Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Jan. 9:
1) Stan Javier (1964)
Javier had serious baseball roots – his father, Julián, played second base for the Cardinals in the 1960s and early ’70s, and named his son after a longtime teammate, Hall of Famer Stan Musial. The younger Javier debuted in 1984 and remained in the Majors until 2001, during which time he played for eight different teams, and was the first player to homer in an Interleague game as a member of the Giants in 1997.
2) Otis Nixon (1959)
No one stole more bases in the ’90s than Otis Nixon, who never led the league in steals but topped 40 in a season nine times in his career. He is one of just four players to have stolen six bases in a game in the modern era, along with Carl Crawford, Eric Young Sr. and Eddie Collins. Nixon logged 17 years in the Majors.
3) Ralph Terry (1936)
Terry won two World Series championships with the Yankees and headlined New York’s staff in their 1962 title run, leading the American League in wins, starts and innings pitched. Unfortunately for him, despite his overwhelming success at the Major League level, he was also the pitcher who give up Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. After retiring from baseball, Terry became the first MLB player to also play on the PGA tour.
4) Ivan De Jesus Sr. (1953)
Possibly most famous for being the man the Cubs traded for a very young Ryne Sandberg, De Jesus had an up and down career, hitting .254/.323/.326 in parts of 15 seasons before becoming a manager and coach at the Minor League level. His son, Iván De Jesus Jr., was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2005 and had a brief Major League career from 2011 to 2016.
5) Jonas Gaines (1915)
Gaines was a four-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues, but also logged time in the Mexican League and Japan’s Nippon Professional League.
Johnny Washington (1916)
Washington spent nearly two decades in the Negro Leagues, made three All-Star teams, and won a batting title in 1940 as a member of the New York Black Yankees.
Alek Manoah (1998)
After an impressive rookie campaign in 2021 for the Blue Jays, the right hander continued his ascent in ‘22 when he was an AL All-Star and was named to the All-MLB First Team.