List of oldest Major League Baseball players explained

This is a list of Baseball players. Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization in North America. The oldest person ever to play MLB was Satchel Paige, who, at the age of 59, made a major league appearance twelve years after his Major League career had ended. The oldest player to appear regularly was Jack Quinn, who ended his last season at age 50, having made 14 appearances as a relief pitcher in that final season. The oldest active player is Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, who is currently years old.

Key

Pos

P

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

OF

DH

Position

Pitcher

Catcher

First baseman

Second baseman

Third baseman

Shortstop

Left fielder

Center fielder

Right fielder

Outfielder

Designated hitter

Oldest players

All-time

^	Denotes player who is still active in the MLB as of the season^[1]
	Denotes player who has been inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame
^†	Denotes player who is not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[2]
§	Eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025^[3]

width=120px	Player	width=20px	Pos	width=110px	Birth date	width=110px	Last game	width=100px	Age	class=unsortable width=330px	Team(s) played (years)	class=unsortable	Ref.
	P					^[4]
	SS/2B/3B					^[5]
	P					^[6]
	LF/3B					^[7]
	OF/C/1B					^[8]
	P			51 or 52 years		^[9]
^[10]	P					^[11]
	P					^[12]
	3B/SS					^[13]
	3B					^[14]
	P					^[15]
	SS/1B					^[16]
^[17]	SS/2B/1B					^[18]
	C					^[19]
	C/1B					^[20]
	P					^[21]
	2B					^[22]
	P					^[23]
	P					^[24]
	P					^[25]
	P					^[26]
	RF					^[27]
	P					^[28]
	1B					^[29]
	C					^[30]
	P					^[31]
	P					^[32]
	P					^[33]
	RF/C			46 years	Indianapolis ABCs (–)	^[34]
	2B/P					^[35]
	C					^[36]
	1B/3B/C					^[37]
	SS/3B					^[38]
^§	RF					^[39]
	P				Chicago White Sox (–,)	^[40]
	OF/1B/3B					^[41]
	P					^[42]
	P					^[43]
	P					^[44]
	P					^[45]
	P				Chicago White Sox (–)	^[46]
	P					^[47]

Note: Paige, O'Leary, O'Rourke, Jennings, Street, McGuire and Evers each made one token major league appearance years (or even decades) after their careers had otherwise ended. The careers of Altrock, Miñoso, Austin, and Latham had also effectively ended many years before their final major league appearances, though each were brought back for token appearances several times (spanning several seasons) before their final game. Julio Franco is the oldest position player to appear regularly.

Active

width=120px	Player	width=20px	Pos	width=110px	Birth date	width=110px	Age	class=unsortable width=330px	Team(s) played (years)	class=unsortable	Ref.	-		P				^[48] -->
	P				^[49]
	P				^[50] <	--	-		1B/DH			Cincinnati Reds (–)	^[51]
	P				^[52] -->
	P				^[53] <	--	-		1B				^[54] -->
	P				^[55]
	DH/1B				^[56] <	--	-		P				^[57] -->
	P				^[58]
	P				^[59] <	--	-		3B/DH				^[60] -->
	P				^[61]
	DH/1B				^[62] <	--	-		P				^[63]
	P				^[64] -->
	1B				^[65]
	P				^[66]
	DH/RF			Colorado Rockies (–present)	^[67] <	--	-		DH/1B				^[68] -->
	P				^[69]
	C				^[70]
	DH/RF				^[71]
	P				^[72]
	P				^[73]
	SS				^[74]
	P				^[75]
	1B				^[76]
	P				^[77]
	P			Minnesota Twins (–, –present)	^[78]

Last ten seasons

width=120px	Player	width=20px	Pos	width=110px	Birth date	width=110px	Last game	width=100px	Age	class=unsortable width=330px	Team(s) played (years)	class=unsortable	Ref.
^§	RF					^[79]
	P					^[80]
^†	P					^[81]
	P				New York Yankees (–)	^[82]
	1B/DH/LF					^[83]
^†	DH/RF					^[84]
	P					^[85]
	P					^[86]
	P					^[87]
^†	1B/LF/3B					^[88]
^§	P					^[89]
	P					^[90]
	LF/1B					^[91]
^†	P				St. Louis Cardinals (–, –)	^[92]
	C					^[93]
	P					^[94]
	P					^[95]
^	P		Present			^[96]
^§	P					^[97]

See also

• List of oldest professional athletes by sport
• List of oldest and youngest NBA players
• List of oldest National Hockey League players

External links

• Article including sidebar on oldest players
• Oldest player by year
• ESPN column

Notes and References

1. A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.
2. A player is not eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum unless he has ten years of major league experience and has either been fully retired for five full seasons or has been dead for six full months.
3. Web site: 2024 Hall of Fame Candidates. July 14, 2023. baseball-reference.com.
4. Web site: Satchel Paige Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
5. Web site: Charley O'Leary Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
6. Web site: Nick Altrock Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
7. Web site: Minnie Miñoso Stats. baseball-reference.com. August 23, 2022.
8. Web site: Jim O'Rourke Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
9. Web site: String Bean Williams Stats. baseball-reference.com. December 3, 2021.
10. [Jack Quinn (baseball)|Jack Quinn]
11. Web site: Jack Quinn Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
12. Web site: Hoyt Wilhelm Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
13. Web site: Jimmy Austin Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
14. Web site: Arlie Latham Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
15. Web site: Jamie Moyer Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
16. Web site: Hughie Jennings Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
17. [Julio Franco]
18. Web site: Julio Franco Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
19. Web site: Gabby Street Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
20. Web site: Deacon McGuire Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
21. Web site: Phil Niekro Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
22. Web site: Johnny Evers Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
23. Web site: Kaiser Wilhelm Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
24. Web site: Hod Lisenbee Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
25. Web site: Nolan Ryan Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
26. Web site: Charlie Hough Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
27. Web site: Sam Thompson Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
28. Web site: Jesse Orosco Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
29. Web site: Dan Brouthers Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
30. Web site: Grover Hartley Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
31. Web site: Bobo Newsom Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
32. Web site: Randy Johnson Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
33. Web site: Tommy John Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
34. Web site: C.I. Taylor Stats. baseball-reference.com. December 2, 2021.
35. Web site: Kid Gleason Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
36. Web site: Carlton Fisk Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
37. Web site: Cap Anson Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
38. Web site: Omar Vizquel Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
39. Web site: Ichiro Suzuki Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
40. Web site: Ted Lyons Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
41. Web site: Pete Rose Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
42. Web site: Bartolo Colon Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
43. Web site: Fred Johnson Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
44. Web site: Tim Wakefield Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
45. Web site: Roger Clemens Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
46. Web site: Red Faber Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
47. Web site: Gaylord Perry Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
48. Web site: Rich Hill Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
49. Web site: Justin Verlander Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
50. Web site: Jesse Chavez Stats. baseball-reference.com. August 19, 2021.
51. Web site: Joey Votto Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
52. Web site: Zack Greinke Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
53. Web site: Charlie Morton Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
54. Web site: Yuli Gurriel Stats. baseball-reference.com. June 29, 2022.
55. Web site: Max Scherzer Stats. baseball-reference.com. June 29, 2022.
56. Web site: Justin Turner Stats. baseball-reference.com. November 30, 2022.
57. Web site: Mark Melancon Stats. baseball-reference.com. January 31, 2023.
58. Web site: David Robertson Stats. baseball-reference.com. January 31, 2023.
59. Web site: Daniel Bard Stats. baseball-reference.com. April 2, 2023.
60. Web site: Evan Longoria Stats. baseball-reference.com. April 2, 2023.
61. Web site: Adam Ottavino Stats. baseball-reference.com. April 2, 2023.
62. Web site: Matt Carpenter Stats. baseball-reference.com. April 2, 2023.
63. Web site: Matt Bush Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 14, 2023.
64. Web site: Johnny Cueto Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 14, 2023.
65. Web site: Carlos Santana Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 14, 2023.
66. Web site: Chris Martin Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 14, 2023.
67. Web site: Charlie Blackmon Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 14, 2023.
68. Web site: Darin Ruf Stats. baseball-reference.com. August 2, 2023.
69. Web site: Yu Darvish Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 4, 2024.
70. Web site: Martín Maldonado Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 4, 2024.
71. Web site: Andrew McCutchen Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 4, 2024.
72. Web site: Wade Miley Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 4, 2024.
73. Web site: Paolo Espino Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
74. Web site: Brandon Crawford Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
75. Web site: Jake Diekman Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
76. Web site: José Abreu Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
77. Web site: Luis García Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
78. Web site: Caleb Thielbar Stats. baseball-reference.com. March 27, 2024.
79. Web site: Ichiro Suzuki Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
80. Web site: Bartolo Colon Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
81. Web site: Rich Hill Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
82. Web site: Mariano Rivera Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
83. Web site: Jason Giambi Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
84. Web site: Nelson Cruz Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
85. Web site: Darren Oliver Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
86. Web site: R. A. Dickey Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
87. Web site: LaTroy Hawkins Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
88. Web site: Albert Pujols Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
89. Web site: Fernando Rodney Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
90. Web site: Koji Uehara Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
91. Web site: Raúl Ibañez Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
92. Web site: Adam Wainwright Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
93. Web site: Henry Blanco Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
94. Web site: Joe Nathan Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
95. Web site: José Contreras Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.
96. Web site: Justin Verlander Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 22, 2020.
97. Web site: Andy Pettitte Stats. baseball-reference.com. July 18, 2022.