In for the long run! Major League players with the longest careers- MLB Feature
Like any sport, baseball demands serious efforts from the players to remain fit. Come April, the players have to give it all for a period of six months, battling it out for their team that plays 162 games during the regular season.
There have been many players in baseball who have done well to maintain their fitness and have played for many years. There are some current players in the Major League such as Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome have all enjoyed log careers and are
still playing the game.
However, there have been players that have had careers that have been exceptionally long. They have not only kept their playing form good enough to be players of choice but also have remained fit enough to compete in Major League. We shall look at some of
the longest careers in Major League Baseball.
5. Rickey Henderson: The 53-year-old from Chicago, Illinois enjoyed a Major League career that spanned over 25-years. The left fielder played an amazing 3081 games and almost had 11000 at-bats. Rickey represented nine different ball clubs
during his long career.
The right-handed hitter in total hit 297 home-runs and batted in 1115 runs. He was an All-Star 10 times during his career and a World Series Champion twice. He was American League MVP in 1990 and won the Silver Slugger Award on three different occasions.
He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2009.
4. Tommy John: The 69-year-old from Terre Haute, Indiana played in the Major League for 26-years. The right-handed starting pitcher was a part of 760 games during his career in which he represented six different teams. He had a 288-231 winning
record in the Majors.
He pitched in over 4700 innings and struck-out 2245 batters in his career. He posted a career 3.34 ERA. Tommy was an All-Star four times. The Tommy John Surgery is named after Tommy John himself.
3. Deacon Mcguire: Deacon, who passed away in 1936, played 26 seasons of Major League Baseball. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was a catcher and started his career in the Majors in 1884. He is a member of an elite group of players who have
played baseball at the highest level in four different decades. He also represented 12 teams during his career and since it has been equaled but not broken.
He played in a total of 1781 games and had 6290 at-bats. He had 840 career RBI’s and 45 home-runs. Deacon’s career batting average was .278 and had 1748 career hits. He also managed three different ball clubs after his retirement.
2. Nolan Ryan: The Refugio, Texas native was a pitcher in the Major League for 27-years. Nolan in the course of his long career pitched in a total of 807 games and had a 324-292 winning record. The 65-year-old was induced in Hall of Fame
in 1999.
His career started in 1966 and came to an end in September of 1993. He posted an ERA of 3.19 and struck-out 5714 batters, pitching 5387 innings. He represented a total of four teams in his long career and was an All-Star eight times. He won his lone World
Series Championship in 1969. Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers all retired his jersey numbers in his honour.
1. Cap Anson: The Marshalltown, Iowa native officially played 22 seasons in the Major League as the MLB was formed a few years after he started playing professional baseball. In all, he played in 27 seasons. His playing days started in 1871
and his long career came to a conclusion in 1897.
As a batter, he had an amazing .334 career average including 3481 hits, 2076 RBI’s and 97 home-runs. He represented a total of three teams in his career. He also had three managerial stints including an 18-year-long stint with the Chicago White Stockings/Colts
while he was representing them as a player. He passed away in 1922 and was inducted in the Hall of Fame 17 years after he passed away.
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