Oldest Current MLB Player

In a sport that has been called ageless, an old MLB player is a fairly common sight. Where football players rarely make it into their 30s and basketball stars are done in by their mid 30s, the average can run into the late 40s, with the player still being an effective team member. The oldest reinforces this point.

Jamie Moyer turned 46 years old this season and is still going strong, even though he is the oldest MLB player still on the field.

Last season, when Moyer was 45, he set a number of Major League records for effectiveness at his age. In fact, though he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners back in 1986, Moyer won his first World Series in 2008, starting as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. And he didn’t just ride the pine either. He is the oldest MLB player to have pitched a winning game in an National Championship League Series. He also started for the Phillies, the eventual winners, in the World Series, and pitched for 6 1/2 innings before exiting with a no-decision call. It is remarkable for a player that began the same year as Greg Maddux, Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, to still be pitching relevant games deep into the postseason.

The Moyer has good company is the next oldest player, pitching icon Randy Johnson.

Johnson, as a measure of his value, just signed an offseason contract with the San Francisco Giants for an estimated $8 million for one season. Johnson, almost a certain Hall of Fame inductee, had a 11-10 record with the Diamondbacks which does not show that he was still dominant, fanning batters for a total of 173 season strikeouts. “The Big Unit” does not appear to be slowing down as he ages.

The oldest current MLB player cannot hold a candle to the two oldest to play the game before they hung up the cleats. Satchel Page officially shows as playing until he was 59. If his birthdate is correct this would make him the oldest pitcher to play in the league and also the oldest MLB player ever. In his final full season in 1957, Paige split his decisions 10-10 but still has a great ERA of 2.75. Paige was signed for one game in 1966 and pitched three innings in a ceremonial game that was lightly attended.

The second oldest player in MLB history also carries an asterisk as to his exact date of birth but if he was truly born in 1925 then Minnie Minosa was 57 when he stopped playing professional baseball. In any case the hard-hitting outfield had a MLB career that began in 1948 and ended in 1980. His is one of just two big leaguers to play ball in over five different decades. He is most remembered as a Chicago White Sox player, the team he retired from, though he played for 7 teams amassing a .298 career batting average.

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One thought on “Oldest Current MLB Player

  1. I find it ironic in this day and age that so many people are amazed when anyone over the age of 45 accomplishes anything. What’s ironic is that there is so much focus on life extension. Everyone wants to live to be 100 years old. Yet there seems to be a disconnect when “old” people do anything of worth. My grandfather lived to be 82, smoked hand-rolled cigarettes for 70 years, and was on his tractor plowing his field when he was struck down by a heart attack. How many people would do that today? Congrats to Jamie Moyer, but call me when he’s 65 and still pitching.

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