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 May 17.

1. Cool Papa Bell (1903)
Born James Thomas, Cool Papa was a member of some of the best teams in Negro League history. His professional career started with the St. Louis Stars, where he played for 10 years. Bell also played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays. He was perhaps best known for his speed, running the bases in a recorded time of 13.6 seconds in 1933. Hall of Famer Paul Waner was quoted saying Cool Papa Bell was, "the fastest man" he had ever seen. Bell was an all-around great player, with his speed, defensive skills (primarily as a center fielder) and plate performance. He was an eight-time all-star and two-time world champion, earning him an induction to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

2. Carlos Pena (1978)
Pena was drafted in 1998 by the Rangers, with whom he made his Major League debut in 2001. The first baseman had a 14-year Major League career with eight teams, but he enjoyed his most successful years with Tampa Bay. In his first season with Tampa Bay, Pena put up a number of career highs, including batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.411), home runs (46) and RBIs (121). That 2007 season earned Pena the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award, and he finished ninth in MVP voting. Two years later, Pena led the AL with 39 homers and earned his only All-Star nomination. Following his playing career, Pena entered the broadcasting world as an analyst for MLB Network and an analyst/color commentator for NESN.

3. Carlos May (1948)
May played 10 years in the Majors, with his first nine seasons coming with the White Sox. May primarily played outfield, but also played 211 games at first. He was a two-time All-Star (1969 and '72) while with Chicago. May finished his career in '77 with a .274 average, 90 home runs and 526 RBIs. While with the White Sox, May wore the number 17 on his jersey, which allowed him to proudly represent his birthday with "May 17" on his back.

4. Billy Hoeft (1932)
Hoeft made his debut in 1952 with the Tigers as a starter. Over the course of his 15-year Major League career, Hoeft was converted to a reliever after several seasons starting for Detroit. The lefty saw one of his best seasons in 1955 when he led the Majors with seven shutouts and earned an All-Star nomination. After appearances with the Red Sox, Orioles, Giants, Braves and Cubs, Hoeft announced he was retiring in 1966 and going to IBM school in Detroit.

5. Hal Carlson (1892)
Carlson struggled throughout his life with chronic health issues, which ultimately led to his death in the early morning before a scheduled start in 1930. Toward the start of his 14-year career, Carlson experimented with and eventually adopted the spitball pitch as his specialty. While Carlson was fighting in World War I, the spitball pitch was banned for the 1920 season, with the exception of two pitchers per team who were allowed to continue using the pitch for one season if they were reliant on it. Carlson was not named as one the pitchers, and had to reinvent his technique. He would go on to have success, leading the National League with four shutouts in 1925. In '26, Carlson finished 11th in MVP voting. He died on May 28, 1930, after suffering a stomach hemorrhage in the middle of the night.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for May 17? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.