The best baseball players born on Oct. 22

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. 22:

1. Jimmie Foxx (1907)
Where does one start with one of the greatest hitters of all time? Foxx made his MLB debut at 17, when he was still a junior in high school. The Hall of Famer would become a three-time MVP, Triple Crown winner and nine-time All-Star during a 20-year MLB career (1925-45) with the Philadelphia A's, Red Sox, Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. Blocked at catcher, he moved to first base and knocked at least 30 home runs in 12 straight seasons, and became the second player to reach 500 homers. Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez, who once surrendered a third-deck shot at Yankee Stadium to Foxx, once said "he has muscles in his hair." Foxx won back-to-back World Series with the A's in 1929-30. Following his playing career, he managed in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

2. Ichiro Suzuki (1973)
Only a few people on this planet are well-known enough to be addressed by one name. Ichiro might not have made his MLB debut until age 27, but it was one for the ages. The future Hall of Famer captured a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, and was named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in 2001, becoming the first player to do so. In each of the first 10 seasons of his career -- all with the Mariners -- he recorded a 200-hit campaign, made the All-Star Game and won the Gold Glove in right field. His 262 hits in '04 are still a single-season record. Fans from his homeland of Japan would travel to watch him play, and international media followed him for coverage. Over the final eight seasons of his 19-year career, Ichiro split time with the Yankees and Marlins, with whom he collected his 3,000th hit in 2016, before retiring with Seattle in '19.

3. Robinson Canó (1982)
Second in Baseball Reference's version of WAR (68.1) for players born on Oct. 22, behind Foxx and in front of Ichiro, Canó has had a controversial 17-year MLB career (2005-22) with the Yankees, Mariners, Mets, Padres and Braves. The smooth-swinging left-handed hitter was an eight-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glover at second base, but he was also suspended twice for PEDs, including the entire 2021 season. Canó was the 2011 Home Run Derby champion, the '13 World Baseball Classic MVP and the '17 All-Star Game MVP. In 2008, Canó recorded the final RBI in old Yankee Stadium history, then threw over to first for the final out of the '09 World Series.

4. Wilbur Wood (1941)
Two-hundred-inning seasons are a rarity these days, so imagine Wood tossing a MLB-high 376 2/3 in 1972 -- the highest total in 55 years! Wood would finish as the runner-up for the AL Cy Young. The southpaw found little success for the hometown Red Sox and Pirates before doing so with the White Sox over the final 12 seasons of a 17-year career (1961-78). That stretch coincided with the three-time All-Star learning to throw a knuckleball. Wood led the AL in wins twice, appearances thrice, including a then-record 88 in 1968, starts four times and ERA+ once. Fourth in WAR among those born on Oct. 22, he also holds the distinction of winning two games on the same night (June 8, 1973), when he pitched five innings of a suspended game and then tossed a shutout.

5. Corbin Burnes (1994)
Though Burnes ranks seventh in WAR (13.6) among players born on this day, his 2021 All-Star season catapulted him into the top five. The Brewers' right-hander won the Cy Young in his fourth MLB season, leading the NL with a 2.43 ERA, 176 ERA+, 1.63 FIP, 0.4 HR/9 and 12.6 K/9. Burnes set a MLB record for most strikeouts to begin a season before issuing a walk (58), and on Aug. 12, he tied a AL/NL record by striking out 10 consecutive batters in a game against the Cubs. It got even better when Burnes pitched the first eight innings of a combined no-hitter with Josh Hader against Cleveland. There's no doubt Burnes, whose career began as a reliever in 2018 (7-0, 2.61 ERA), has bounced back from a tough '19 (51 ERA+) with a 146 ERA+ since. He was an All-Star for the third straight year in 2023, while helping the Brewers to the NL Central title.

Others of note:
Darren O'Day (1982)
A true underdog, O'Day went undrafted out of the University of Florida and was later selected in the Rule 5 Draft and claimed off waivers. His submarine delivery has allowed him to pitch in parts of 14 MLB seasons with six ballclubs (2008-21), accumulating the sixth-most WAR (17.4) for those players born on Oct. 22. The right-hander's best stretch came with the Orioles from 2012-18, when he compiled a 174 ERA+ and 19 saves, primarily as a setup man. In 2015, he made his lone All-Star team.

Johnny Morrison (1895)
A member of the 1925 World Series-winning Pirates, Morrison posted a 2.89 ERA in three postseason appearances. Fifth in WAR (18.8) among those players born on this day, the right-hander led the NL in games, shutouts and saves twice during a 10-year MLB career between the Pirates and Brooklyn Robins (1920-30).

Geraldo Perdomo (1999)
The shortstop became an All-Star at the age of 23 in 2023, while helping the D-backs reach the postseason.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Oct. 22? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.