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The best baseball players born on Feb. 26

February 26th, 2024

Who 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 Feb. 26:

1) Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander (1887)
The sole Hall of Famer born on Feb. 26, Alexander spent an impressive 20 years in the National League. He led the league in wins in six seasons: 1911 (28), 1914 (27), 1915 (31), 1916 (33), 1917 (30) and 1920 (27). He also led the NL in strikeouts and complete games across six seasons. Among his other accolades are five NL ERA Titles (1915, 1916, 1917, 1919 and 1920), as well as three NL Triple Crowns (1915, 1916 and 1920). Alexander was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

2) Preacher Roe (1916)
Roe was known for his control, and for his spitball (which he confessed to throwing after he retired). The southpaw made five All-Star teams and was named the 1951 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year after posting an .880 winning percentage that season. He was never inducted into the Hall of Fame, though he had electric stuff, possibly due to that infamous (and illegal) spitter.

3) J.T. Snow (1968)
A six-time Gold Glove Award winner, Snow spent 16 years in the Majors. In 2000, the first baseman led the NL with 14 sacrifice flies and two years later he helped lead the Giants to the World Series, though they lost to the Angels. Snow was also named the winner of the Giants’ Willie McCovey Award, which is given to the most inspirational player on the team, in 1997 and 2004.

4) Kelly Gruber (1962)
In his fifth year in the Majors, Gruber was named the Blue Jays’ Most Improved Player (1988). Things only improved for the third baseman and outfielder. Gruber made the All-Star team in 1989 and ‘90. Gruber won his only AL Gold Glove Award and AL Silver Slugger in 1990 when he hit 31 home runs. Two years later, he helped lead Toronto to a World Series championship.

5) Carl Glass (1898)
Glass pitched in the National Negro League for seven years. He allowed just one home run in his debut year (1924) and led the NNL in innings pitched (200 2/3) in 1928. The southpaw, who was known for his curveball, went 44-51 over his career.

Other notable players:

Rip Collins (1896)
Not to be confused with Ripper Collins, Rip Collins was a right-handed pitcher who debuted with the Yankees in 1920 and played 11 years of ball in the AL. His most notable stats? He led the AL in hit by pitches (14) in 1914 and in walks (103) in 1922.

Scott Service (1967)
The righty spent 12 years in MLB. He debuted in 1988 with Philadelphia, but didn’t return to the Majors until 1992 when he was with Montreal.

Mark DeRosa (1975)
DeRosa, who is now an analyst on MLB Central, played in the Majors for 16 years (including seven years with the Braves). DeRosa was named the Blue Jays’ MLBPAA Heart And Hustle Award recipient in 2013, his last year playing professional baseball. He was also the manager for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Kevin Plawecki (1991)
The catcher completed his eighth year in the Majors in 2022, playing in a total of 64 games with Boston and Texas.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Feb. 26? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.