The best baseball players born on March 30

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 March 30:

1) Chris Sale (1989)
The lanky left-hander with a funky delivery quickly made it to the Majors, debuting only two months after he was picked 13th overall by the White Sox in the 2010 Draft, then quickly rose to stardom as one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. Sale made seven consecutive All-Star teams from 2012-18 and finished in the top six of the American League Cy Young Award voting each season. The Lakeland, Fla., native led the AL in strikeouts in 2015 (274), led all of baseball with 308 strikeouts in ‘17 and recorded the final three outs of the 2018 World Series for the Red Sox. In 2019, Sale became the fastest pitcher in Major League history (1,626 innings) to record 2,000 career strikeouts.

2) Alex Bregman (1994)
After his third full season in the Majors, Bregman could claim two All-Star nods, an All-Star Game MVP, two top-five AL MVP finishes, a Silver Slugger Award, a gold medal in the World Baseball Classic and a World Series ring. All that and 35.5 WAR -- more than all but two other players born on March 30. Drafted second overall in 2015 out of Louisiana State University, Bregman debuted in July 2016, reached the postseason in each of his first six full seasons with Houston and led the Majors with 9.0 WAR in 2019. He won a second World Series ring in 2022.

3) George Van Haltren (1866)
Van Haltren isn’t quite a household name, but he was a solid left-handed pitcher who eventually became a quality leadoff-hitting center fielder for the White Stockings, the original Orioles (before they moved and became the Yankees), Pirates and New York Giants from 1887-1903. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound lefty, born in St. Louis, finished his career with 2,544 hits, 1,642 runs, 1,015 RBIs, 583 stolen bases and a .316 batting average. He was known for his strong throwing arm in the outfield -- no surprise, considering he began his career pitching more than he played the field -- and hit better than .300 every year from 1893-1901.

4) Ripper Collins (1904)
Part of the Cardinals’ “Gashouse Gang” in the early 1930s, Collins led the National League with 35 homers (tied with Mel Ott) and 369 total bases while also driving in 128 runs with 116 scored in 1934. The switch-hitting first baseman was part of two World Series championship teams in St. Louis (1931 and ’34), earned three straight All-Star nods from 1935-37, then reached another Fall Classic with the Cubs in ’38 during his nine-year career. The story goes that James Anthony Collins earned his nickname as a young player when he hit a ball that struck a nail in the outfield fence, partially tearing the cover off the ball; the outfielder who recovered the hanging ball, when asked who hit it there, reportedly said, “It was the ripper.”

5) Tom Burns (1857)
Part of the White Stockings’ defensive group called the “Stonewall Infield” by manager Cap Anson, Burns lined up at third base for Chicago from 1880-91 and led NL third baseman in both assists and putouts in 1888 and ’89. He also led the league in double plays turned by a third baseman in 1887 and ’89. Burns became a player-manager for Pittsburgh in 1892, finishing a playing career in which he totaled 22.2 WAR, but he was dismissed after the team’s disappointing start. He returned as manager of the Chicago Orphans in 1898-99, replacing Anson, then managed in the Minors until he died at the age of 44 in 1902.

Others of note:

Jake Marisnick (1991)
Selected in the third round of the 2009 Draft by Toronto, the one-time Top 100 prospect was part of the massive trade that sent Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes to the Blue Jays in November 2012. He was dealt to the Astros two years later and spent parts of six seasons in Houston’s outfield.

Dick Fowler (1921)
The Toronto-born right-hander served in the Canadian Army during World War II, returned to the mound for the Philadelphia Athletics in September 1945 and, after three relief appearances, pitched a no-hitter in his first start back -- a 1-0 win against the St. Louis Browns. Overall, he was 66-79 with a 4.11 ERA during his 10-year career.

Dick Woodson (1945)
The right-handed pitcher might be known best for being the subject of MLB’s first-ever arbitration hearing in February 1974. He was awarded his request of $30,000 rather than the Twins’ offer of $23,000, and he was traded to the Yankees three months later. Overall, he was 34-32 with a 3.47 ERA over five seasons in the Majors.

Josh Bard (1978)
The switch-hitting catcher clubbed a walk-off homer in his Major League debut and eventually moved into the coaching ranks after a 10-year career with Cleveland, Boston, San Diego, Washington and Seattle.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for March 30? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.