Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Dec. 10.
1) Steve Renko (1944)
In 1966, Renko had a decision to make when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders after a good football career at Kansas: professional football or professional baseball? He was already playing Minor League ball by then after signing with the Mets in 1965, and after seeing how often football players got hurt, Renko decided to stick with baseball. He turned it into a 15-year Major League career. The Kansas City, Kan., native began his big league career with the Expos and pitched for eight years in Montreal before a trade sent him to the Cubs in 1976. Renko then had stints with the White Sox, A’s, Red Sox and Angels. After pitching for the Royals in 1983, he called it a career. Renko finished his career with a 3.99 ERA and 134 wins, accumulating 23.5 WAR, according to Baseball Reference.
2) Jimmy Johnston (1889)
The oldest player that will appear on this list, Johnston was born in 1889 and played 13 years in the Majors, mainly for the Brooklyn Robins. He was a third baseman, outfielder and second baseman, finishing his career with 1,493 hits and a .721 OPS, accumulating 16.9 WAR.
3) Carlos Rodón (1992)
Drafted third overall by the White Sox in 2014, Rodón spent the first seven seasons of his career on the South Side. He threw the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history on April 14, 2021 — missing a perfect game only by hitting a batter with one out in the ninth — heralding a breakout season in which he went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 24 starts, finishing fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting. Chicago non-tendered him after the season, ending his Sox career with a 56-46 record, a 3.60 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Rodón signed a two-year deal with the Giants but opted out after the 2022 season, in which he went 14-8, with a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP en route to a sixth-place finish in NL Cy Young Award balloting.
4) Wil Myers (1990)
The 2013 American League Rookie of the Year, Myers was originally drafted in the third round by the Royals out of Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C). He was a top prospect sent to the Rays in a blockbuster trade in 2012, when the Royals received Wade Davis and James Shields — two integral parts of Kansas City’s success from 2013-15. Myers burst onto the scene in ’13 before the Rays traded him to the Padres in ’15. In San Diego, he has one All-Star appearance and finished 16th in MVP voting in 2020.
5) Nestor Cortes (1994)
Born in Cuba, “Nasty Nestor” went to high school in Hialeah, Fla., near Miami. The left-hander enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, going 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA and 0.92 WHIP and earning his first All-Star selection, striking out two in a scoreless inning. Coming into the year, Cortes had been 7-5 with a 4.66 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in parts of four seasons with the Orioles, Mariners and Yankees. His 4.2 bWAR was second on the Yankees to Aaron Judge’s 10.6 and his 159 ERA+ led the pitching staff.
Paul Assenmacher (1960)
A Detroit native who epitomized the LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy) role, Assenmacher is perhaps best known for his time with Cleveland, where he spent five years and made numerous postseason appearances. Assenmacher had a 4.05 postseason ERA — ballooned with a few bad outings — but was overall solid in the playoffs, including a 1.69 ERA in two World Series. The reliever began his career with the Braves in 1986, then spent four years with the Cubs. In 1995, he signed with Cleveland and was an important left-handed specialist for the club that won five consecutive American League Central titles. Assenmacher retired after the 1999 season with 13.0 career WAR and a 3.53 ERA across 14 years.