Baseball birthdays for November 2

Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Nov. 2.

1) Travis Jackson (1903)
Though not as “famous” as some of the other players born on this date, Jackson is the only Hall of Famer born on Nov. 2. A defensive savant at shortstop who played the entirety of his 15-year career with the New York Giants, Jackson hit higher than .300 in six separate seasons, received MVP votes in seven separate seasons, and won a World Series ring in 1933. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1982.

2) Willie McGee (1958)
Originally drafted by the Yankees in 1977, he was traded to the Cardinals after the 1981 season and immediately thrived in St. Louis, where he helped the Cardinals win a World Series in 1982, as well as National League pennants in 1985 and 1987. He won NL MVP in 1985 while leading the NL with a .353 batting average. He led the NL in batting average again in 1990 despite being traded to the A’s on Aug. 29 and helping them reach the World Series.

3) Johnny Vander Meer (1914)
You could argue that the only man to throw consecutive no-hitters should be No. 1 on this list, but other than that pair of historic performances for the Reds in June 1938, his career was inconsistent. For example, he led the NL in strikeouts three times (1941-43), and walks twice (1943 and 1948). He did miss two years of what should have been his prime (1944 and 1945) serving in the Navy during World War II.

4) Orlando Cabrera (1974)
Baseball history will remember Cabrera as the key player the Red Sox received from the Expos in the three-team 2004 Trade Deadline megaswap that saw them send franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs. Cabrera hit .379 in Boston’s epic comeback from a three-game deficit against the Yankees in the ALCS and helped Boston end the Curse of the Bambino. His 2,055 career hits are second only to Edgar Renteria (2,327) among players born in Colombia.

5) Greg Harris (1955)
He had a fairly nondescript 15-year career across eight teams, but toward the end of the 1995 season, while pitching for the Expos in the second-to-last appearance of his career, the natural right-hander threw to two Reds batters with his left hand (retiring both), becoming the first switch-pitcher of the Modern Era, a feat since matched by Pat Venditte, who was the first full-time switch-pitcher.

Others of note:
Yunel Escobar (1982)
A Cuban defector who played both third and short, Escobar trails only Jackson and McGee in WAR (per Baseball Reference) among those born on Nov. 2.

Ron Reed (1942)
This durable reliever pitched for 19 seasons, mostly with the Braves and Phillies, and made the 1968 All-Star team while with Atlanta.

Sidney Ponson (1976)
A one-time top prospect with the Orioles, it looked like he might become the first star player born in Aruba. Though he never became an ace, Ponson finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1998 and won 17 games in 2003.

Al Campanis (1916)
He got a cup of coffee (two hits in 20 at-bats) with the Dodgers in 1943 before moving into scouting. He eventually became the Dodgers’ scouting director and then general manager, building teams that won pennants in 1974, 1977, and 1978, and a World Series in 1981. Campanis received heavy criticism in 1987 after an appearance on Nightline in which he made racially insensitive remarks regarding the lack of Black managers and general managers in MLB.