The best baseball players born on Oct. 12

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. 12.

1) Joe Cronin (1906)
Cronin had one of the most decorated careers in MLB history, spending nearly 50 years in baseball as a star shortstop, manager, general manager and American League president. In 20 seasons as a player -- 11 with the Red Sox -- Cronin was a seven-time All-Star and hit .301 with an .857 OPS. He spent the last 13 years of his career as a player/manager, and in his first season as a full-time skipper in 1946, Boston won the AL pennant but fell to St. Louis in the World Series. At the conclusion of the 1947 season, Cronin took off his uniform for good and served as the Red Sox’s GM and president for the next 11 years. And then Cronin was the president of the AL from 1958-73, when he oversaw the league’s expansion from eight to 12 teams, orchestrated the relocation of four teams, hired the first Black umpire in MLB history and helped write the designated hitter rule. Cronin even nearly became baseball’s Commissioner twice. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1956, and on May 29, 1984, near the end of a long battle with cancer, Cronin’s No. 4 was retired by the Red Sox alongside his good friend Ted Williams’ No. 9 -- the first two numbers to be retired in franchise history -- in an emotional ceremony at Fenway Park.

2) Rick Ferrell (1905)
One of the best catchers in baseball in the 1930s and '40s, the Hall of Famer Ferrell hit .281 with a .378 on-base percentage during his 18-year playing career with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. The eight-time All-Star was known for his strong arm and ability to throw out basestealers. In 7,706 career plate appearances, Ferrell drew 931 walks and struck out just 277 times. After his playing days, he served as a coach for the Senators and the Tigers, and then as Detroit’s general manager for four years. Ferrell remained with the Tigers after his GM stint as a senior member of the front office from 1963-92, during which Detroit won two World Series titles.

3) Sid Fernandez (1962)
One of two Honolulu natives on the 1986 World Series champion Mets along with Ron Darling, El Sid had one of the most underrated careers in franchise history. Fernandez, who was a two-time All-Star and finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting in ’86, went 98-78 with a 3.14 ERA in his 10 years with the Mets and led the NL in hits per nine innings three times. Fernandez’s biggest moment came in Game 7 of the World Series when the big lefty relieved a struggling Darling and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox to keep the game close, and the Mets responded by rallying from a 3-0 deficit to claim the title.

4) Ketel Marte (1993)
Signed by the Mariners out of the Dominican Republic in 2010, Marte made his Major League debut with Seattle as a 21-year-old in ’15. After two seasons, the Mariners traded him to the D-backs, and Marte’s career really took off in Arizona. Marte led the Majors with 12 triples in 2018 and then the breakout came in ’19, when he slashed .329/.389/.592 with 32 homers, 97 runs scored, 92 RBIs and a .981 OPS while earning his first career All-Star nod and finishing fourth in NL MVP voting. In 2023, he helped the D-backs to the NL pennant, and in '24 he was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career while hitting .292 with 36 homers.

5) Jose Valentin (1969)
Valentin had a solid 16-year career in the Majors, posting a 31.6 WAR while playing for the Brewers, White Sox, Dodgers and Mets. After an average eight years in Milwaukee, the infielder had the best stretch of his career during a strong five-season run in Chicago, as Valentin hit at least 25 homers in each campaign while posting an .802 OPS in that span. Valentin had a down year with the Dodgers in 2005, but he rebounded as a 36-year-old for the 2006 Mets squad that dominated the NL East, hitting .271 with 18 homers and an .820 OPS in his last full season in the Majors.

Others of note:

Tony Kubek (1935)
The 1957 AL Rookie of the Year, Kubek was a four-time All-Star and won three World Series with the Yankees during his nine-year career that ended prematurely due to injuries after the 1965 season. Kubek homered twice in Game 3 of the 1957 World Series against the Braves in his hometown of Milwaukee, the first time his family got to see him play in a Major League game. In 2009, Kubek received the Ford C. Frick Award at the Hall of Fame for his contributions to baseball as a broadcaster.

Glenn Beckert (1940)
Beckert was a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove second baseman during his nine years with the Cubs. The best season of his career came in 1971, when he hit .342 with a .773 OPS and finished 11th in NL MVP voting.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Oct. 12? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.