Turning 40 no barrier to many major leaguers
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They love the game, they love the camaraderie, they love the money. So why stop?
Major League Baseball has more 40-somethings on rosters than at any time in the last half-century, and that’s even without 44-year-old right-hander Roger Clemens, who is deciding whether to play this season.
While every franchise searches for the next young box-office hero, it’s the sport’s senior citizens such as John Smoltz, Jamie Moyer, David Wells and Moises Alou who still play for postseason glory.
Some of the biggest names in the game are on the far side of 40, such as Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. They remain well-conditioned and well-compensated. Together, those five have more than 55 million reasons for continuing their careers in 2007.
“The carrot that dangles before them is bigger, shinier, more valuable and richer,” Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz says about why more 40-somethings commit to stay in top physical condition and continue sacrificing family time. “The next year they play might mean another $10 million or more.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 24 players 40 or older played in the majors in 2006. This season, 25 players who will be at least 40 during the season were on opening-day rosters or teams’ disabled lists. From 1962 until 1980, there were never as many as 10 major leaguers 40 or older.
Beyond money, relationships in the clubhouse and the lifestyle are other motivating factors.
“The financial blessing is obvious,” says Braves ace Smoltz, who will turn 40 in May. “But at a certain point most guys have the financial freedom to do what they want. I think it’s about the ability to (say) that I’m still good enough, somebody still wants me and I enjoy doing it.”
“My experience is that most players never want to stop playing baseball. But the players (who) are still playing in the big leagues who are over 40 are special people,” says Jim Bowden, general manager of the Washington Nationals. “You have to keep yourself in tremendous condition, and you have to have tremendous character and desire and a passion to play.”
Detroit Tigers reliever Jose Mesa, who’ll turn 41 in May, plans on a heavy workload. “It’s a beautiful game,” he says. “You don’t want to quit. The hardest thing is to do a lot of running and a lot of lifting. I think the knees are the first thing that bother you.”
Forty-somethings and their teams generally know their limitations.
“As long as you can hit, you can stay around this game,” says Alou, the New York Mets’ everyday left fielder who turns 41 in July. Alou, one of three 40-or-older Mets, signed as a free agent this winter. He was leading the National League in hitting last season until he suffered an ankle injury.
“I’ve had my share of injuries but have been able to battle back,” he says. “This team overlooked the things I don’t do (as well at 40) and still wanted me to come and help them win. I think I can still hit the fastball.”
Conditioning key
But can he hit a changeup? Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Moyer, at 44 the oldest pitcher in the majors, is not only a master at changing speeds but a master of caring for his body.
“My theory is that today guys take better care of themselves,” says Moyer, a 21-game winner when he was 40. “I can’t prove any of that, but guys seem to have more concern for what they’re eating and their offseason conditioning. It’s the way this generation has gone about things.”
Moyer’s program includes working with a conditioning coach to strengthen his body’s core to handle the repetition factor involved in pitching. He’s also become an advocate of spinning (aerobic exercise on a stationary bike). It helps that his wife, Karen, operates a spinning studio in Seattle.
“The question you have to ask is: ‘How do I manage myself to do what I do and stay healthy for the duration?’ ” Moyer says. “Everybody feels good when you come to spring training. Then the bell rings in April and the marathon begins.”
In recent years, the best example for baseball life after 40 has been Clemens, whose conditioning has paid off in Hall of Fame numbers. In 2005 he led the NL with a 1.87 ERA but was burned out in the postseason after 32 regular-season starts. Last year Clemens joined his hometown Houston Astros for the second half and compiled a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts.
“We talked about the scenario of a player in his mid-40s when we considered the whole concept of bringing Roger on board for the second half,” Astros general manager Tim Purpura says. “The one constant we’ve seen is that at that age you need more rest and probably less workload.”
Clemens hasn’t said whether he’ll make a second-half appearance this year, but this spring he prepared himself to pitch a 24th season. Jeff Bagwell, in his first year as an instructor with the Astros, watched Clemens work out in Kissimmee, Fla., with a degree of envy.
“I had to stop playing because of my shoulder injury,” says Bagwell, 39 in May. “But Roger, at 44, is still pitching at the highest level of the game. That’s a gift.”
Paying attention to body
Smoltz’s career has been anything but normal. He has gone from Cy Young Award-winning starter to bullpen ace, back to the top of Atlanta’s rotation, working through Tommy John surgery to replace torn elbow ligaments in 2000.
Such procedures and advances to diagnose injuries and speed recuperation have promoted being able to play longer. But staying in shape to compete against younger players is a given. “Ten years ago, it was no big deal, gaining 5 pounds,” says Glavine, 41. “You’d burn that in your sleep. The older you get, that 5 or 10 pounds is a little harder to get rid of. I’ve adjusted my eating habits a lot.”
Glavine also adjusted his workout regimen.
“I really don’t take any time off in the winter anymore,” he says. “You pay attention to what your body is telling you. If the knees get a little bit sore, your ankles get sore, you back off the running and ride the bike. … But I don’t know that a player is any more likely to get hurt when he’s 40 than when he’s 38.”
“I used to buy into what everyone else was saying — that I was getting old,” Smoltz says. “I don’t buy into that anymore. I feel young, (although) I work my butt off to get to this point.”
Teammate Chipper Jones, 35 this month, doesn’t envision Smoltz retiring anytime soon. “He has an unbelievable passion to compete. There’s nothing you can play him in and he’s not good at. … You watch him throwing in the bullpen, and it’s like clockwork. He’s throwing with pretty good stuff for 40 years old.”
Nor is Smoltz ready to retire.
“I still enjoy playing,” he says, “and that’s going to be the indicator for me about when I get out. It’s not going to be a number or an age. It’s going to be that I’m tired of working out. Right now, I absolutely love the competition and preparing for it.”
Families, numbers play roles
How old is too old? Sometimes that answer is determined physically. For others, it comes down to family.
“My body might say I could go five more years, but I think my wife would kill me,” Glavine says.
“The way I’m taking it is one year at a time,” says Moyer, who has six children. “I signed a two-year contract (with Philadelphia), but my family is in Seattle. The last six years, I played at home, slept in my own bed. Now I’m all the way across the country.
“We have a freshman in high school, three in middle school and two that aren’t even in school yet, so it’s not easy. Those are things that I’ll also have to assess from the family side.”
Numbers can also play a role in deciding when a player ends his career. The San Francisco Giants’ Bonds, 42, is closing rapidly on career home run leader Hank Aaron. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Johnson, 43, is the career strikeout leader among left-handed pitchers. Houston second baseman Craig Biggio, 41, hopes to get his 3,000th hit this season. Glavine is nine wins shy of 300.
Some numbers have more cachet than others. Some players put more effort into chasing them, and others are realistic. Alou collected his 300th homer and 2,000th hit last season. He knows he won’t be around long enough for 400 or 2,500, respectively.
“Milestones, honestly they don’t mean a lot,” Smoltz says. “They’re neat, and they’re nice. If they happen, great. But I don’t pitch for milestones. There are a couple things that mean more to me than anything else.
“Me? I’d love to have the real World Series ring on my hand again.”
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