This day in baseball ● On this day
December 22
The record for December 22 in baseball history — 61 births and 41 deaths.
No milestones or firsts are on record for December 22 — but the players below were born and lost on it.
Born on this day
b. December 22, 1852 · Third baseman who batted .288 across three clubs, 1872 to 1875.
b. December 22, 1860 · Catcher who batted .218 across two clubs, 1885 to 1890.
b. December 22, 1862 · Caught 610 games in the 1880s and 1890s, then spent half a century in a suit in the dugout, owning the club he managed.
b. December 22, 1864 · Right fielder across three clubs, 1883 to 1884.
b. December 22, 1866 · Catcher across three clubs, 1891 to 1897.
b. December 22, 1908 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1931 to 1933.
b. December 22, 1918 · Pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1942 to 1947.
b. December 22, 1923 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1949 to 1953.
b. December 22, 1937 · Left fielder who batted .255 across two clubs, 1960 to 1965.
b. December 22, 1939 · Right fielder who batted .259 across three clubs, 1963 to 1971.
b. December 22, 1940 · Catcher who batted .220 across three clubs, 1968 to 1979.
b. December 22, 1944 · Won 27 games in 1972 for a Phillies team that lost 97 — nearly half of its victories were his.
b. December 22, 1948 · Los Angeles and San Diego first baseman with 2,599 hits, the 1974 MVP award and ten All-Star selections.
b. December 22, 1955 · Played in the World Series for four different clubs and won it with three of them.
b. December 22, 1956 · Catcher for the Boston Red Sox, 1981 to 1981.
b. December 22, 1956 · Left fielder for the Atlanta Braves, 1980 to 1980.
b. December 22, 1961 · Catcher who batted .240 across five clubs, 1986 to 1995.
b. December 22, 1964 · Pitched in 1,005 games across seventeen seasons and was never chosen for an All-Star team.
b. December 22, 1968 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1992 to 1996.
b. December 22, 1978 · Pitcher across three clubs, 2009 to 2011.
b. December 22, 1983 · Second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, 2011 to 2011.
b. December 22, 1985 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2010 to 2013.
b. December 22, 1987 · Pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, 2012 to 2015.
b. December 22, 1999 · Left fielder across two clubs, 2025 to 2025.
61 players were born on December 22; these are the 24 best known.
Died on this day
d. December 22, 1912 · Third baseman for the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, 1884 to 1884.
d. December 22, 1922 · Catcher for the St. Louis Browns, 1889 to 1890.
d. December 22, 1926 · Catcher for the Indianapolis Hoosiers, 1884 to 1884.
d. December 22, 1928 · Right fielder for the Baltimore Canaries, 1874 to 1874.
d. December 22, 1940 · Catcher across two clubs, 1883 to 1884.
d. December 22, 1945 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, 1910 to 1910.
d. December 22, 1950 · Pitcher for the Cleveland Bronchos, 1902 to 1902.
d. December 22, 1950 · Pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1894 to 1894.
d. December 22, 1960 · Catcher across two clubs, 1912 to 1917.
d. December 22, 1968 · Catcher who batted .255 across two clubs, 1923 to 1932.
d. December 22, 1968 · Pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1927 to 1928.
d. December 22, 1974 · Pitcher across four clubs, 1931 to 1943.
d. December 22, 1980 · Catcher who batted .263 across three clubs, 1929 to 1937.
d. December 22, 1981 · Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, 1932 to 1932.
d. December 22, 1987 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1948 to 1952.
d. December 22, 1989 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1928 to 1930.
d. December 22, 1996 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1959 to 1964.
d. December 22, 1997 · Third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, 1934 to 1937.
d. December 22, 1997 · Left fielder who batted .260 across three clubs, 1948 to 1954.
d. December 22, 2001 · Pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics, 1958 to 1960.
d. December 22, 2004 · First baseman who batted .236 across two clubs, 1976 to 1980.
d. December 22, 2013 · Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, 1954 to 1956.
d. December 22, 2013 · Catcher who batted .240 across five clubs, 1967 to 1978.
d. December 22, 2020 · Left fielder across two clubs, 1965 to 1970.
41 players died on December 22; these are the 24 best known.