (1977)
Wigginton played 12 seasons in the Majors, spending time with the Mets, Pirates, Devil Rays, Astros, Orioles, Rockies, Phillies and Cardinals. He finished eighth in voting for the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year Award after hitting 11 homers and stealing 11 bases with New York. Wigginton reached double digits in homers nine times, topping out with a career-high 24 for Tampa Bay in ‘06. His lone All-Star appearance came in ‘10 with Baltimore, when he put up a .248/.312/.415 slash line while playing first, second and third base for the O’s.

Silvio García (1913)
García was a Cuban shortstop and pitcher who played from 1931-54 in his native country, Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Negro Leagues. He caught the Dodgers’ eye in the spring of 1942 by going 8-for-21 against them in a five-game series when they were training in Cuba, and Branch Rickey is reported to have had interest in signing García to break the color barrier.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Oct. 11? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.