This is the second part of a guest article by BJOL member John Carter. There’s one basic ground rule here: we are only discussing players from the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century.
Third Basemen
Omar Vizquel and Luke Appling had seasons in their 40s when they happened to play more third base than middle infield. Based on where each player played most of his games in a particular season, Vizquel qualifies as the oldest third baseman ever with 300 or more plate appearances (at age 43 in 2010) and with 100+ or 150+ plate appearances (at 44 last year).
Appling is the oldest third baseman since the 1800’s to accumulate 500+ plate appearances (at age 41 in 1948). Of course, that is a place shortstops often go as they age and lose their range, if they still have enough bat. Both Vizquel and Appling were filling in at third while still playing many games in the middle of the infield. Appling went back to shortstop the next year. Vizquel is the Blue Jays’ only back-up middle infielder this year, so he will likely play more often at short than third.
The oldest career third baseman was Graig Nettles. At age 43 in 1988, Nettles was the oldest career third baseman with 100 or more plate appearances; at age 42, he was the oldest with 200+ PA; at 41: the oldest with 300+ or 400+ PA; and at 40: the oldest with 400+ or 500+ PA. You can add a year to each of those ages if you prefer to track age as of the season’s end. It keeps him ahead of Wade Boggs who was 41 in his last season (1999 with 334 plate appearances for Tampa Bay).
If you want to call Darrell Evans a third baseman, he played 28 of 107 games at the hot corner in his last year as a 42-year-old with the 1989 Atlanta Braves. That was more games at the hot corner than he had played in the previous four seasons combined. He was an impressive player for his age. With the 1985 Tigers, Evans, then 38, became the oldest player to hit 40 HR in the pre-steroids era.
If you go back all the way to 1890, you uncover a 42-year-old long-time star named Deacon White with 525 plate appearances. White played 64 games at third base, 57 at first base, one game at shortstop, and even pitched once. That totals 122 games of a 132-game schedule. White was a catcher in his prime, but he had been playing mostly third base since 1882 and stopped catching in 1880. He ended up with more games in his career at third base than behind home, so he could surpass both Appling and Nettles as an old third baseman with more than 400 or 500 plate appearances, if we want to include players from the 19th century.
Deacon White was an interesting character. He fought against the reserve clause system. His brother, Will "Spectacles" White, was a star pitcher. Deacon was bald with a long extremely bushy mustache—the sort that was often made fun of when old timers were depicted in cartoons and westerns of the 1930s and ‘40s. Bill James quotes him in his Historical Baseball Abstract: "No man is going to sell my carcass unless I get half."
Catchers
Carlton Fisk was born a month after Bob Boone in December of 1947. For four years in a row—1987 to 1990—the two catchers set the all-time record as the top catchers in plate appearances for their ages (39-42). At age 41, they were still the starting catchers for their teams–all year long. Boone played one more season when the Royals turned to Mike McFarland as their primary catcher in 1990. Fisk still had two more years left as the White Sox’ top catcher, then another year and a half as the back-up to Ron Karkovice.
So, Fisk at 43 is the oldest starting catcher ever and at 45 the oldest back-up catcher ever–not counting coaches who came out of retirement to play a game or two. The only other major league back-up catchers as old as 43 were a couple of guys who came out of retirement to play during World War II: Clyde Sukeforth and Merv Shea.
Trailing Fisk and Boone, the 42-year-old catchers with the most plate appearances have been:
1) Pat Borders (125 plate appearances), who played only five seasons as his team’s primary catcher. Fortunately, two of those were for the Champion Blue Jays of ’92 and ‘93. He finished his career with Seattle in 2005.
2) Walker Cooper (85), a former frequent all-star who played the last five seasons of his career as a journeyman back-up. He finished in 1957 with the Cardinals—the team that made him famous during the War.
3) Deacon McGuire (49): his go with the 1904 New York Highlanders (now Yankees) was his last year as a player as opposed to a coach or manager who played once in a great emergency. He ended up playing for 11 different "major league" teams–the most until topped last year by . . . well, keep reading.
4) Chief Zimmer (35), a veteran of the defunct N.L. Cleveland Spiders going back to when they were in the defunct American Association and known as the Cleveland Blues. Zimmer’s last four years of diminishing playing time were with Hall of Fame player-manager Fred Clarke.
5) Johnny Riddle (17), who was Pittsburgh’s third string catcher in 1948 – and had never played in more than 25 games in any Major league season.
6) Jim O’Rouke (9), who in 1893 and throughout his 20 year career of professional baseball – going back to the National Association before there was even a National League – was generally his team’s star outfielder or first baseman and 3rd or 4th catcher. Well, he wasn’t still a star hitter at 42, but he was at 41.
6) Oscar Stanage (5), who was baseball’s most durable catcher during the dead ball era—catching what was then a record 141 games in 1911. He accumulated 212 assists that year, which is still the record. Stanage really retired in 1920, but his old teammate Ty Cobb hired him as a coach in 1925 and played him in the Tigers’ last three games.
7) Heine Peitz (2) – another guy who came out of retirement in 1913. Apparently, it was acceptable once in awhile for a coach to get into a game. Even in my memory: 1965–after managing the Yankees for one year, Yogi Berra was a player-coach for the New York Mets. He caught twice the month he turned 40, but no more.
There have been no other starting catchers in their 40’s other than Fisk and Boone. Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell’s last seasons as his team’s primary catcher were during World War II—he made it to age 39 with the Washington Senators (now Twins) in 1945. The only other starting catcher that old was Wally Schang of the 1929 St. Louis Browns.
Both Ferrell and Schang were rookies at the age of 23, had distinguished careers with plenty of MVP voting, then hung on to retire at 41. Boone and Fisk . . . Ferrell and Schang . . . it seems these long lasting catchers come in pairs.
Last year was Jason Varitek’s "last year". The long time Red Sox backstop put in exactly 250 plate appearances at age 39. The only other catcher with as many plate appearances at age 39 besides Fisk, Boone, Ferrell, Schang, and Veritek was Brad Ausmus for the Astros in 2008. He also had exactly 250 PA.
Ivan Rodriguez and Henry Blanco were 39 last year, but had fewer than 150 plate appearances. Rodriguez has not signed a contract for this season. Blanco is still the back-up catcher for the Diamondbacks.
Outfielders
The oldest regularly playing outfielder ever (300+ plate appearances) was Sam Rice–aged 44 for the ’34 Cleveland Indians in his last major league season after all or parts of 19 seasons with the Washington Senators. The only other outfielder to make it deep into age 44 was Ricky Henderson, who played in 30 games and amassed 84 plate appearances for the Dodgers in the second half of 2003.
Henderson is a December baby, while Rice was born in February, which means Ricky was the oldest outfielder in major league history. Henderson was still a valuable lead-off man at age 42, with a .366 OBP in 465 PA and 25 for 32 in stolen bases.
Neither Rice nor Ricky reached 300 plate appearances at age 43. There have only been four others who played outfield at that age. Arguably, three of them shouldn’t count.
Prep-schooled Fielder Jones was lured out of retirement to play and manage in the short-lived Federal League of 1914 & ’15–the last alternative "major league". The descendent of a Scottish King and a Mayflower captain had lived up to his name–his real name–as the outstanding outfielder of his era. He astonished the American League in its first two seasons by gunning down 45 runners. The next year he led all outfielders in putouts and fielding percentage. In 1904, he took over the steadily losing White Sox and turned them around, leading them to a World Series championship in 1906.
Jones quit in 1908, unhappy over his dealings with owner Charles Comiskey. He didn’t play again until the St. Louis Terriers talked him into playing for the Federal League.
Johnny Cooney’s career was extended by World War II. His last productive season was in 1941 at age 40 for the Boston Braves where he had a late career as an admired defensive outfielder. In his 20’s, Cooney had been a respectable pitcher. Cooney’s age-43 season in 1944 totaled just 14 plate appearances, but also six appearances as a pinch runner. A 43-year-old pinch runner? Yes, Cooney kept his legs in great condition, slept nine to 10 hours a night, and abstained from alcohol and tobacco.
Pete Rose had a terrible year for the Wheeze Kids Phillies of 1983, but somehow stirred up enough energy in the postseason to bat .344. Most players would have hung it up after a .245/.602 OPS (69 OPS+) regular season at age 42. However, Rose had some historic records to chase.
He started 1984 with the Expos, attained his 4000th hit, but didn’t hit much better than he had the year before. He played 28 games in Montreal’s outfield and 40 at first base. Then in August, Rose was traded to Cincinnati to manage himself towards immortality: Ty Cobb’s hit record, which enticed the fan base to shower the Reds owners with their ticket and merchandise purchasing.
In that sense, it was a legitimate gig. Rose once again revived himself at the end of the season – and went on playing himself at firstbase for another two years to achieve his destiny. But, at 43, he played his last games in the outfield.
Enos Slaughter scratched out 135 plate appearances as a 43-year-old outfielder in 1959, finishing his Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees, then spending his last few weeks with the Milwaukee Braves. He played 43 games as an outfielder making his claim (along with Rice’s and Henderson’s) the most legit–no player-coach, no War depleted rosters, no rebel league, no record chasing, and coming after a year in which he hit .304.
Designated Hitters
Dave Winfield (1995) and Carl Yastrzemski (1983) were still going at 43, but as DHs, although Yaz did play one game in the outfield that year. Another 43-year-old outfielder was just released by the Washington Nationals last August: Matt Stairs. The Nats were Stairs’ 13th Major league team – counting the Nationals’ earlier incarnation as the Montreal Expos–Stairs’ first team—as a separate team.
Even counting the Expos and Nationals as one team, 12 is still the record for the most major leageu teams played for–more than Deacon McGuire. Stairs didn’t get into any games as an outfielder his last year (DH: 5, 1B: 4, PH-only: 47), so his outfield career ended with the 2010 Padres at 42. Born in August 22, Yaz was an older 43-year-old player than Winfield or Stairs and, in fact, made it to 44 by the end of his last season. Yaz also played in far more games that season than Winfield and Stairs combined, so he is unarguably the oldest DH ever.
The oldest career Designated Hitter was Harold Baines. He was in the majors for 22 full seasons starting and ending with the White Sox (1980-2001). He was signed by them originally, traded to them twice, and signed with them as a free agent three times. He also signed with Baltimore as a free agent three times and was traded to them once. He was traded to Texas, Oakland, and Cleveland once each.
Baines came up as a right fielder, but his final 15 summers at the big parks were as a DH. Baines was incredibly consistent. He never hit 30 homers in one season, but for 15 years from the age of 23 to the age of 37, he averaged 20 HR per year. At age 42, he was finally done, edging out Edgar Martinez who retired at 41 (2004) and Hal McRae whose last game was a week after his 41st birthday in 1987.
The Phillies’ Jim Thome will be 42 this August. He has played more games at firstbase over his career than DH by a count of 1103 to 860 as of 4/12/12. Thome will have to play a game next year to be older than Baines when he retired. Rockies’ Jason Giambi turned 41 this past January.
More traits to look for: short or svelte; early star or late bloomer: all fitness freaks?
Here we go again. More short guys. Sam Rice is listed in B-R as 5’ 9" 150 lbs. Ricky is 5’ 10" and solid muscle. His nickname was Man of Steel. Yaz is 5’10" and listed at 175 lean pounds. Charlie Hustle (Rose) was 5’11’. He came up as a lithe second baseman. Cooney was 5’10".
Enos Slaughter was 5’9". He is listed as 180 lbs., but he took great care of himself. I met him once when he was much older. He was still slender – and shockingly tiny. Without studying this carefully, I think it is safe to say that for an outfielder or infielder to continue playing into his 40s, it helps to be small. Matt Stairs is listed as 5’9", but he does not have the body shape of Rice, Slaughter, or Yaz. He looks like your average softball player – but at 5’9", it is less weight than it looks.
Stairs defies the other thing these outfielders have in common in that they were stars from a very early age. Stairs didn’t get a starting role until he was 29. Most of the players mentioned in this study were either stars from their early 20s, or they were late bloomers like Stairs, Carroll, and Counsell . . . even going back to Candy Nelson.
This year the Diamondbacks have two late blooming 39-year-olds: catcher Henry Blanco and utility infielder Geoff Blum. After a quick run through the names, Jeff Kent and Wade Boggs might be the only exceptions to the early star or very late bloomer trait. They were rookies at 24, which is more typical of all major leaguers.
Of course, Jim Thome and Jason Giambi blow my size theory apart. What’s going on there? Dave Winfield was even taller at 6’6", but only 220 lbs. – trim for a baseball player – and he stopped playing outfield in his 40s anyway. Cap Anson was also big for his era. Baseball-Reference lists him as 6’0", but the SABR BioProject on Anson describes him as 6’ 2"– "the biggest strongest man in the game during the 1870s".
Returning to Outfielders and DHs
Carl Yastrzemski and Sam Rice were the most productive hitters of the 43-year-olds as both were still slightly above average. Thanks to the DH rule, Yaz played much more regularly.
Baseball legends Stan the Man Musial (’63), "Say Hey" Willie Mays (’73), and Hammerin’ Hank Aaron (’76) each played their last year in their age-42 season. Musial was the only one of those superstars who was still playing regularly at that age (379 plate appearances). With the DH rule around, Aaron played just one game in the outfield at 42.
Unlike his peers from the previous generation, Barry Bonds was still an outstanding player at his age-42 season in 2007. In his last year, Bonds produced an astronomical .480 on-base average – the best in baseball that year. His slugging average was still an eye popping .565. With court battles potentially interfering with his 2008 season, the major leagues’ stricter stance on performance-enhancing drugs, and a personality that hindered his popularity; no one signed Bonds for another go-around.
Ted Williams had a higher OPS (1.096 to .999) and much higher OPS+ (190 to 156) than Barry Bonds at 41. That was in 1960 and Teddy Ballgame called it a career. To be fair, Bonds was always a better fielder, winning eight gold gloves. There has been no comparable hitter to Bonds as a 42-year-old. Both Bonds and Williams defy two of my amazing-longevity prototype models in that they were big guys (although, not in a class with David Ortiz, and Bonds is only 6’1") and they had their share of injuries. They were both certainly young stars and paid exceptional attention to fitness for their era.
Another 19th century character was 5’ 8" James O’Rourke. Known as Orator Jim – a loud and verbose Yale man and lawyer—O’Rourke had a sweeping handlebar mustache that put Rollie Fingers to shame. In his final season at age 42 (1893), O’Rourke played 87 games in the outfield, 33 at first base, and 9 behind the plate. That was every game that season of the defunct National League Washington Senators. And, I’m still not counting the Hall of Famer’s stunt as a 54 year old catcher.
Firstbasemen or all non-pitchers
First base is the position played by the two oldest regularly playing major leaguers in history. The third oldest everyday first baseman began his career before there were professional leagues: Joe Start. You would expect any great first basemen to be tall, but Start was 5’9". Though baseball was spreading in popularity during the Civil War, the baseball capital in the 1860s was still in New York. Start was the star player of the undefeated Atlantic Club of Brooklyn in 1864. The team remained undefeated the next year with the surviving soldiers returning home after Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865.
Start was an inaugural member of the 1871 New York Mutuals of the National Association–baseball’s first professional league. "Old Reliable" was still an outstanding hitter at age 42 for the National League’s Providence Grays of 1885. That team folded, so Start joined a new N.L. team in Washington called the Nationals. That team lasted only four years–one of six major league teams in the U.S. capital that have failed or skipped town. Start didn’t help those original N.L. Nationals as he suddenly devolved into a .222 hitter after his long career as a .300 hitter.
Julio Franco (6’0" 160 lbs.), who also defied the aging process by playing just past his 49th birthday, was a middle infielder most of his career. He hit well enough at age 37 to qualify for the Jeter comparison—his last year at the keystone in 1997, when he played 120 games there.
Franco became an anti-aging freak and was seen eating 14 egg whites for breakfast. Excluding the novelty acts and playing coaches coming out of retirement for a game or so, no other position player has played at ages 46, 47, or 48. If you insist on my mentioning all those silly appearances by 46+ year olds filling in or showing off back when baseball didn’t take itself quite as seriously, here they are with their age and year of their shenanigan in parentheses: Nick Altrock (PH 57, 55, OF 53, P 48 1933-1924), Minnie Minoso (PH 54, DH 50 1980, 1976), Jim O’Rourke (C 54 1904), Arlie Latham (2B 49 1909), Jimmy Austin (3B 45,46 & 49 1925, ‘26 & ‘29), Gabby Street (C 49 1931), Deacon McGuire (C 46 & 48 1910 & ‘12), Sam Thompson (OF 46 1906), Dan Brouthers (1B 46 1904), Grover Hartley (C 45 1934), and Kid Gleason (2B 45 1912).
Before Franco and now Vizquel, only two major leaguers were seriously playing at an age of 45 or older. Again we have Pete Rose (5’11") pushing his cause as his own manager. His OPS that year (1986)–the year he finally set the record for lifetime hits was .586. By the way, at any age up to and including Ty Cobb’s last season at 41, Cobb had a better year in OPS+ than Rose.
The other 45-year-old was also his own manager: Cap Anson. He hit a much more respectable .740 in his last season (93 OPS+). That was in 1897 and he played in 116 of his Chicago Colts’ (now Cubs) 132 games. Anson is credited with 103 games at first base and he caught 11 contests.
Although that OPS was a little below league average, Anson hit an above-average (.808) the year before and quite a bit above average for the quarter century before that. Adrian Anson was a 19-year-old hot shot on Rockford of the National Association’s first pro season (1871) and a star on the dominant White Stockings (also the Cubs) in the National League that replaced it (1876-). By his 40s, he was an icon, owning almost every hitting record in baseball.
In 2004, Julio Franco was more than a half year older than Anson’s age in 1897. Franco had an .818 OPS (111 OPS+) in something of a loose platoon. Franco easily qualifies as the oldest back-up player over his next three seasons, but I leave it to you to decide if, in his age-45 season, he was the oldest starting non-pitcher ever.
Left-handed hitting rookie Adam LaRoche played more games (98 to 84) and more innings (720 to 631) at first base for the Braves in 2004 than Franco. Their plate appearances were nearly even, but Franco wins that comparison (361 to 356) and played in a greater number of total games (125 to 110).
Regardless of whether Franco was the primary first baseman, anyone with 350 plate appearances could fairly be labeled a regular. So, you could distinguish between the two and say Franco was the oldest regular in baseball history and that Anson was the oldest everyday player ever. Franco was the oldest continuously unretired major league non-pitcher by three years.