The best baseball players born on Jan. 27
Len Hochberg
@LenHochbergWho 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 Jan. 27.
1) Bibb Falk (1899)
The Black Sox Scandal of 1919 was Falk's big break: He replaced the banished Shoeless Joe Jackson in left field for the White Sox in 1921. In his 12-year career, Falk hit .314 and totaled almost 1,500 hits (1,463) and 800 RBIs (784). His best season was 1926, when he hit .345 with 108 RBIs and earned MVP votes. Falk's nickname was "Jockey" because he was always riding other players (rim shot!). The Austin, Texas, native then went on to an enormously successful career as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Texas. He won more than 400 games across a quarter of a century, amassing 20 Southwestern Conference titles and back-to-back College World Series in 1949-50. The Longhorns' field is named Disch-Falk Field after Falk and his former coach, Billy Disch. Oh, one more thing: Bibb really is his given name.
2) Julio Teheran (1991)
The two-time All-Star right-hander was a workhorse in Atlanta, making at least 30 starts for seven straight seasons from 2013 to '19. The native of Colombia was the Opening Day starter for the final six of those years, behind only Phil Niekro (8) and Greg Maddux (7) in Atlanta Braves history. Teheran made 11 starts for the Brewers in 2023.
3) Bryan Reynolds (1995)
The budding star arrived in Pittsburgh in a 2018 trade with the Giants where the principals were Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen. Reynolds is already fourth all-time in WAR among those born on this date, 15.9. The center fielder was fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 and was an All-Star in 2021, having slashed .302/.390/.522 with 24 homers and 90 RBIs. He hit 24 homers and 31 doubles for Pittsburgh in 2023.
4) Milt Gaston (1896)
Gaston won almost 100 games in the 1920s and '30s, so he was not nothing. Alas, he is most known for being more games under .500 than any other pitcher in history -- 67 (97-164). On the other hand, he was a pretty good hitter, banging out six homers and 75 RBIs across his 11 seasons. When Gaston first came up with the Yankees in 1924, he roomed with Lou Gehrig. He is believed to have been teammates with more Hall of Famers, 17, than anyone else.
5) Gavin Floyd (1983)
The fourth overall pick of the Phillies in the 2001 Draft, the right-hander pitched in the bigs for 13 years, most notably for the White Sox, making at least 29 starts for five straight seasons. In 2008, Floyd was two outs from a no-hitter before Joe Mauer had other ideas. That was Floyd's best season, as he went 17-8 and surpassed 200 innings for the only time in his career.
Others of note:
Ken Huckaby (1971)
The catcher played from 2001 to 2006 and he's perhaps most remembered for being involved in a play in 2003 in which Derek Jeter separated his shoulder. Huckaby was hired to manage the Blue Jays' Triple-A Buffalo Bisons for the 2020 season, but it never happened because of the pandemic, and then he was dismissed before the 2021 season, meaning he never managed a game with the team.
Angel Berroa (1978)
The Royals shortstop was a controversial choice as 2003 AL Rookie of the Year, beating the Rays' Rocco Baldelli and the Yankees' Hideki Matsui. It was controversial for two reasons: 1) The vote was very close and 2) George Steinbrenner was irate that Matsui deserved the honor. Berroa's career went the wrong way from there, and he was out of baseball after 2009.
Steve Demeter (1935)
Demeter was on the wrong side of one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history. After one season in Detroit in 1959, he was traded to Cleveland straight up for Norm Cash, who went on to win the 1961 AL batting title and hit 373 career home runs across 15 seasons with the Tigers. Demeter played four games for Cleveland and his career was over.
Eric Wedge (1968)
Wedge played 39 MLB games as a catcher in the early 2000s before going on to a 10-year managerial career with Cleveland and Seattle. He won the AL Central and AL Manager of the Year in 2007, but lost to Boston in the ALCS. In 2019, Wedge became head coach at Wichita State, his alma mater, and he coached the Shockers for three seasons.
Tim Beckham (1990)
The infielder was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay. He spent parts of seven seasons with the Rays, Orioles, Mariners and Twins through 2022, playing in as many as 100 games only once with a career WAR of 3.2.
Want to see more baseball birthdays for Jan. 27? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.