This day in baseball ● On this day
December 16
The record for December 16 in baseball history — 51 births and 27 deaths.
No milestones or firsts are on record for December 16 — but the players below were born and lost on it.
Born on this day
b. December 16, 1884 · Pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, 1910 to 1910.
b. December 16, 1886 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1907 to 1911.
b. December 16, 1891 · Catcher for the Boston Braves, 1914 to 1914.
b. December 16, 1897 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1923 to 1923.
b. December 16, 1898 · Catcher for the Boston Braves, 1923 to 1925.
b. December 16, 1898 · Pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, 1918 to 1919.
b. December 16, 1900 · Won 30 games in two years for Chicago in the mid-1920s, then bounced through three more clubs for the rest of his career.
b. December 16, 1901 · Catcher across three clubs, 1925 to 1929.
b. December 16, 1908 · Left fielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1936 to 1936.
b. December 16, 1928 · Baseball figure for the Cleveland Indians, 1951 to 1951.
b. December 16, 1936 · Pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, 1960 to 1960.
b. December 16, 1941 · Center fielder who batted .247 across four clubs, 1964 to 1972.
b. December 16, 1951 · Won the 1979 Cy Young Award with 23 wins and spent almost his whole life in the Baltimore organization.
b. December 16, 1963 · Left fielder for the New York Mets, 1990 to 1990.
b. December 16, 1964 · Second baseman who batted .247 across four clubs, 1987 to 1998.
b. December 16, 1965 · Center fielder who batted .252 across eight clubs, 1991 to 2000.
b. December 16, 1972 · Left fielder across four clubs, 1998 to 2005.
b. December 16, 1982 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2006 to 2008.
b. December 16, 1986 · Venezuelan shortstop who won a Gold Glove and the ALCS Most Valuable Player award for the 2015 champion Kansas City Royals.
b. December 16, 1986 · Catcher across three clubs, 2010 to 2015.
b. December 16, 1987 · Pitcher across five clubs, 2011 to 2021.
b. December 16, 1996 · Left fielder who batted .251 across three clubs, 2021 to 2025.
b. December 16, 1998 · Pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, 2025 to 2025.
b. December 16, 1999 · Left fielder for the Miami Marlins, 2025 to 2025.
51 players were born on December 16; these are the 24 best known.
Died on this day
d. December 16, 1899 · Third baseman across three clubs, 1871 to 1875.
d. December 16, 1902 · Right fielder for the Middletown Mansfields, 1872 to 1872.
d. December 16, 1915 · Pitcher for the Pittsburg Alleghenys, 1885 to 1886.
d. December 16, 1920 · Right fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, 1908 to 1908.
d. December 16, 1937 · Third baseman who batted .250 across four clubs, 1889 to 1897.
d. December 16, 1937 · Catcher for the Cleveland Spiders, 1893 to 1893.
d. December 16, 1941 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1889 to 1890.
d. December 16, 1943 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1898 to 1903.
d. December 16, 1949 · Center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1905 to 1906.
d. December 16, 1959 · Pitcher for the Cleveland Naps, 1913 to 1913.
d. December 16, 1970 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1932 to 1938.
d. December 16, 1971 · Pitcher across four clubs, 1913 to 1922.
d. December 16, 1984 · Left fielder who batted .293 across four clubs, 1932 to 1945.
d. December 16, 1986 · Shortstop for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1946 to 1946.
d. December 16, 1988 · Baseball figure for the Boston Bees, 1938 to 1938.
d. December 16, 1988 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1946 to 1952.
d. December 16, 1988 · First baseman across four clubs, 1935 to 1947.
d. December 16, 1998 · Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, 1940 to 1947.
d. December 16, 2004 · Saved 31 games in 1965, more than anyone had, throwing underhand with a rebuilt shoulder.
d. December 16, 2004 · Shortstop who batted .233 across two clubs, 1938 to 1942.
d. December 16, 2006 · Hit .359 with 218 hits in 1941, the year Williams hit .406, and came back from the Battle of the Bulge with frostbitten feet.
d. December 16, 2015 · Right fielder across two clubs, 1958 to 1962.
d. December 16, 2024 · Shortstop who batted .243 across seven clubs, 1966 to 1978.
d. December 16, 2025 · Center fielder who batted .251 across two clubs, 1981 to 1989.
27 players died on December 16; these are the 24 best known.