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List of oldest Major League Baseball players

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List of oldest Major League Baseball players

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 San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander, who is currently 42 years old.

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Justin Verlander is the oldest active MLB player.

Key

PosPC1B2B3BSSLFCFRFOFDH
PositionPitcherCatcherFirst basemanSecond basemanThird basemanShortstopLeft fielderCenter fielderRight fielderOutfielderDesignated hitter

Oldest players

Summarize
Perspective
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Satchel Paige is the oldest player ever to play in MLB.
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Jack Quinn is the oldest player to appear regularly.
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Julio Franco is the oldest position player to appear regularly.

All-time

^ Denotes player who is still active in the MLB as of the 2025 season[a]
* Denotes player who has been inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame
† Denotes player who is not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[b]
§ Eligible for Hall of Fame in 2026[1]
More information Player, Pos ...
Player Pos Birth date Last game Age Team(s) played (years) Ref.
Satchel Paige* P July 7, 1906 September 25, 1965 59 years, 80 days
9 teams
 [2]
Charley O'Leary SS/2B/3B October 15, 1875 September 30, 1934 58 years, 350 days
3 teams
 [3]
Nick Altrock P September 15, 1876 October 1, 1933 57 years, 16 days
4 teams
 [4]
Minnie Miñoso* LF/3B November 29, 1923 October 5, 1980 56 years, 311 days
5 teams
 [5]
Jim O'Rourke* OF/C/1B September 1, 1850 September 22, 1904 54 years, 21 days
7 teams
 [6]
String Bean Williams P 1873 1925 51 or 52 years
4 teams
 [7]
Jack Quinn[c] P July 1, 1883 July 7, 1933 50 years, 6 days
8 teams
 [8]
Hoyt Wilhelm* P July 26, 1922 July 10, 1972 49 years, 350 days
9 teams
 [9]
Jimmy Austin 3B/SS December 8, 1879 October 6, 1929 49 years, 302 days
2 teams
 [10]
Arlie Latham 3B March 15, 1860 September 30, 1909 49 years, 199 days
6 teams
 [11]
Jamie Moyer P November 18, 1962 May 27, 2012 49 years, 191 days
8 teams
 [12]
Hughie Jennings* SS/1B April 2, 1869 September 2, 1918 49 years, 153 days
5 teams
 [13]
Julio Franco[d] SS/2B/1B August 23, 1958 September 17, 2007 49 years, 25 days
8 teams
 [14]
Gabby Street C September 30, 1882 September 20, 1931 48 years, 355 days
5 teams
 [15]
Deacon McGuire C/1B November 18, 1863 May 18, 1912 48 years, 182 days
11 teams
 [16]
Phil Niekro* P April 1, 1939 September 27, 1987 48 years, 179 days
4 teams
 [17]
Johnny Evers* 2B July 21, 1881 October 6, 1929 48 years, 77 days
4 teams
 [18]
Kaiser Wilhelm P January 26, 1874 August 21, 1921 47 years, 207 days
5 teams
 [19]
Hod Lisenbee P September 23, 1898 September 7, 1945 46 years, 349 days
4 teams
 [20]
Nolan Ryan* P January 31, 1947 September 22, 1993 46 years, 234 days
4 teams
 [21]
Charlie Hough P January 5, 1948 July 26, 1994 46 years, 202 days
4 teams
 [22]
Sam Thompson* RF March 5, 1860 September 10, 1906 46 years, 189 days
3 teams
 [23]
Jesse Orosco P April 21, 1957 September 27, 2003 46 years, 159 days
9 teams
 [24]
Dan Brouthers* 1B May 8, 1858 October 4, 1904 46 years, 149 days
10 teams
 [25]
Grover Hartley C July 2, 1888 September 30, 1934 46 years, 90 days
5 teams
 [26]
Bobo Newsom P August 11, 1907 September 17, 1953 46 years, 37 days
9 teams
 [27]
Randy Johnson* P September 10, 1963 October 4, 2009 46 years, 24 days
6 teams
 [28]
Tommy John P May 22, 1943 May 25, 1989 46 years, 3 days
6 teams
 [29]
C. I. Taylor RF/C January 20, 1875 1921 46 years Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1921) [30]
Kid Gleason 2B/P October 26, 1866 August 27, 1912 45 years, 306 days
7 teams
 [31]
Carlton Fisk* C December 26, 1947 June 22, 1993 45 years, 178 days
2 teams
 [32]
Cap Anson* 1B/3B/C April 17, 1852 October 3, 1897 45 years, 169 days
3 teams
 [33]
Omar Vizquel SS/3B April 24, 1967 October 3, 2012 45 years, 162 days
6 teams
 [34]
Ichiro Suzuki* RF October 22, 1973 March 21, 2019 45 years, 150 days
3 teams
 [35]
Ted Lyons* P December 28, 1900 May 19, 1946 45 years, 142 days Chicago White Sox (1923–1942, 1946) [36]
Pete Rose OF/1B/3B April 14, 1941 August 17, 1986 45 years, 125 days
3 teams
 [37]
Bartolo Colón P May 24, 1973 September 22, 2018 45 years, 121 days
11 teams
 [38]
Fred Johnson P March 10, 1894 May 10, 1939 45 years, 61 days
2 teams
 [39]
Tim Wakefield P August 2, 1966 September 25, 2011 45 years, 54 days
2 teams
 [40]
Roger Clemens P August 4, 1962 September 16, 2007 45 years, 43 days
4 teams
 [41]
Red Faber* P September 6, 1888 September 20, 1933 45 years, 14 days Chicago White Sox (1914–1933) [42]
Gaylord Perry* P September 15, 1938 September 21, 1983 45 years, 6 days
8 teams
 [43]
Close

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
More information Player, Pos ...
Player Pos Birth date Age Team(s) played (years) Ref.
Justin Verlander P February 20, 1983 42 years, 71 days
4 teams
 [44]
Jesse Chavez P August 21, 1983 41 years, 254 days
9 teams
 [45]
Charlie Morton P November 12, 1983 41 years, 171 days
6 teams
 [46]
Yuli Gurriel 1B/DH June 9, 1984 40 years, 327 days
4 teams
 [47]
Max Scherzer P July 27, 1984 40 years, 279 days
7 teams
 [48]
Justin Turner 1B/DH/3B November 23, 1984 40 years, 160 days
7 teams
 [49]
Adam Ottavino P November 22, 1985 39 years, 161 days
5 teams
 [50]
Carlos Santana 1B April 8, 1986 39 years, 24 days
7 teams
 [51]
Chris Martin P June 2, 1986 38 years, 334 days
7 teams
 [52]
Yu Darvish P August 16, 1986 38 years, 259 days
4 teams
 [53]
Martín Maldonado C August 16, 1986 38 years, 259 days
7 teams
 [54]
Andrew McCutchen DH/RF October 10, 1986 38 years, 204 days
5 teams
 [55]
Luis García P January 30, 1987 38 years, 92 days
7 teams
 [56]
Caleb Thielbar P January 31, 1987 38 years, 91 days
2 teams
 [57]
Carlos Carrasco P March 21, 1987 38 years, 42 days
3 teams
 [58]
Kirby Yates P March 25, 1987 38 years, 38 days
7 teams
 [59]
Justin Wilson P August 18, 1987 37 years, 257 days
7 teams
 [60]
Ryan Brasier P August 26, 1987 37 years, 249 days
4 teams
 [61]
Paul Goldschmidt 1B September 10, 1987 37 years, 234 days
3 teams
 [62]
Kenley Jansen P September 30, 1987 37 years, 214 days
4 teams
 [63]
Alex Cobb P October 7, 1987 37 years, 207 days
6 teams
 [64]
Kyle Gibson P October 23, 1987 37 years, 191 days
5 teams
 [65]
Close

Last ten seasons

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
More information Player, Pos ...
Player Pos Birth date Last game Age Team(s) played (years) Ref.
Ichiro Suzuki* RF October 22, 1973 March 21, 2019 45 years, 150 days
3 teams
 [66]
Bartolo Colón P May 24, 1973 September 22, 2018 45 years, 121 days
11 teams
 [67]
Rich Hill† P March 11, 1980 September 4, 2024 44 years, 177 days
12 teams
 [68]
Nelson Cruz† DH/RF July 1, 1980 July 3, 2023 43 years, 2 days
8 teams
 [69]
R. A. Dickey P October 29, 1974 September 26, 2017 42 years, 332 days
6 teams
 [70]
Albert Pujols† 1B/LF/3B January 16, 1980 October 4, 2022 42 years, 261 days
3 teams
 [71]
Fernando Rodney P March 18, 1977 September 28, 2019 42 years, 194 days
11 teams
 [72]
Koji Uehara P April 3, 1975 September 2, 2017 42 years, 152 days
4 teams
 [73]
Justin Verlander^ P February 20, 1983 Present 42 years, 71 days
4 teams
 [74]
Adam Wainwright† P August 30, 1981 October 1, 2023 42 years, 32 days St. Louis Cardinals (2005–2010, 2012–2023) [75]
Joe Nathan P November 22, 1974 September 27, 2016 41 years, 310 days
5 teams
 [76]
Jesse Chavez^ P August 21, 1983 Present 41 years, 254 days
9 teams
 [77]
Charlie Morton^ P November 12, 1983 Present 41 years, 171 days
6 teams
 [78]
Close

See also

Notes

  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. Jack Quinn is the oldest pitcher to appear regularly; made 14 appearances as a reliever in his final season before his career ended on July 7, 1933, 6 days after turning 50
  4. Julio Franco is the oldest position player to appear regularly; played 55 games in his final season before his career ended on September 9, 2007, 25 days after turning 49

References

External links

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