On This Day in Baseball

December 19

25 notable birthdays · 20 in memoriam

Born on December 19

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

01

Al Kaline ⭐ HOF b. 1934

.297 avg, 399 HR 1953–1974 Baltimore, USA
02

Ford Frick ⭐ HOF b. 1894

MLB player Wawaka, USA
03

Rafael Soriano b. 1979

24-28, 2.89 ERA 2002–2015 San Jose, D.R.
04

Russell Branyan b. 1975

.232 avg, 194 HR 1998–2011 Warner Robins, USA
05

Jose Leclerc b. 1993

MLB player 2016– Esperanza, D.R.
06

Aaron Loup b. 1987

.000 avg, 0 HR 2012– Raceland, USA
07

Pat Patterson b. 1911

.326 avg, 23 HR East Chicago, USA
08

Jose Silva b. 1973

25-28, 5.41 ERA 1996–2002 Tijuana, México
09

Tony Taylor b. 1935

.261 avg, 75 HR 1958–1976 Central Alava, Cuba
10

Geoff Zahn b. 1945

111-109, 3.74 ERA 1973–1985 Baltimore, USA
11

Edubray Ramos b. 1992

.000 avg, 0 HR 2016–2019 Caracas, Venezuela
12

Blaze Jordan b. 2002

.247 avg, 3 HR 2026– Southaven, USA
13

Robby Snelling b. 2003

MLB player 2026– Reno, USA
14

Mike Fetters b. 1964

31-41, 3.86 ERA 1989–2004 Van Nuys, USA
15

Tommy O'Brien b. 1918

.277 avg, 8 HR 1943–1950 Anniston, USA
16

Walt Williams b. 1943

.270 avg, 33 HR 1964–1975 Brownwood, USA
17

Chito Martinez b. 1965

.259 avg, 18 HR 1991–1993 Belize, British Honduras
18

Mickey Witek b. 1915

.277 avg, 22 HR 1940–1949 Luzerne, USA
19

Tom Wilson b. 1970

.253 avg, 15 HR 2001–2004 Fullerton, USA
20

Tim Cooney b. 1990

1-0, 3.16 ERA 2015–2015 Collegeville, USA
21

Jason Kershner b. 1976

MLB player 2002–2004 Scottsdale, USA
22

Art Butler b. 1887

.241 avg, 3 HR 1911–1916 Fall River, USA
23

Stew Cliburn b. 1956

MLB player 1984–1988 Jackson, USA
24

Vinnie Chulk b. 1978

.250 avg, 0 HR 2003–2012 Miami, USA
25

Tex Jeanes b. 1900

.274 avg, 1 HR 1921–1927 Maypearl, USA

Remembered on December 19

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Dock Ellis 1945–2008

138-119, 3.46 ERA 1968–1979
02

Nap Rucker 1884–1970

134-134, 2.42 ERA 1907–1916
03

Art Griggs 1883–1938

.277 avg, 5 HR 1909–1918
04

Doug Allison 1846–1916

.271 avg, 2 HR 1871–1883
05

Cornelius Cook 1909–1987

.067 avg, 0 HR
06

George O'Donnell 1929–2012

3-9, 4.53 ERA 1954–1954
07

John Knight 1885–1965

.239 avg, 14 HR 1905–1913
08

Ed Pinkham 1846–1906

.263 avg, 1 HR 1871–1871
09

Joe Mack 1912–1998

.231 avg, 3 HR 1945–1945
10

Bill Warwick 1897–1984

.304 avg, 1 HR 1921–1926
11

Bee Selden 1885–1941

.165 avg, 1 HR
12

Walter Tappan 1889–1967

.205 avg, 1 HR 1914–1914
13

Harry Sketchley 1919–1979

.194 avg, 0 HR 1942–1942
14

Claude Crocker 1924–2002

.1000 avg, 0 HR 1944–1945
15

Rafaelito Ortiz 1914–1989

.000 avg, 0 HR
16

Bob Rinker 1921–2002

.333 avg, 0 HR 1950–1950
17

Lou Thuman 1916–2000

.000 avg, 0 HR 1939–1940
18

Moxie Divis 1894–1955

.167 avg, 0 HR 1916–1916
19

Bob Lindemann 1878–1951

.111 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901
20

Reddy Foster 1864–1908

.000 avg, 0 HR 1896–1896

December 19 in the record

The birthday list for December 19 has 25 names, headed by Al Kaline. The HOF tag marks Al Kaline and Ford Frick. Birth years range from 1887 (Art Butler) to 2003 (Robby Snelling). Next on the December 19 birthday list are Ford Frick (b. 1894) and Rafael Soriano (b. 1979, 24-28, 2.89 ERA). D.R., México, Cuba, and Venezuela are also represented among the December 19 births. The highest-ranked hitter born on December 19, Al Kaline, carries a .297 avg, 399 HR line, and the highest-ranked pitcher, Rafael Soriano, went 24-28, 2.89 ERA. Recent names on the December 19 list, Jose Leclerc, Aaron Loup, and Blaze Jordan, show careers still open. The December 19 memorial list names 20 figures, beginning with Dock Ellis. The memorial list continues with Nap Rucker (1884–1970) and Art Griggs (1883–1938). Ed Pinkham (1906) and George O'Donnell (2012) bracket the memorial list. Names are ordered by a career-impact score that weighs Hall of Fame status and career totals, which is why Al Kaline is listed first.