Old Man, Look at My Life

[Fman99]

Felt the need to look it up, watching Latroy Hawkins get through the 8th tonight. He's one of the eight players in MLB older than myself (and metirish, for that fact, who is exactly one day younger than myself).

Who are the other seven guys born prior to February 1973? As always, one guess per member please!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. Latroy Hawkins, b. 12/21/72

[Frayed Knot]

Mo Rivera

[Frayed Knot]

The entire Yanqui roster plus many of their minor leaguers

[Fman99]

That's one...

1. Rivera, DOB 11/29/69
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. Hawkins, DOB 12/21/72

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Pettitte

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Blanco

[HahnSolo]

Mr Walkoff Jason Giambi

[Fman99]

1. Rivera, DOB 11/29/69
2.
3. Giambi, DOB 1/8/71
4. Blanco, DOB 8/29/71
5.
6.
7. Pettitte, DOB 6/15/72
8. Hawkins, DOB 12/21/72

[Frayed Knot]

Darren Oliver

[dinosaur jesus]

Minnie Minoso.

[DocTee]

Todd Helton

[Zvon]

Garth Brooks

[G-Fafif]

I miss Jamie Moyer, my last major league elder.

[dinosaur jesus]

G-Fafif wrote: I miss Jamie Moyer, my last major league elder.

Geez, mine too. By like two weeks. Jamie Moyer, my secret twin; we even have the same initials.

At least I'm still younger than the president. It's really going to hurt when that's not true anymore.

[nymr83]

This led me to take a look at Baseball Reference (I wont give away answers) and another interesting question:

Not since 1975 has the National league failed to have a player 40 years of age or older.

What player (then 39 years old) was the oldest in the league in 1975? Hint: Tony Taylor was the 2nd oldest, and the oldest in 1976 at 40, as the player in question retired after the 1975 season.

[Edgy MD]

Fuh-rank Robinson.

[G-Fafif]

Went to check on my various 1975 guesses, all of whom were in the Top 10 but none of whom was the answer (who struck me as obvious once I saw it). As these things go on BB-Ref, I found myself lured into learning something that has nothing to do with Fman's original inquiry:

In 1973, The Sporting News named Ron Bryant its National League Pitcher of the Year presumably solely on the strength of Bryant collecting 24 wins versus Tom Seaver's 19, never mind that Seaver was all-everything in the N.L. that year across every existing statistic (never mind advanced statistics they didn't know from -- and never mind the pennant race pressure under which Seaver pitched) except for wins, or that Bryant was relentlessly ordinary, except for the 24 wins (he did enjoy a great start, but steadily fell toward earth from mid-June on. I remember it was a big deal that a mere 19-game winner trumped the league's only 20-game winner for the Cy Young. Thirty-eight years later, I can't believe "the bible of baseball" fell so hard for Bryant when it had Seaver to award.

1975 was the year I became a habitual reader of The Sporting News and remained one for the next 16 or so years. If I had this information about its 1973 selection, I probably would've boycotted the publication.

[dgwphotography]

This thread is making me feel old. I miss Jesse Orosco...

[Fman99]

1. Rivera, DOB 11/29/69
2. Oliver, DOB 10/6/70
3. Giambi, DOB 1/8/71
4. Blanco, DOB 8/29/71
5.
6.
7. Pettitte, DOB 6/15/72
8. Hawkins, DOB 12/21/72

[Fman99]

DocTee wrote: Todd Helton

Nope!

[metirish]

Raul Ibanez


Can't believe Helton is not part of that list....

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Contreras

[Edgy MD]

Nymr83 wrote: This led me to take a look at Baseball Reference (I wont give away answers) and another interesting question: Not since 1975 has the National league failed to have a player 40 years of age or older. What player (then 39 years old) was the oldest in the league in 1975? Hint: Tony Taylor was the 2nd oldest, and the oldest in 1976 at 40, as the player in question retired after the 1975 season.

Do we have answer on this? By "the League," do we man the National League or all of MLB? If not Frank Robinson, how about Hank Aaron?

[Fman99]

That's the list! Thanks for playing:

1. Rivera, DOB 11/29/69
2. Oliver, DOB 10/6/70
3. Giambi, DOB 1/8/71
4. Blanco, DOB 8/29/71
5. Contreras, DOB 12/6/71
6. Ibanez, DOB 6/2/72
7. Pettitte, DOB 6/15/72
8. Hawkins, DOB 12/21/72

[nymr83]

Edgy MD wrote: This led me to take a look at Baseball Reference (I wont give away answers) and another interesting question: Not since 1975 has the National league failed to have a player 40 years of age or older. What player (then 39 years old) was the oldest in the league in 1975? Hint: Tony Taylor was the 2nd oldest, and the oldest in 1976 at 40, as the player in question retired after the 1975 season. Do we have answer on this? By "the League," do we man the National League or all of MLB? If not Frank Robinson, how about Hank Aaron?

Sorry I was unclear, I was reffering solely to the National League as there was a 40 year old in the A.L. those seasons.

Not Frank, not Hank.

Robinson was 39 in 1975 and in the AL anyway
Aaron was a 40 year old for Atlanta in 1974, but in 1975 he too was playing in the AL for Milwaukee (then an AL club)

[HahnSolo]

Poking around 1975 on BB Ref, I found it interesting that the SF Giants did not field a single player who was in his 30s. Oldest active player was 29.

[Chad ochoseis]

NL player who might have been playing in 1975, was old, and wasn't Hank Aaron.

Joe Torre?

OE - Not Torre. My first thought was somebody else, and that somebody else was the correct answer.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Willie McCovey? Harmon Killebrew?

[nymr83]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Willie McCovey? Harmon Killebrew?

McCovey was 37, Killebrew played his entire career in the AL (and was 39 in 1975, his final season in KC)


Joe Torre was 34 in his first season as a Met. I guess he played and looked older!

[nymr83]

I already said the player retired after that 1975 season, the next hint: he played his entire career for the same team.