On This Day in Baseball

December 17

25 notable birthdays · 25 in memoriam

Born on December 17

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

  1. 01
    Chase Utley b. 1978
    .275 avg, 259 HR 2003–2018 Pasadena, USA
  2. 02
    Bill Hutchison b. 1859
    182-163, 3.59 ERA 1884–1897 New Haven, USA
  3. 03
    Ted Trent b. 1903
    86-66, 3.63 ERA Jacksonville, USA
  4. 04
    Cy Falkenberg b. 1879
    130-123, 2.68 ERA 1903–1917 Chicago, USA
  5. 05
    Taylor Rogers b. 1990
    MLB player 2016– Littleton, USA
  6. 06
    Tyler Rogers b. 1990
    MLB player 2019– Littleton, USA
  7. 07
    Bob Ojeda b. 1957
    115-98, 3.65 ERA 1980–1994 Los Angeles, USA
  8. 08
    Leo Cardenas b. 1938
    .257 avg, 118 HR 1960–1975 Matanzas, Cuba
  9. 09
    Roy Patterson b. 1876
    81-72, 2.75 ERA 1901–1907 Stoddard, USA
  10. 10
    Rebel Oakes b. 1883
    .279 avg, 15 HR 1909–1915 Lisbon, USA
  11. 11
    Donovan Solano b. 1987
    .277 avg, 43 HR 2012– Barranquilla, Colombia
  12. 12
    Ray Jablonski b. 1926
    .268 avg, 83 HR 1953–1960 Chicago, USA
  13. 13
    Dan Vogelbach b. 1992
    .219 avg, 81 HR 2016–2024 Orlando, USA
  14. 14
    Josh Sborz b. 1993
    .000 avg, 0 HR 2019– Washington, USA
  15. 15
    Alex Hoppe b. 1998
    MLB player 2026– Davenport, USA
  16. 16
    Brent Headrick b. 1997
    MLB player 2023– Braidwood, USA
  17. 17
    Dale Thayer b. 1980
    .000 avg, 0 HR 2009–2015 Fountain Valley, USA
  18. 18
    Darwinzon Hernandez b. 1996
    MLB player 2019–2022 Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela
  19. 19
    Curtis Pride b. 1968
    .250 avg, 20 HR 1993–2006 Washington, USA
  20. 20
    Mike Cather b. 1970
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1997–1999 San Diego, USA
  21. 21
    Richard Fitts b. 1999
    2-5, 3.97 ERA 2024– Helena, USA
  22. 22
    Kent Hadley b. 1934
    .242 avg, 14 HR 1958–1960 Pocatello, USA
  23. 23
    Charlie Sands b. 1947
    .214 avg, 6 HR 1967–1975 Newport News, USA
  24. 24
    Alex Cintron b. 1978
    .275 avg, 33 HR 2001–2009 Humacao, P.R.
  25. 25
    Josh Edgin b. 1986
    .000 avg, 0 HR 2012–2017 Lewistown, USA

Remembered on December 17

Baseball figures lost on this date.

  1. 01
    Dave Smith 1955–2008
    .068 avg, 0 HR 1980–1992
  2. 02
    Hal Brown 1924–2015
    85-92, 3.81 ERA 1951–1964
  3. 03
    Walt Dropo 1923–2010
    .270 avg, 152 HR 1949–1961
  4. 04
    Ping Bodie 1887–1961
    .275 avg, 43 HR 1911–1921
  5. 05
    Rufus Lewis 1919–1999
    20-14, 2.99 ERA
  6. 06
    Frank Pastore 1957–2012
    48-58, 4.29 ERA 1979–1986
  7. 07
    Hank Severeid 1891–1968
    .289 avg, 17 HR 1911–1926
  8. 08
    Jesse Flores 1914–1991
    44-59, 3.18 ERA 1942–1950
  9. 09
    Ken O'Dea 1913–1985
    .255 avg, 40 HR 1935–1946
  10. 10
    Fritz Ostermueller 1907–1957
    114-115, 3.99 ERA 1934–1948
  11. 11
    Lee Viau 1866–1947
    83-77, 3.33 ERA 1888–1892
  12. 12
    Larry Sherry 1935–2006
    53-44, 3.67 ERA 1958–1968
  13. 13
    Cliff Blackmon 1914–1995
    5-13, 6.28 ERA
  14. 14
    Mel Mazzera 1914–1997
    .268 avg, 10 HR 1935–1940
  15. 15
    Del Young 1885–1959
    .265 avg, 4 HR 1909–1915
  16. 16
    George Carey 1870–1916
    .271 avg, 1 HR 1895–1903
  17. 17
    Fred Bankhead 1912–1972
    .260 avg, 2 HR
  18. 18
    Henry Baylis 1923–1980
    .429 avg, 0 HR
  19. 19
    Rube DeGroff 1879–1955
    .233 avg, 0 HR 1905–1906
  20. 20
    Bob Raudman 1942–2020
    .200 avg, 0 HR 1966–1967
  21. 21
    Charlie DeArmond 1877–1933
    .282 avg, 0 HR 1903–1903
  22. 22
    Lefty Richburg 1922–2001
    .333 avg, 0 HR
  23. 23
    Ona Dodd 1886–1956
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1912–1912
  24. 24
    Red Proctor 1900–1954
    MLB player 1923–1923
  25. 25
    Elmer Bowman 1897–1985
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1920–1920

December 17 in the record

The birthday list for December 17 has 25 names, headed by Chase Utley. Birth years range from 1859 (Bill Hutchison) to 1999 (Richard Fitts). The December 17 list continues with Bill Hutchison (b. 1859, 182-163, 3.59 ERA) and Ted Trent (b. 1903, 86-66, 3.63 ERA). December 17 birthplaces outside the United States include Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and P.R. Career lines shown range from Chase Utley's .275 avg, 259 HR to Bill Hutchison's 182-163, 3.59 ERA on the mound. Open-ended career spans mark December 17 birthdays with no final game on record, such as Taylor Rogers, Tyler Rogers, and Donovan Solano. 25 baseball figures died on December 17; Dave Smith is listed first. Hal Brown (1924–2015) and Walt Dropo (1923–2010) follow Dave Smith on the list. The earliest December 17 death listed is George Carey in 1916; the most recent is Bob Raudman in 2020. Ranking on the December 17 page follows career impact, with Hall of Fame membership weighted heavily.