Sweating With The Oldies
Posted by Steve Lombardi on June 14, 2010
Via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Season Finder...teams with at least 4 players in a given season, age 34 or older, who had at least 350 PA each:
| Rk | Year | Tm | Lg | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1985 | California Angels | AL | 7 | Juan Beniquez / Bob Boone / Rod Carew / Doug DeCinces / Brian Downing / Bobby Grich / Reggie Jackson |
| 2 | 2007 | San Francisco Giants | NL | 6 | Rich Aurilia / Barry Bonds / Ray Durham / Ryan Klesko / Dave Roberts / Omar Vizquel |
| 3 | 2008 | New York Yankees | AL | 5 | Bobby Abreu / Johnny Damon / Jason Giambi / Derek Jeter / Hideki Matsui |
| 4 | 2006 | San Francisco Giants | NL | 5 | Moises Alou / Barry Bonds / Ray Durham / Steve Finley / Omar Vizquel |
| 5 | 2004 | Houston Astros | NL | 5 | Brad Ausmus / Jeff Bagwell / Craig Biggio / Jeff Kent / Jose Vizcaino |
| 6 | 2002 | San Francisco Giants | NL | 5 | Barry Bonds / Jeff Kent / Reggie Sanders / Benito Santiago / J.T. Snow |
| 7 | 2000 | Seattle Mariners | AL | 5 | Jay Buhner / Rickey Henderson / Stan Javier / Edgar Martinez / Mark McLemore |
| 8 | 1993 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 5 | Kirk Gibson / Dan Gladden / Tony Phillips / Alan Trammell / Lou Whitaker |
| 9 | 1986 | California Angels | AL | 5 | Bob Boone / Doug DeCinces / Brian Downing / Bobby Grich / Reggie Jackson |
| 10 | 1984 | California Angels | AL | 5 | Juan Beniquez / Bob Boone / Rod Carew / Bobby Grich / Reggie Jackson |
| 11 | 1945 | Chicago White Sox | AL | 5 | Tony Cuccinello / Johnny Dickshot / Oris Hockett / Wally Moses / Roy Schalk |
| 12 | 2009 | New York Yankees | AL | 4 | Johnny Damon / Derek Jeter / Hideki Matsui / Jorge Posada |
| 13 | 2007 | New York Mets | NL | 4 | Moises Alou / Carlos Delgado / Shawn Green / Paul Lo Duca |
| 14 | 2005 | New York Yankees | AL | 4 | Jason Giambi / Gary Sheffield / Bernie Williams / Tony Womack |
| 15 | 2005 | San Francisco Giants | NL | 4 | Moises Alou / Mike Matheny / J.T. Snow / Omar Vizquel |
| 16 | 2005 | St. Louis Cardinals | NL | 4 | Jim Edmonds / Mark Grudzielanek / So Taguchi / Larry Walker |
| 17 | 2003 | Houston Astros | NL | 4 | Brad Ausmus / Jeff Bagwell / Craig Biggio / Jeff Kent |
| 18 | 2003 | Seattle Mariners | AL | 4 | Bret Boone / Edgar Martinez / Mark McLemore / John Olerud |
| 19 | 2003 | San Francisco Giants | NL | 4 | Barry Bonds / Marquis Grissom / Benito Santiago / J.T. Snow |
| 20 | 2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks | NL | 4 | Jay Bell / Steve Finley / Mark Grace / Matt Williams |
| 21 | 2000 | Baltimore Orioles | AL | 4 | Brady Anderson / Mike Bordick / Jeff Conine / B.J. Surhoff |
| 22 | 1999 | Baltimore Orioles | AL | 4 | Brady Anderson / Harold Baines / Cal Ripken / B.J. Surhoff |
| 23 | 1997 | San Diego Padres | NL | 4 | Ken Caminiti / Tony Gwynn / Rickey Henderson / Wally Joyner |
| 24 | 1991 | Milwaukee Brewers | AL | 4 | Jim Gantner / Paul Molitor / Willie Randolph / Robin Yount |
| 25 | 1989 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 4 | Dave Bergman / Mike Heath / Chet Lemon / Fred Lynn |
| 26 | 1986 | Baltimore Orioles | AL | 4 | Juan Beniquez / Rick Dempsey / Lee Lacy / Fred Lynn |
| 27 | 1983 | California Angels | AL | 4 | Bob Boone / Rod Carew / Bobby Grich / Reggie Jackson |
| 28 | 1980 | New York Yankees | AL | 4 | Reggie Jackson / Graig Nettles / Lou Piniella / Bob Watson |
| 29 | 1956 | Brooklyn Dodgers | NL | 4 | Roy Campanella / Carl Furillo / Pee Wee Reese / Jackie Robinson |
| 30 | 1924 | Brooklyn Robins | NL | 4 | Jack Fournier / Tommy Griffith / Jimmy Johnston / Zack Wheat |
.
Those '85 Halos were an interesting team. They led the league in home attendance (2,567,427) and finished just one game behind the A.L. West winning Royals.
Actually, they were up by one game with five to play that season. But, they lost 3 of their next 4 against the Royals and then found themselves one game out with just 3 games to play. And, that was just about it for them...
June 14th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Much as I love Donnie Baseball, my recollection is that George Brett put a hurting on the Angels to end the season, cementing his entitlement to the MVP. (Well, if not him, then Rickey Henderson.)
June 15th, 2010 at 8:50 am
I was quite surprised that the '83 Phillies were not on this list. They won the pennant that year with the nickname "Wheeze Kids"
Indeed upon further inspection, the average age of the team was a meager 31
June 15th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Jim - the '83 Phillies could have been called the Pale Red Machine: they gave 555 PA to Pete Rose (42, OPS+ of 69, yikes) and another 504 to Joe Morgan (39, OPS+ of 116). Tony Perez got 285 at age 41 (OPS+ of 91). Their fourth 34+ guy was pitcher Steve Carlton, so no chance of 350 PA there.
They did have two 33-year-olds with major appearances: Michael Jack Schmidt (team-high 669, OPS+ of 156) and Garry Maddox (just missed the cut-off at 345 PA). 32-year-old Gary Matthews added 526 PA. They were indeed wheezy, but not quite as wheezy as some others. Heck, they won, right? Be cheered with the thought of the 2007 Mets giving almost 1000 PA to Shawn Green and Paul %&&^#$! LoDuca. Then add in the Ghost of Tom Glavine and El Duque (each at 41) getting 58 starts, and Ollie Perez pitching well enough to fool everyone into thinking he was worth two craps.
I'm gonna go beat my face against an I-beam for a while. Andy, for all of our health, please keep ignoring the Mets!
June 15th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
woulda thought the 2004 sox would make the geritol list, with varitek, pedro, mueller, Millar and wakefield....
June 15th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
I would have thought the same thing about the '76 Red Sox, with Yaz, Deron Johnson, Tiant, and -- perhaps I should not mention this one -- Rico Petrocelli.
June 15th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
i was going to make a comment on the red sox but i was beat to it
June 15th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
My wife -- a Boston girl -- just reminded me that the Red Sox team I was thinking of was the 1975 edition, not '76. Mea culpa