With 44-year-old Philip Rivers making another start at quarterback Monday night, here’s a look at the five oldest players to take the field in MLB since 2000.
As football fans across the country get ready to watch a 44-year-old Philip Rivers start for the Indianapolis Colts for a second consecutive week, fans of all sports have been wondering about father time and the athletes who have most formidably battled against it.
Though Rivers is still one year younger than Tom Brady was during his final NFL season in 2022, his absence from the NFL since 2020 has made his improbable return to the league raise eyebrows across the sports world.
Perhaps no sport is more famous for its connection with old athletes than baseball, with a vast history of players staying in the league well beyond their 40th birthday. I was lucky enough to grow up in an era where older players were perhaps at their most prevalent, catching the tail end of several Hall of Famers’ careers, including Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn and Rickey Henderson.
Yet none of these players approached the all-time record for the oldest MLB player ever, set back on Sept. 25, 1965 when Satchel Paige played his final professional baseball game with the Kansas City Athletics at the age of 59 years and 80 days.
While Paige’s record far surpasses the longevity seen from many players at the turn of the century, it is also worth noting that he wasn’t a regular member of the team at the time of his appearance, last playing at the big league level 12 years earlier in 1953.
Though that remains a common theme for many of the oldest players to have ever played the game at the highest level, a few players have stayed on MLB rosters and continued to compete in the show past the age of 45, with a handful of them playing in the 21st century.
While Hall of Famers such as Phil Niekro, Nolan Ryan and Paige himself are all among the oldest to have ever played, four of the five oldest MLB players of the 21st century are not Hall of Famers – proving that it isn’t always the flashiest players that stick around on rosters for the longest.
Another commonality the five oldest MLB players of this century share is that they were all regular members of their teams at the time of their final game, adding another impressive layer to their longevity as their final games were truly just that – not glorified cups of coffee to conclude a career.
There have been 10 players since the 2000 MLB season to play at least one game at the age of 45 or older, though only the four oldest played a game at age 46 or over.
Here’s a look at the players who have lasted the longest in the show in the last 25 years, along with their age and a bit of background on their final season in MLB.
5. Omar Vizquel – 45 years, 162 days – October 3, 2012
Part of an exclusive club of players to have played in four different decades, Vizquel played his final game as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in October 2012 in what was his 24th MLB season.
Vizquel initially debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 1989, going on to later play 11 seasons with the then-Cleveland Indians before spending time with the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox leading up to his final season in Toronto.
A decorated player, Vizquel retired with 2,877 career hits, 11 Gold Glove awards and three All-Star appearances while ranking 9th in MLB history with 29.5 defensive WAR.
Boasting a career total of 45.6 WAR along with a reputation as one of the best defensive players of his generation, Vizquel would likely garner more Hall of Fame support if not for extensive allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.
4. Randy Johnson – 46 years, 24 days – October 4, 2009
The lone Hall of Famer of the five oldest players of this millennium, the Big Unit presents a strong argument as one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, while also being the most recent (and quite likely the final) pitcher to record 300 wins.
Debuting in 1988 as a member of the Montreal Expos, Johnson made his name as an elite pitcher during his tenure with the Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1998, which saw him win his first of five Cy Young Awards.
After dazzling as a midseason acquisition for the Houston Astros in 1998, Johnson put on a remarkable second act with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1999 to 2004, winning four consecutive Cy Young Awards in his first four seasons in the desert.
Johnson went on to play two seasons for the New York Yankees from 2005 to 2006 before returning to Arizona for another two seasons. The 6’10 lefty finished his career in 2009 with the San Francisco Giants, going 8-6 with a 4.88 ERA in his final campaign.
Retiring with 103.5 WAR, a 303-166 record, 10 All-Star teams, four ERA titles and a World Series MVP, it’s hard not to put Johnson up against any pitcher from the game’s history.
3. Jesse Orosco – 46 years, 159 days – September 27, 2003
Though known for a role that no longer exists in today’s MLB thanks to a three-batter minimum rule for pitchers, Orosco was a stalwart of longevity throughout his 24-year MLB career, remaining the all-time leader for Games Played as a pitcher.
Initially debuting in 1979 with the New York Mets, Orosco didn’t appear in any action in 1980 before returning to the Mets the following season, where he would remain through 1987.
Orosco then charted a long-winded path as a bullpen journeyman, spending time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals before returning to the Dodgers as a 44-year-old in 2001.
After spending two more seasons with the Dodgers, Orosco hopped between the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins in his final MLB season in 2003, posting a 7.68 ERA over 34 innings and 65 games played that spelled the end of his playing days.
On top of holding an all-time record with 1,262 appearances, Orosco was a two-time All-Star who also finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting and 17th in NL MVP voting in 1983.
2. Julio Franco – 49 years, 25 days – September 17, 2007
An impressive three-year jump from Orosco’s career, Franco developed a reputation as baseball’s elder statesman during the 2000s, making for one of the league’s most interesting careers of all-time.
Debuting in 1982 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 23, Franco went on to spend the following six seasons with the Cleveland Indians before a five-year stint with the Texas Rangers that began with his age-30 season in 1989.
Franco emerged as one of the league’s most formidable contact hitters in this time, garnering three All-Star apperances and three Silver Slugger awards as a Ranger. He went on to perhaps have the peak of his career in the strike-shortened 1994 season with the Chicago White Sox, which saw Franco finish eighth in AL MVP voting.
After spending 1995 in Japan, Franco returned stateside as a member of the then-Indians in 1996, playing in Cleveland for over a year before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers near the 1997 trade deadline.
Franco then returned to Japan for 1998 and played almost all of 1999 in Mexico, making one at-bat for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays late in the season. After then playing the 2000 season in South Korea and much of the 2001 season in Mexico, Franco once again returned to the show in 2001 as a member of the Atlanta Braves at the age of 42, playing 25 games.
Remarkably, it kickstarted a long era of Franco serving as one of the league’s most reliable bench bats for the Braves, with Franco appearing in at least 103 games each year from 2002 through 2005, slashing .291/.364/.426/.790 across the four seasons, good for a 105 OPS+.
Franco then played a similar role for the New York Mets in 2006 at the age of 47, going on to appear in four playoff games with the team that October. The feat made Franco the oldest player to ever appear in an MLB postseason game, as he was 48 years and 51 days old at the time of his appearance in Game 2 of the 2006 NLCS.
After starting the 2007 season with the Mets, Franco re-signed with the Braves midway through the season, going 10-for-40 in 15 games with Atlanta to finish the season.
Though not a Hall of Famer, Franco retired with 2,586 hits, 43.6 WAR, five Silver Slugger awards, three All-Star appearances and a batting title, making for a truly remarkable and unique career.
1. Jamie Moyer – 49 years, 191 days – May 27, 2012
Standing alone as the oldest MLB player of the 21st century is Jamie Moyer, another famous late-bloomer who charted an incredibly distinct path to one of the league’s longest careers.
Getting his start as a 23-year-old in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs, Moyer spent three years on the North Side before a two-year stint with the Texas Rangers and a one-year stop with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991.
After missing all of the 1992 season, Moyer returned as a 30-year-old with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, kicking off a three-year tenure with the club. The lefty then split the 1996 season between the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners, the latter stop kicking off the most recognizable period of his career.
Moyer went on to play 11 seasons with the Mariners from the midway point of the 1996 season through the midway point of the 2006 season, winning 20 games on two separate occasions while recording Cy Young Award votes in three seasons.
After being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006, Moyer kicked off another distinct part of his career as a stellar veteran starter, playing a pivotal role on the 2008 World Series-winning team despite struggling in the postseason.
Moyer remained with the Phillies through the 2010 season, his age-47 season, which appeared to be it for Moyer as he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL after the season.
Despite missing all of the 2011 season, Moyer returned to MLB in 2012 as a member of the Colorado Rockies, posting a 2-2 record and 5.70 ERA across 10 starts before being released. This marked the end of his career, despite later attempts throughout the rest of 2012 and 2013 to rejoin an MLB roster.
Moyer retired with 269 wins, 50 WAR and a 4.25 ERA across 696 appearances and 638 starts, remaining the all-time leader with 522 home runs allowed.
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