We have you covered there, too, thanks to Baseball Reference’s Kenny Jackelen and his team. Here is a list of the top 10 birthdays by total WAR, entering 2022.
August 31 has a small lead over No. 2 on this list, but with five players born on this date who played in 2021, that lead could eventually grow. The list is headlined by Robinson and Eddie Plank, who each accumulated at least 90 WAR in their careers, two of the three Hall of Famers born on this date, along with Ray Dandridge.
The two Hall of Famers born on Nov. 26 rank fifth and sixth in career WAR among players with this birthday: Hugh Duffy (43.1 WAR) and Lefty Gomez (38.7). Ahead of them on the list are Finley, Bob Johnson (55.8), Bob Elliott (51.1) and Fred Tenney (43.8).
This date’s Hall of Famers are Morgan and Duke Snider, who had 65.9 WAR in his career. Third on the list is Sadie McMahon, who played from 1889-97 and managed to rack up 40.8 WAR in that span.
Appling, Don Sutton (66.7 WAR) and Hughie Jennings (42.3) are the three Hall of Famers with this typically early-season birthday. Others with at least 50 WAR born on this date are Reggie Smith (64.6), Tommy Bond (60.9) and Billy Pierce (53.4).
Boggs is one of two Hall of Famers born on this day, along with Billy Williams (63.7 WAR). Other names of note include Andy Pettitte (60.2), Brett Butler (49.7), Lance Parrish (39.5) and Dusty Baker (37.0).
This is the first birthday on the list to not have a Hall of Famer despite ranking this high in total WAR. Dahlen, who played from 1891-1911, leads the way. He is followed by Bob Caruthers (59.5 WAR), Art Fletcher (47.1) and Charlie Hough (38.4).
Delahanty had the second four-homer game in AL/NL history, on July 13, 1896. This birth date has three Hall of Famers in Delahanty, Bill Terry and Leon Day.
This date has two Hall of Famers in Speaker and Gil Hodges (43.9 WAR). The second-most WAR of any player with this birthday belongs to Scott Rolen at 70.1 — and he is notably still on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Rodriguez leads the way here, with Max Scherzer’s 67.1 WAR ranking second on the date. Joe Tinker, a Hall of Famer, is third, and another enshrined in Cooperstown born on this date is Biz Mackey.
November 21 produced three Hall of Famers in Musial, Ken Griffey Jr. (83.8 WAR) and Freddie Lindstrom (28.3). Musial and Griffey combined for 37 All-Star selections – the only other player with this birthday with even one is Hank Blalock (two).