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 June 12.

1) Bill Foster (1904)
Regarded as one of if not the best left-hander in the history of the Negro Leagues, Foster was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1996. Known for his “devastating sidearm delivery,” he won 26 straight games in 1926. With the Chicago American Giants needing to sweep a doubleheader in the playoffs against the Kansas City Monarchs to take the pennant that year, Foster started and won both games, pitching opposite another future Hall of Famer in Bullet Rogan. He was also the half-brother of Rube Foster, who is known as the “Father of Black Baseball.”

2) Hideki Matsui (1974)
Affectionately known as “Godzilla” for his immense power, Matsui hit 332 home runs in Japan and 175 more during his MLB career, with 140 coming during his time with the Yankees. It didn’t take long for Matsui to win over the fans in New York, as he became the first Yankees player to hit a grand slam in his Yankee Stadium debut (April 8, 2003). Matsui, one of Derek Jeter’s all-time favorite teammates, also wrapped up his career with the Bronx Bombers in incredible fashion, as he hit a go-ahead homer as part of a six-RBI performance in Game 6 of the 2009 Fall Classic to secure the 27th World Series title in the history of the franchise (he was named World Series MVP).

3) Ryan Klesko (1971)
Bat flips are all the rage now, and Klesko was flipping them way back in the mid-1990s. Klesko left his mark with the Braves (as an outfielder) and the Padres (as a first baseman) during his 16-year big league career. He homered in three consecutive World Series games during the 1995 Fall Classic, and during the ‘99 World Series, had his bat broken three times in one at-bat by Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera.

4) Avisaíl García (1991)
If you like long home runs (and who doesn’t?) then you should love García, who launches balls so far not even championship banners are safe. Nicknamed “Mini Miggy” from when he was a top prospect with Miguel Cabrera’s Detroit Tigers, García actually is quite the imposing figure, listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. After hitting 29 homers with the Brewers during the 2021 season, he signed a four-year deal with the Marlins in December '21.

5) Matty McIntyre (1880)
A member of back-to-back pennant-winning teams with the Tigers (1908, ‘09), McIntyre led the Majors in runs scored in 1908 with 105. Those Tigers clubs featured one of the greatest outfields of all time, with McIntyre and a pair of Hall of Famers in Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford. McIntyre did not get along with Cobb, a feud that escalated in 1906 when “McIntyre actively participated in hazing the brash rookie and Cobb fought back.”

Others of note:
Sean Newcomb (1993)
The left-hander came one out shy of throwing a no-hitter for the Braves against the Dodgers on July 29, 2018. Chris Taylor broke it up with a two-out single in the ninth.

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