10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark

Pin It Now!

Nolan Ryan

Okay, Nolan Ryan is a bit of a throwback, and hasn't been in Major League Baseball since 1993, but when you consider a couple of things you'll see why he's easily on this list. Ryan entered the big leagues in September of 1966 as a right-handed pitcher with a lot of potential. During his 27-year career, Ryan had a record of 324-292 and threw 5,714 strikeouts, a standing MLB record.

While Ryan did throw seven no-hitters, an MLB record to this day, he never threw a perfect game and never won a Cy Young Award. But he did appear in a Major League game in four decades, could consistently throw over 100mph at his peak performance, and consistently was over 95mph over the age of 40.

Jamie Moyer

Another one of those four-decade guys; at age 49, Jamie Moyer is currently making a bid to make the Colorado Rockies as a relief pitcher. In fact, he struck out four in four perfect innings during a recent spring training game in Arizona against the San Francisco Giants.

He sat out last season and played analyst at ESPN while nursing a banged-up elbow. He last played in June of 2010 at the spry age of 47. I can't believe he's almost 50; I get tired just watching him pitch. Here's to old guys like Moyer. Cheers!

Chipper Jones

I was too young to remember Nolan Ryan's debut, and don't specifically remember Jamie Moyer entering the bigs, although I've watched a great deal of his career. I do remember the day Chipper Jones came in swinging because he was the youngest player in baseball on September 11, 1993.

Perhaps not the granddaddy of the list, at age 39 he looks as good as he did at age 21. His youthful good looks betray his age, and unless you know he's been in the Major Leagues for nearly 20 years—all of it with the Atlanta Braves—you'd never guess he's 39. Expect to see him in the broadcast booth after this year, his farewell season. I suspect at age 59 we'll be saying the same things about this youngster!

Derek Jeter

Easily one of the best looking guys to ever round the bases, Derek Jeter joined the New York Yankees in May of 1995, where's he remained as a fan-favorite ever since. He's also one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game, evidenced by 12 All-Star games and 5 Golden Glove awards.

Jeter always seems to be in the gossip columns. After all, his penchant for celebrity women is well documented. There's been Mariah Carey, Miss Universe: Lara Dutta, Vanessa Minillo, Minka Kelly, Jessica Beal, Joy Enriquez, and Jordana Brewster. Whew! Where does this guy find time for baseball?

Anyway, at age 37 he looks like he's found the Fountain of Youth, and if his body holds out he could play baseball well into his 40's.

Andy Pettitte

What is it with the New York Yankees and youthful players? I mean we're talking about life in the Big Apple, and there's no way these guys aren't playing and living hard. Anyway, Andy Pettitte, lefty fire-baller for the Yankees probably still gets asked for ID when he hits the night clubs!

At age 39, he's still got what it takes to play the game with the big boys. Even though he announced his retirement last year, he's already been signed to a minor league contract in the Yankees organization for a whopping $2.5 million. He's expected to spend some time tuning-up before coming back to New York and joining the Yankees' regular rotation.

Tim Wakefield

From July 31, 1992 through September 25, 2011 Tim Wakefield's world famous knuckleballs fanned 2,156 batters. The slow-pitch was definitely the key to his longevity in the Major Leagues, but there's no accounting for the fact that every time this guy took the mound someone in the broadcast booth would comment on his youthful good looks.

Perhaps it was the fact that he generally rolled with his own personal catcher, because his knuckleball was so difficult to catch. That's enough to stroke any guy's ego, easily shedding the years as quickly as they fall out of the calendar.

Omar Vizquel

Here's one of those 44-year-old guys that make the 34-year-old guys a little nervous. Does he look younger than me? Will I look that good in ten years? Yes, and no, respectively. This Latino shortstop is arguably one of the greatest to ever play the game. He once went on a 95-game stretch without an error, and has a career fielding percentage of .985, which is the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop in Major League history.

No telling when this Venezuelan lothario is going to retire, but it won't ever be on the grounds that he just looks too old to play the game. This guy might truly be the Dick Clark of Major League baseball players.

Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell just retired at the age of 40 at the end of last season. He was immediately offered a front office job with the Milwaukee Brewers, a team he spent six of his 17 years with. The Brewers wer probably enthralled with his boyish appearance, and figured they'd get a good 40 more years out of him before he simply had to call it quits.

Counsell played for seven teams during his career, winning two World Series rings along with the NLCS MVP in 2001. Too bad this guy isn't going in front of the cameras. He'd easily be another fan-favorite for another 17 years. People would start talking about him and Dorian Gray in the same sentence!

Jim Thome

Listen up, kids. If you want to play a really long time, and want to look great doing it, take a page out of the Jim Thome playbook:

•Become a first baseman because it's closer to the dugout (less running to begin and end each inning).
•Hit lots of home runs (604) so you can just trot around the bases.
•Hit really well with runners on the bases (1,675 runs batted in), which means you can stroll to first base as the runner heading to home plate will draw all the attention from the defense. Still going strong at age 41, Jim Thome will lace them up once again with the Philadelphia Phillies where he's sure to make a big splash as the oldest first baseman in the league.

Jason Giambi

Say what you will about Jason Giambi, but this is a guy who's looked good every single day of his career. At age 41 (he's a few months younger than Thome); he'll once again be in the spotlight as the first baseman for the Colorado Rockies.

Over the years he's put on, and subsequently taken off, a little weight here and there, but it's never marred his perennial good looks. He'll be one of the big-leaguers who will retire when he feels darned good and ready to, and not a day before. A fan favorite for sure, he'll probably be around a few more seasons.

Can you think of any ageless baseball players I missed? Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter.

10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark