On This Day in Baseball

December 31

25 notable birthdays · 25 in memoriam

Born on December 31

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

01

King Kelly ⭐ HOF b. 1857

.307 avg, 69 HR 1878–1893 Troy, USA
02

Tommy Connolly ⭐ HOF b. 1870

MLB player Manchester, England
03

Rick Aguilera b. 1961

86-81, 3.57 ERA 1985–2000 San Gabriel, USA
04

Syl Johnson b. 1900

112-117, 4.06 ERA 1922–1940 Portland, USA
05

Esteban Loaiza b. 1971

126-114, 4.65 ERA 1995–2008 Tijuana, México
06

Kelvin Herrera b. 1989

MLB player 2011–2020 Tenares, D.R.
07

Alex Colome b. 1988

34-35, 3.36 ERA 2013– Santo Domingo, D.R.
08

Ronald Belisario b. 1982

.000 avg, 0 HR 2009–2015 Maracay, Venezuela
09

Bobby Byrne b. 1884

.254 avg, 10 HR 1907–1917 St. Louis, USA
10

Willie Spearman b. 1899

19-27, 5.07 ERA Arkadelphia, USA
11

Ryan Yarbrough b. 1991

58-42, 4.19 ERA 2018– Lakeland, USA
12

Alfred Saylor b. 1911

9-10, 3.51 ERA Blytheville, USA
13

Liover Peguero b. 2000

.227 avg, 11 HR 2022– Higuey, D.R.
14

Yaramil Hiraldo b. 1995

MLB player 2025– Santiago, D.R.
15

Chris Reitsma b. 1977

32-46, 4.70 ERA 2001–2007 Minneapolis, USA
16

Jesse Carlson b. 1980

MLB player 2008–2010 New Britain, USA
17

Nate Freiman b. 1986

.256 avg, 9 HR 2013–2014 Washington, USA
18

Elmer Wilson b. 1894

.288 avg, 6 HR St. Louis, USA
19

Jim Tracy b. 1955

.249 avg, 3 HR 1980–1981 Hamilton, USA
20

Donell Nixon b. 1961

.275 avg, 4 HR 1987–1990 Evergreen, USA
21

Ken Rowe b. 1933

.167 avg, 0 HR 1963–1965 Ferndale, USA
22

Evan Reed b. 1985

MLB player 2013–2014 Santa Maria, USA
23

Sam McConnell b. 1975

.000 avg, 0 HR 2004–2004 Middletown, USA
24

Jorge Ona b. 1996

.250 avg, 1 HR 2020–2020 Havana, Cuba
25

Butch Thurman b. 1916

.364 avg, 0 HR St. Louis, USA

Remembered on December 31

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Roberto Clemente ⭐ HOF 1934–1972

.317 avg, 240 HR 1955–1972
02

Tip O'Neill 1860–1915

16-16, 3.39 ERA 1883–1892
03

Jack Doyle 1869–1958

.299 avg, 25 HR 1889–1905
04

Bob Shawkey 1890–1980

196-150, 3.09 ERA 1913–1927
05

Clint Brown 1903–1955

89-93, 4.26 ERA 1928–1942
06

Fritz Dorish 1921–2000

45-43, 3.83 ERA 1947–1956
07

Max West 1916–2003

.254 avg, 77 HR 1938–1948
08

Bobby Byrne 1884–1964

.254 avg, 10 HR 1907–1917
09

Al Mamaux 1894–1962

76-67, 2.90 ERA 1913–1924
10

Jocko Flynn 1864–1907

23-6, 2.24 ERA 1886–1887
11

James Casey 1870–1936

.258 avg, 9 HR 1898–1907
12

Provine Bradley 1907–1986

.263 avg, 0 HR
13

Anastasio Santaella 1903–1968

.310 avg, 1 HR
14

Jack Shepard 1931–1994

.260 avg, 12 HR 1953–1956
15

Jack Sharrott 1869–1927

20-17, 3.12 ERA 1890–1893
16

Dutch Lieber 1910–1961

.118 avg, 0 HR 1935–1936
17

Pete Gilbert 1867–1911

.242 avg, 5 HR 1890–1894
18

Charlie Cozart 1919–2004

.000 avg, 0 HR 1945–1945
19

Sam Narron 1913–1996

.286 avg, 0 HR 1935–1943
20

Denny Sullivan 1858–1925

.261 avg, 0 HR 1879–1880
21

Tod Davis 1924–1978

.233 avg, 1 HR 1949–1951
22

Tom Raftery 1881–1954

.219 avg, 0 HR 1909–1909
23

Joe McGuckin 1862–1903

.108 avg, 0 HR 1890–1890
24

Vern Rapp 1928–2015

MLB player
25

Junie Barnes 1911–1963

MLB player 1934–1934