A few weeks ago, I bought some lucky bags at a famous online sports card shop. In a lucky bag, an autograph baseball card is guaranteed. Well, sometimes, an autograph baseball card in a lucky bag doesn’t have much value. But, for me, it’s just fun to open some packs of baseball cards.
When I received the package, I just couldn’t wait to open it. While opening the first lucky bag, I saw an autograph card. Wow, it’s a Steve Carlton autograph baseball card. I have a Steve Carlton baseball card, which is a low-numbered one. However, it’s the first time that I see a real Steve Carlton autograph card. I was so surprised and really liked this card.
Of course, Steve Carlton is a Hall of Famer and he had a fantastic career. He earned 329 wins, 11th most in MLB history. Moreover, he threw 4136 strikeouts, 4th most in MLB history. Without doubt, he’s a legendary pitcher. While looking back at his career, I found something interesting.
Steve Carlton played in the majors for 24 years and his last MLB appearance was in 1988. Back then, he was 43 years old. That makes me think about a question. Over the last few years, do we often see a player whose age is at least 40 years old on the mound?
To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the great baseball reference website.
Well, there aren’t so many pitchers, who are 40 years old or older, in the big leagues. However, from 2021 to 2023, there are still some players, whose age is at least 40 years old, on the mound.
Firstly, Rich Hill is 43 years old. In 2023, he had a 5.41 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP over 146.1 innings. Additionally, in 2021, Hill was 41 years old, he owned 3.86 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP across 158.2 innings. Last year, he finished the season with a 4.27 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 124.1 innings. In total, he threw more than 400 innings from 2021 to 2023 and earned more than 20 wins.
Moreover, Oliver Perez turned 40 in 2022 and he threw 4 innings in that season. And, in 2022, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who was 42 years old, made his pitching debut, tossing 1 inning.
Finally, Adam Wainwright eventually reached 200 wins in his final season. Over these 2 seasons, he made more than 50 starts. Furthermore, Justin Verlander, who is a 3-time Cy Young award winner, turned 40 in 2023. He made 27 starts this season, posting a 3.22 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over 162.1 innings.
Pitching in the majors isn’t easy. Pitching in the majors for 10+ years is difficult. However, Carlton could still pitch in the majors when he was 43 years old. Over the last few seasons, there are still some pitchers whose age is over 40. For example, Rich Hill turned 40 in 2020. He tossed at least 100 innings in each season from 2021 to 2023. However, it’s rare to see a pitcher whose age is over 40. But, back in 1988, it was Carlton’s final season in the majors and 9 pitchers whose age was 40 or older took the mound. And, 2 of them even threw more than 200 innings.
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