Four-Decade Players
They're the kings of durability: players who appeared in four different calendar decades. Many of these guys are Hall of Famers, but some are just better-than-average players who worked hard and stayed healthy for a very long time.
Remarkably, out of the 32 players on the list, four - Dempsey, Fisk, McCarver, and Nomura - got there despite playing what is arguably the most physically demanding position on the field; catcher.
The list includes players active at the major league level in the United States or Japan for at least one game in each of four different decades; in many cases, the feat was only achieved thanks to a token appearance at the end of a player's career, or a cup of coffee at the beginning of such.
Minnie Minoso and Nick Altrock are the only players to appear in five different decades.
Contents
1980s-2010s[edit]
- Jamie Moyer (1986-2012)
- Ken Griffey, Jr. (1989-2010)
- Omar Vizquel (1989-2012)
1970s-2000s[edit]
- Rickey Henderson (1979-2003)
- Mike Morgan (1978-2002)
- Jesse Orosco (1979-2003)
- Tim Raines (1979-2002)
1960s-1990s[edit]
- Bill Buckner (1969-1990)
- Rick Dempsey (1969-1992)
- Carlton Fisk (1969-1993)
- Choji Murata (1968-1990)
- Jerry Reuss (1969-1990)
- Nolan Ryan (1966-1993)
1950s-1980s[edit]
- Isao Harimoto (1959-1981)
- Jim Kaat (1959-1983)
- Tim McCarver (1959-1980)
- Willie McCovey (1959-1980)
- Minnie Minoso (1949-1980)
- Katsuya Nomura (1954-1980)
- Sadaharu Oh (1959-1980)
1940s-1970s[edit]
- Minnie Minoso (1949-1980)
1930s-1960s[edit]
- Mickey Vernon (1939-1960)
- Ted Williams (1939-1960)
- Early Wynn (1939-1963)
1920s-1950s[edit]
- Bobo Newsom (1929-1953)
1910s-1940s[edit]
None
1900s-1930s[edit]
- Nick Altrock (1898-1933)
- Eddie Collins (1906-1930)
- Jack Quinn (1909-1933)
1890s-1920s[edit]
- Nick Altrock (1898-1933)
1880s-1910s[edit]
- Kid Gleason (1888-1912)
- Deacon McGuire (1884-1912)
- Jack O'Connor (1887-1910)
- Jack Ryan (1889-1913)
1870s-1900s[edit]
- Dan Brouthers (1879-1904)
- Jim O'Rourke (1872-1904)
Further Reading[edit]
- Andrew Simon and David Adler: "These players' careers spanned 4 decades", mlb.com, November 22, 2018. [1]
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