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| Yes | 71% | 65 votes | Total: 91 votes | |
| No | 29% | 26 votes |
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Add to FavoritesRemember what John Kruk said to that fan one time when she questioned his athleticism? He said, "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player." Granted, many baseball players are superb, world-class athletes. As with many other facets in life, athleticism and physical skills tend to diminish as people age. However, it is possible for "old" baseball players to compete with players 25 years and younger. If we assume that anyone older than 25 is "old", then old baseball players can certainly compete. To be fair, an "old" baseball player is more likely to be someone who is in their late 30's and early 40's. Here are a few thoughts on why "older" baseball players might still have a chance against the youngsters.
PARTICULA R SKILLS
There are certain things that make someone qualified to be a professional baseball player. They need speed, agility, and excellent hand-eye coordination. Hitters in particular need to be able to react in a split second when that 90 MPH fastball whizzes by them. As people get older, they tend to lose "bat speed", but at the same time they can also gain wisdom and experience. Therefore, some hitters in their late 30's are just as effective as some in the their early 20's. They may not have the raw athleticism that they once had, but they may still have enough physical skills to compete. In addition, they may have a greater understanding of their craft. Pitchers can also be effective in their later years. They may not have the raw velocity of their youth, but they may have developed other pitches or be more refined in their methodology. Some particular pitchers such as knuckleballer Tim Wakefield can conceivably pitch well into their 40's since they have a very unique delivery that does not require as much speed.
WISDOM AND CUNNING
The other advantage that an older baseball player has is experience. When players are young, they may get away with succeeding just on athleticism and talent. Older ballplayers have seen strategies in the past, and may be more diligent to study their opponent through note-taking, statistics, and film. If you think about it, baseball is in some ways a chess game between the pitcher and the hitter. The hitter is essentially guessing where the pitcher is going to throw the ball. Therefore, if the pitcher can fool the hitter into thinking that they are going to throw something else, the pitcher can win out, even if their pitches are not overpowering.
Overall , older players can certainly compete. The major leagues are full of "older" players who can still be very effective. Youth and athleticism are great to have, but experience and wisdom sometimes win out anyway. Many teams that win are "veteran" ball clubs because they use their mental superiority to triumph in the end.
Learn more about this author, Todd Pheifer.
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No
While there have been baseball players that have stuck around into their mid 40's they are the exception rather than the rule. The reason isn't because they don't know the game or desire to still play, it is simply because they cannot keep up with the younger players. All aberrations aside, it is a young mans game, always has been, and always will be.
It is easy for people that don't play the game on the professional level to say baseball players aren't athletes, and certainly there are some out of shape loads of flesh in the game, but baseball players are athletes and those out of shape loads don't generally hang around for long. Baseball by nature is a vgame that forces the body to do unnatural things. Throwing a baseball overhand is not natural to the body which is why we see so many players develop arm problems and we aren't just talking about pitchers. Catchers take more abuse to the body than anyone on the field which is why so few can remain productive at the position full time much past their thirty sixth birthday.
The human body breaks down with age. You simply cannot remain young forever. As we age it takes longer to get over mmuscle fatigue, harder to stay in shape, and quite honestly harder to keep the high level of mental focus and intensity to continue competing at a peak level. If it was true that players could keep up with the kids twenty five years younger than them as a rule (Without a friendly visit to the Performance enhancing supply) everyone would be doing it to keep the gravy train rolling along.
Aside from guys like Satchel page who played at fifty nine- albeit a staged exhibition, you won't find anyone that really played regularly past forty seven aside from Julio Franco and even he was primarily used as a pinch hitter and emergencey replacement. As a matter of fact aside from junkerball pitchers like Phil Niekro and Jamie Moyer who is still hanging around to mixed results very few players stick around nuch past their forty third birthday. You can see even for a rubber armed pitcher playing every five days at that age is just too hard. Even the great Nolan Ryan had to take the express off the rails.
People can argue all they want about Bonds and Clemens getting it done and even getting better as they aged but we all have a pretty good idea how that happened. If that is what it takes just to stay competitive it's an indication as strong as they get players are not predisposed to being able to compete at that level with success. Like it or not I'll take my chances with an eighteen year old kid over a forty three year old, even a forty three year old legend in the game of baseball anyday.
Learn more about this author, Amanda Fox.
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