The oldest MLB rookie was Satchel Paige, who at 42 posted a 6-1 record, with a 2.48 ERA in his rookie season. Other late entries are Diomedes Olivo (41), Alex McColl (39), Connie Marrero (39), and Chuck Hostetler (40). But the oldest to make his professional debut that I've found is Yoshio Yuasa.
Yoshio Yuasa was the manager of the Mainichi Orions in the Japan Pacific League in 1950, piloting them to a pennant with a 81-34 record. On November 5, 1950, at the tender age of 48, he started the game against fellow 48-year-old pitcher Shinji Hamasaki. Yuasa had been a good amateur pitcher in his time, throwing two no-hitters in 1925 as a college pitcher, but obviously those days were long gone. He did okay, though, allowing 2 runs in 4 innings.
The other pitcher in that game, Shinji Hamasaki, who was 5'1'', 110 pounds, ended up in the Japanese Hall of Fame, and was the oldest Japanese pitcher to win a pro game until 2014. His first pro season was at 45, and he posted a 5-5 record in the Japanese pro leagues.
Note: I got much of this information from a Japanese site, translated, and some of the translations for the statistical categories are hilarious. Some of the best (with some tentative translations of translations): Shunned (hit by pitch?) Death ball (what?) Co-killing (grounded into double play). A violent pitch (wild pitch). Runs of remorse (earned runs?)
I think death ball means either dead ball or dead ball era. As for old rookies, I keep trying to tell my Dad to get back into it - he's under 45 and can still throw 80. He used to be a fine catcher.
ReplyDeleteYeah, your dad sounds like he'd do pretty well. My dad kind of wants to play baseball again, but since getting Covid last fall his energy level has been really low.
DeleteDeath ball can't mean dead ball or dead ball era, because it's for statistical categories- those are not statistical categories.
Good stuff, John. One post in, and the follow is already paying off!
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