The best baseball players born on Aug. 22
Paige Leckie
@paige_leckieWho 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 Aug. 22.
1) Carl Yastrzemski (1939)
One of three Hall of Famers on this list, Yastrzemski had a legendary 23-year career in the Majors. After just his third season in MLB, the outfielder had already received AL MVP votes (in 1962) and been named an All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner (1963). He went on to win six more Gold Glove Awards and was selected to a whopping 18 All-Star teams. Yastrzemski¡¯s stellar 1967 MVP campaign, in which he finished the regular season with 20 hits in his final 37 at-bats (with three home runs and 14 RBIs), won the AL Triple Crown and led the Red Sox to the World Series, helped reignite Boston fans¡¯ passion. That Triple Crown was the last until 2012, when Miguel Cabrera accomplished the feat. Yastrzemski finished his career with 452 home runs, 3,419 hits and 1,844 RBIs in 3,308 games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year on the ballot. His grandson, Mike Yastrzemski, currently plays for the Giants.
2) Paul Molitor (1956)
Likened to Joe DiMaggio by fellow Hall of Famer Ted Williams, Molitor boasted superb skills at the plate -- thanks to his short, compact swing -- that propelled him into the Hall of Fame. Molitor spent 15 years of his 21-year playing career in Milwaukee. He made the All-Star team seven times and was a four-time AL Silver Slugger winner. In 1993 he helped the Blue Jays to win the World Series and was named MVP after slashing .458/.536/.917 in the six-game Fall Classic, including two homers, two triples and seven RBIs. Molitor was inducted into the Hall in 2002, a decade before he began a managerial career. He served as Minnesota¡¯s skipper from 2015-18 and earned the AL Manager of the Year Award in ¡®17, when he took the Twins from a 103-loss team the year before to a Wild Card Game berth. Molitor joined the Twins' front office in 2021 as a special assistant to baseball operations.
3) Ned Hanlon (1857)
Hanlon played in the Majors from 1880-92, during which he won one World Series (in 1887 as captain of the Detroit Wolverines). But Hanlon¡¯s lasting legacy (and his posthumous 1996 induction into the Hall of Fame) came not from his playing days, but rather from the groundbreaking work he did as a manager. In 1888 he became player-manager of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He even played a role in the Alleghenys becoming known as the Pirates. Hanlon took over the Orioles in 1892, building a top-notch team by sticking to aggressive strategies, playing a large role in making baseball the game fans know today. Hanlon won five NL pennants between 1894-1900 and, in 1937, was deemed the ¡°Father of Modern Baseball.¡±
4) Randy Wolf (1976)
Wolf was a reliable southpaw over a 16-year career, including making the NL All-Star team as a Phillie in 2003, when he recorded a 16-10 record. By the time he hung up his cleats, Wolf had posted a 133-125 record with a 4.24 ERA and 1,814 strikeouts over 2,328 1/3 innings.
5) Wally Schang (1889)
A three-time World Series champ, Schang played alongside Babe Ruth with both the Red Sox and the Yankees. A catcher who also saw lots of time in the outfield early on, Schang placed among the top 20 AL MVP vote-getters five times, including top-10 finishes his first two years in the Majors (1913-14). When the Philadelphia Athletics won the 1913 World Series, Schang hit .357 with a 1.152 OPS in four games, including seven RBIs.
Other notable players:
Ray Burris (1950)
The son of sharecroppers in rural Oklahoma, Burris had an impressive 15-year pitching career in the Majors. He had one of his best years in 1981, when he followed up his 3.05-ERA regular season with two outstanding starts in the NLCS for the Expos, including one complete game. (He recorded a 0.53 ERA in 17 innings that series.) After his playing days, Burris spent time in various coaching positions in the Majors and Minors, including as the pitching coach for the Brewers in 1990-91 and the Rangers¡¯ bullpen coach in ¡®92.
Darrin Jackson (1963)
Jackson led the NL in double plays turned as an outfielder (nine) in 1992 while playing for the Padres. He also led the NL in double plays grounded into that year (21). Jackson has been the White Sox radio analyst since 2000.
Want to see more baseball birthdays for Aug. 22? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.