On This Day in Baseball

May 21

25 notable birthdays · 22 in memoriam

Born on May 21

Most accomplished baseball figures with this birthday, ranked by career impact.

01

Earl Averill ⭐ HOF b. 1902

.318 avg, 238 HR 1929–1941 Snohomish, USA
02

Bobby Cox ⭐ HOF b. 1941

.225 avg, 9 HR 1968–1969 Tulsa, USA
03

Kent Hrbek b. 1960

.282 avg, 293 HR 1981–1994 Minneapolis, USA
04

Josh Hamilton b. 1981

.290 avg, 200 HR 2007–2015 Raleigh, USA
05

Fred Dunlap b. 1859

.292 avg, 41 HR 1880–1891 Philadelphia, USA
06

Andrew Miller b. 1985

55-55, 4.03 ERA 2006–2021 Gainesville, USA
07

Jose Alvarado b. 1995

.000 avg, 0 HR 2017– Maracaibo, Venezuela
08

Doc Ayers b. 1891

65-79, 2.84 ERA 1913–1921 Snake Creek, USA
09

Mace Brown b. 1909

76-57, 3.46 ERA 1935–1946 North English, USA
10

Matt Wieters b. 1986

.249 avg, 146 HR 2009–2020 Goose Creek, USA
11

Joe Ross b. 1993

31-36, 4.38 ERA 2015– Berkeley, USA
12

Larry Rosenthal b. 1910

.263 avg, 22 HR 1936–1945 St. Paul, USA
13

Monty Stratton b. 1912

36-23, 3.71 ERA 1934–1938 Wagner, USA
14

Bryce Florie b. 1970

20-24, 4.47 ERA 1994–2001 Charleston, USA
15

Eddie Milner b. 1955

.253 avg, 42 HR 1980–1988 Columbus, USA
16

Mark Quinn b. 1974

.282 avg, 45 HR 1999–2002 La Mirada, USA
17

Tyler Freeman b. 1999

.247 avg, 16 HR 2022– Rancho Cucamonga, USA
18

Bob Molinaro b. 1950

.264 avg, 14 HR 1975–1983 Newark, USA
19

Rodolfo Castro b. 1999

.219 avg, 22 HR 2021– Los Llanos, D.R.
20

Allan Dykstra b. 1987

.129 avg, 1 HR 2015–2015 San Diego, USA
21

Sam Langford b. 1900

.275 avg, 5 HR 1926–1928 Briggs, USA
22

Joe Hudson b. 1991

.167 avg, 0 HR 2018– Tampa, USA
23

Paul Runge b. 1958

.232 avg, 4 HR 1981–1988 Kingston, USA
24

Greg O'Halloran b. 1968

.182 avg, 0 HR 1994–1994 Toronto, CAN
25

Greg Tabor b. 1961

.111 avg, 0 HR 1987–1987 Castro Valley, USA

Remembered on May 21

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Jim Whitney 1857–1891

191-204, 2.97 ERA 1881–1890
02

Hub Collins 1864–1892

.284 avg, 11 HR 1886–1892
03

Fred Gladding 1936–2015

.016 avg, 0 HR 1961–1973
04

Piper Davis 1917–1997

.312 avg, 8 HR
05

Dan Kennard 1883–1947

.296 avg, 16 HR
06

Hank Foiles 1929–2024

.243 avg, 46 HR 1953–1964
07

Archie McKain 1911–1985

26-21, 4.26 ERA 1937–1943
08

Sylvester Snead 1914–1995

.249 avg, 1 HR
09

Leo Birdine 1895–1960

13-22, 6.11 ERA
10

Bob Poser 1910–2002

.143 avg, 0 HR 1932–1935
11

Jack Farmer 1892–1970

.269 avg, 0 HR 1916–1918
12

Grover Powell 1940–1985

.200 avg, 0 HR 1963–1963
13

Freddie Velazquez 1937–2019

.256 avg, 0 HR 1969–1973
14

Carter Elliott 1893–1959

.250 avg, 0 HR 1921–1921
15

Joe Campini 1920–2001

.1000 avg, 0 HR
16

Bob King 1901–1974

.222 avg, 0 HR
17

Dave Garcia 1920–2018

MLB player
18

Jack McAdams 1886–1937

.000 avg, 0 HR 1911–1911
19

John Karst 1893–1976

MLB player 1915–1915
20

Sam Childs 1861–1938

.000 avg, 0 HR 1883–1883
21

David Lenz 1851–1886

.083 avg, 0 HR 1872–1872
22

Charlie Osterhout 1856–1933

.000 avg, 0 HR 1879–1879

May 21 in the record

25 baseball figures born on May 21 are listed, led by Earl Averill. Hall of Famers among them: Earl Averill and Bobby Cox. From Fred Dunlap in 1859 to Tyler Freeman in 1999, the births cover a long stretch of the game. Behind Earl Averill come Bobby Cox (b. 1941, .225 avg, 9 HR) and Kent Hrbek (b. 1960, .282 avg, 293 HR). May 21 birthplaces outside the United States include Venezuela, D.R., and CAN. Earl Averill (.318 avg, 238 HR) leads the May 21 hitters and Andrew Miller (55-55, 4.03 ERA) the pitchers. Open-ended career spans mark May 21 birthdays with no final game on record, such as Jose Alvarado, Joe Ross, and Tyler Freeman. The May 21 memorial list names 22 figures, beginning with Jim Whitney. The memorial list continues with Hub Collins (1864–1892) and Fred Gladding (1936–2015). The deaths span 1886, David Lenz, to 2024, Hank Foiles. The May 21 order reflects the site's career-impact ranking, and every name opens the player's profile.