The best baseball players born on Oct. 20

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. 20.

1) Mickey Mantle (1931)
One of the most iconic figures -- let alone athletes -- of 20th century America, Mantle created a legacy that goes beyond the statistics he accrued in his 18-year playing career. With his powerful switch-hitting stroke, boyish good looks and the domination of his Yankees teams in the 1950s and early '60s, Mantle epitomized the optimism and innocence of the post-World War II era for a generation of Americans. Add in his eye-popping numbers -- 536 home runs, 20 All-Star selections, seven World Series titles, three AL MVP Awards -- and you have the makings of a legend.

2) Juan Marichal (1937)
Only a player of Mantle's monumental stature could push Marichal to No. 2 on any list of great baseball players. Marichal became the first Dominican-born player elected to the Hall of Fame after a masterful 16-year career spent mostly with the Giants from 1960-75. Marichal was not a fearsome fireballer like his contemporaries Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson; he was instead one of the game's great finesse pitchers, using his trademark high leg kick and five-pitch arsenal to deceive hitters to the tune of a 2.89 ERA and 243-142 record.

3) Keith Hernandez (1953)
Probably the greatest fielding first baseman of all time, Hernandez is an icon of two franchises -- the Cardinals, with whom he won the 1979 NL MVP Award (shared with Willie Stargell) and the 1982 World Series, as well as the Mets, where he became the team leader en route to the famous 1986 title. His 11 Gold Gloves deservedly draw a lot of attention, but he was a force at the plate; he hit at least .290 in 11 of his 17 seasons and won the 1979 batting title with a .344 average. Despite such a remarkable career, he is now perhaps equally well-known for what he's accomplished since retiring, which includes a memorable appearance on "Seinfeld" as well as a long tenure in the Mets' highly regarded TV broadcast booth.

4) Juan Gonzalez (1969)
Few hitters were more feared in the 1990s than Juan Gone. The powerful outfielder slugged 434 homers and hit an impressive .295/.343/.561 in a career that included two AL MVP Awards with the Rangers, a 1993 Home Run Derby victory and six Silver Slugger Awards. Gonzalez led the Majors in homers twice, passing the 40-homer mark five times in total.

5) Bruce Campbell (1909)
Despite obvious talent at the dish, it took Campbell two years of bouncing between the Majors and Minors with the White Sox before he finally caught on in the bigs with the St. Louis Browns in 1932. Three years later, he was diagnosed with spinal meningitis; he courageously fought off three attacks of the life-threatening condition from 1935-36 and was able to enjoy six more strong seasons in the Majors before joining the U.S. Army Air Force with the outbreak of World War II.

Others of note:
Dave Collins (1952)
Collins was a journeyman outfielder with a reliable bat, traversing the country with eight teams from 1975-90. He had a knack for bad timing with the Reds: He was traded to Cincinnati in December 1977, catching the tail end of the Big Red Machine, then returned to Cincy for three more seasons in the late '80s before signing with the rival Cardinals in 1990, when the Reds won it all again.

Juan Padrón (1892)
A native of Key West, Fla., Padrón pitched for several teams in America and Cuba in organized Black baseball leagues before the formation of the Negro National League in 1921. He joined the NNL in '22, pitching to a 3.14 ERA in five years, notably not allowing a single home run over 141 innings in 1924.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Oct. 20? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.