No active MLB player left from the 20th century

[timo2]

From the article: "Four-man outfields. High-tech anti-spying rules. A starting pitcher facing just one batter in a playoff game.

But beyond all the shifts, analytics and social media outreach, here’s the best way to tell Major League Baseball has zoomed into a new era: There’s not a single active player left from the 20th century.

Not one.

Adrian Beltre and Bartolo Colon were the last, the Elias Sports Bureau said. And with all 30 teams set to play Thursday — from Bryce Harper’s home debut at Citizens Bank Park to Mookie Betts and the champion Boston Red Sox visiting Seattle — this year MLB becomes the first of the four major sports without someone still around who played in the 1900s."

https://apnews.com/c171fd38f1d04983...6jFfoTGT-tOSck_VwrBfYc5sGndMdAfflf7BniyKiLEQM

 

[RunningBum]

Maybe Minnie Minoso will make another 1 game appearance to mark another decade. Oh, he's dead, so I guess not.

 

[ziggy29]

Which is odd, because of all the major team sports, it seems like baseball would be the one, depending on position, where one could play into their 40s. Especially if you are a left handed reliever or a DH (designated hitter, not husband).

 

[braumeister]

Satchel Paige played his last professional game at 60.

But I always considered him kind of superhuman.

 

[timo2]

Which is odd, because of all the major team sports, it seems like baseball would be the one, depending on position, where one could play into their 40s. Especially if you are a left handed reliever or a DH (designated hitter, not husband).

I've noticed that recently the MLB players are all having a similar body type of tall muscular. no more 'short' folks in MLB. Seems MLB is going the way of other sports that favor a specific body type for success.

 

[aja8888]

I've noticed that recently the MLB players are all having a similar body type of tall muscular. no more 'short' folks in MLB. Seems MLB is going the way of other sports that favor a specific body type for success.

Well, there are exceptions..loke Jose Altuve (5'6") who won an MVP award, gold glove, 3 time batting title, etc:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/altuvjo01.shtml

 

[Scrapr]

CC Sabathia sounds like he is rehabbing i Florida and will miss opening day. But he expects to pitch for the Yanquis this season. This will be his last season

 

[RunningBum]

I've noticed that recently the MLB players are all having a similar body type of tall muscular. no more 'short' folks in MLB. Seems MLB is going the way of other sports that favor a specific body type for success.

Two year old story, but...

Mighty Mites are taking over baseball!

 

[JoeWras]

Two year old story, but...

Mighty Mites are taking over baseball!

I dunno. Every time I go to a local minor league game, these guys all look like string bean giants to me. Always have. The nice thing about the minors is you can go right up to the fence and compare your height and build very easily. I don't see any mighty mites.

 

[aja8888]

I dunno. Every time I go to a local minor league game, these guys all look like string bean giants to me. Always have. The nice thing about the minors is you can go right up to the fence and compare your height and build very easily. I don't see any mighty mites.

Go to some winter games in the Dominican Republic and you will see the upcoming crop of shorter players.

 

[CaliKid]

Maybe Minnie Minoso will make another 1 game appearance to mark another decade. Oh, he's dead, so I guess not.

He was unique. Came back for his last at bat in MLB at age 54.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/minosmi01.shtml

 

[gerntz]

Wonder how many are left from the 19th Century.

 

[ziggy29]

Wonder how many are left from the 19th Century.

LOL! None, obviously, Bartolo Colon jokes aside.

The last player born in the 19th Century to play major league ball was Hod Lisenbee (born 1898), whose last appearance was in September, 1945 for the Cincinnati Reds.

The last player to retire who participated in a 19th Century major league game was Nick Altrock, who started his MLB career in 1898 and played his final game in 1933 at the age of 56. Altrock is the second oldest player in MLB history to get a hit -- in 1929 at the age of 52, and the oldest to reach base at bat, drawing a walk in 1931 at age 54. Altrock is only one of six players to play past age 50, and only one of two to play in five decades (Minnie Minoso being the other). In fairness, Altrock mostly retired by 1909 but was a coach for the Washington Senators for more than four decades and played a game or two every few years after that. In his last appearance as a pitcher, for the World Champion 1924 Senators, he pitched two innings and hit a triple at age 47. He died in 1965 at the age of 88 with a lot of stories to tell his grandkids.

The last surviving major leaguer who played ball in the 19th Century is Charlie Emig. He pitched one game in 1896 for the awful Louisville Colonels of the National League, and passed away in 1975 at the age of 100. A 1973 edition of "The Baseball Encyclopedia" knew little of Emig's personal details and listed him as "deceased" -- while he was still alive! In fact, it took a couple decades after his death before baseball researchers discovered his vital statistics and realized he was the last known surviving 19th Century major leaguer. As it turns out, Emig spent the last two years of his life being (as far as we can tell) the last surviving major league player from the 1800s, and no one knew it at the time.

The oldest major leaguer ever was Chet "Red" Hoff, who played in the early 1910s. He died in 1998 at the age of 107.

The last surviving MLB player who was born in the 19th Century was Karl Swanson (1900-2002). The last surviving MLB player born in the 1800s was Ike Kahdot (1899-1999).

 

[Qs Laptop]

There’s not a single active player left from the 20th century.



Not one.


this year MLB becomes the first of the four major sports without someone still around who played in the 1900s."[/I]



https://apnews.com/c171fd38f1d04983...6jFfoTGT-tOSck_VwrBfYc5sGndMdAfflf7BniyKiLEQM

Trying to figure out--what is the point?

The 1900's, ergo 1999, was 20 years ago. Of course there is no one left from the 1900's that is still playing.

Furthermore, I think the article is inaccurate. I dare someone to find an NFL player that played in 1999 and will be playing in 2019. Same thing with the NHL. Probably not an NBA player around that played in the 1900's either. Dirk Nowitski?

 

[CRLLS]

Trying to figure out--what is the point?

The 1900's, ergo 1999, was 20 years ago. Of course there is no one left from the 1900's that is still playing.

Furthermore, I think the article is inaccurate. I dare someone to find an NFL player that played in 1999 and will be playing in 2019. Same thing with the NHL. Probably not an NBA player around that played in the 1900's either. Dirk Nowitski?

Adam Vinatieri currently a place kicker for the Colts, started his career in the 1996 season. In Jan 2019, he signed a 1 yr contract for the 2019 season. (Google is my friend)

 

[Qs Laptop]

Adam Vinatieri currently a place kicker for the Colts, started his career in the 1996 season. In Jan 2019, he signed a 1 yr contract for the 2019 season. (Google is my friend)

Ha ha. OK, I've been had. (Won't get into the argument that kickers aren't really players...)

Still, why is there an article about baseball being the only sport without someone from the 1900's playing? Is that somehow significant? I mean, I'm a rabid baseball fan and I don't find it compelling, at all.

 

[CRLLS]

Ha ha. OK, I've been had. (Won't get into the argument that kickers aren't really players...)

Still, why is there an article about baseball being the only sport without someone from the 1900's playing? Is that somehow significant? I mean, I'm a rabid baseball fan and I don't find it compelling, at all.

I know I couldn't have been a kicker. Had I been, I'm sure I would have kicked anyone who said I wasn't a real player.

Perhaps writers write what they know, most of it is trivia and not important to anyone else but themselves and a few other trivia fanatics.

 

[ziggy29]

Still, why is there an article about baseball being the only sport without someone from the 1900's playing? Is that somehow significant? I mean, I'm a rabid baseball fan and I don't find it compelling, at all.

Is it significant? Could be, in some ways -- in that there are no players with more than 20 years of MLB experience; there usually are a handful. And it's interesting in that baseball is usually the sport which offers the greatest potential for longevity, especially with the DH and demand for left-handed relievers.

The question is whether it (no 20 year veterans) is an anomaly or if it is the start of an analytics-driven trend that is devaluing older players. The other sports aren't nearly as analytics-driven as baseball, so perhaps they aren't seeing the same trends. We're already seeing that players in their 30s aren't getting the big, long-term deals they used to, and maybe that is prompting some of them into retirement.

 

[gerntz]

I'll still argue that the year 2000 is in the 20th Century. There was no year 0. Went from 1BC to 1AD. Your 1st birthday is in your 2nd year of life.

 

[pb4uski]

^^^^^ True, it is celebrated on the first day of the second year of life, but probably more properly after the end of your first year of life... to celebrate having survived a year.

 

[jimbee]

I'll still argue that the year 2000 is in the 20th Century. There was no year 0. Went from 1BC to 1AD. Your 1st birthday is in your 2nd year of life.

Your are correct about the year 2000. Counting is hard.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'll still argue that the year 2000 is in the 20th Century. There was no year 0. Went from 1BC to 1AD. Your 1st birthday is in your 2nd year of life.

Agreed. As near as I can tell Albert Pujols and CC Sabathia are the active players with the longest seniority in MLB. Both had 2001 as their first season.

 

[harllee]

I love Vince Carter in the NBA. He is 41 and started playing in the NBA in 1998. He is still a great player and can still fly high and dunk.

 

[RunningBum]

Trying to figure out--what is the point?

The 1900's, ergo 1999, was 20 years ago. Of course there is no one left from the 1900's that is still playing.

Furthermore, I think the article is inaccurate. I dare someone to find an NFL player that played in 1999 and will be playing in 2019. Same thing with the NHL. Probably not an NBA player around that played in the 1900's either. Dirk Nowitski?

NBA: Vince Carter and Nowitzki
NHL: Zdeno Chara, maybe others
NFL: kickers Vinitieri and Dawson, Tom Brady if you count 2000. Understandable if you don't. But kickers are NFL players, like it or not.

The point is only that the 1900s are a threshold. No big deal. But clearly the article is correct that MLB is the first.

Not sure why you say "of course" no one from the 1900s is playing baseball. It's not at all a given. There are plenty of players who played over 20 years. It only happens that none started in 1999 or 1998. Ichiro started in MLB in 2001 at age 27 after playing a number of years in Japan, and played 2 games this year.

 

[mh]

I love Vince Carter in the NBA. He is 41 and started playing in the NBA in 1998. He is still a great player and can still fly high and dunk.

Yeah its very strange there are no mlb players given it’s fairly low impact in the spectrum of pro sports. Zlatan Ibrahimovic still plays on the local pro soccer team and was playing in the end of the 90’s ( clip was from last year)

https://youtu.be/R9M8Ac3Htb0