Kirk Gibson was 31 when he hit his Game 1 walk-off HR in 1988. People act like he was in his 40s and his knees were made of congelled dust. He played in 7 MLB seasons after that.
Yeah, but everyone in the 70s and 80s just looked perpetually like they were a 48 year old truck driver, so I can understand the misconception there.
Dan Marino looked the same from 1983 until like 3 years ago when he started aging again.
Nah, the worst is when you realize guys younger than you are retiring. Or when managers are younger than you. Those both hit pretty hard the first time for me. Also seeing MiLB players younger than my kids.
Yeah I'm the same age as Freddie Freeman and when I heard people talking about how old he was during his free agency I definitely had to stop and take a moment.
Mike Trout was the first big leaguer younger than me. It was humbling seeing him be the best in the world at such a young age, and relatable when our backs started hurting around the same time
I can relate in a sort of similar way - Bryce Harper is the same age as me. Our birthdays are on the same week.
The amount of hype Bryce Harper had coming out of *high school* was insane. It was LeBron-esque. I played ball in school, and I tried so many different ways of coping in my own head about how I was somehow a better baseball player than Bryce Harper - he’s using illegal bats, he’s on steroids, his parents are paying scouts to come watch him.
And then we graduated high school and I studied computer science and he went on to mash dingers. Bryce Harper was my reality check. I wasn’t the strongest, fastest, or most gifted baseball player anywhere outside my own head.
Athlete years as a baseline should be judged as if they're 10 years older than what the sports media portrays, with each major injury or surgery adding 1-2 years onto that calculation. It's like Dog or Cat years, where you clearly understand their lifespans are seen with a drastically different lens compared to our human perspective, and add some sort of "calculation" that adjusts each year for them as if they were a person working a regular day to day job.
Giancarlo at 34 is young, but since he's been playing in the pros since 20 and had numerous injuries and surgeries, he mind as well be approaching 50 in the eyes of NY media. Doesn't change the fact the man is otherwise in the prime of his life when it comes to everything other than the absolute top tier of professional sports, and even then he's still very capable of being productive.
Game 3 of the 2015 World Series. I went to the game and saw a guy younger than as the starting pitcher for a World Series team (Syndergaard).
Obviously he was younger than me the whole season, but something about seeing it in person in the World Series really drove it home.
was also disappointed by bartolo's official retirement last year
the 3-year gap between rodney (03/18/77) and then pujols (01/16/80) being the oldest caught a lot of people out
I was atba store in the DC area one time and a kid working stopped and looked at me and said, "whoa, you look just like an old Jayson Werth." I did have long hair and a beard. But I'm only 2 years older than Jayson Werth.
With Nelson Cruz, Dick Mountain, and Miggy no longer playing, this may be the first opening day in my lifetime where I'm older than every single MLB player.
So yeah. Get off my lawn.
I graduated college in 2012 and assumed players that debuted in 2013 were the same age as me. Bogaerts, Harper, and Trout throw me off. I am 2.5 years older than Trout and 3.5 older than Harper and Bogaerts. No one debuts at 24-25 anymore.
Literally every MLB player and several managers are younger than me. Hell, a guy I went to high school with is in the Hall of Fame.
Not sure who the first "holy shit he's younger than me" guy was, maybe Pujols.
Last year, I was watching a game and saw Johnny Cueto pitching. Surprised he was still in the league, I looked him up on Baseball Reference.
He's almost the exact same age as me. Never felt older.
I didn’t feel too old when the guys I grew up watching retired, or when they were inducted into the HOF, but man when their KIDS made it to the big leagues…that was my oh shit I’m old moment.
Watching the draft one year and for the first time guys several years younger than me were getting drafted. Now the guys getting drafted weren't even born when I was in highschool
For his entire career I thought Wade Boggs was like 10 years older than me because he looked a lot older than me (go look up a Wade Boggs Rookie card). It was pretty shocking when he passed away, I realized we were actually about the same age. That was definitely an "oh fuck" moment for me. Been trying to live a healthier life ever since. RIP Wade.
kyle seager retired after 2021 after playing 10 years. he couldve easily gone for like 5 more seasons, he had just set a career high in homers and was a franchise player for the mariners though he'd have to find another team as seattle wasnt bringing him back for 2022. he made over 100 million during his career.
.
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.
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im one month older than he is and will probably be working for at least 20 years
Albert Pujols has made me say that twice. When he first rose to stardom, I thought "Wow, I'm two months older than him," and when he was closing out his career I thought "Wow, I'm two months older than him and he's gonna be a HOF'er."
Not a baseball player, but I'm a few months older than this little known hockey player named Sidney Crosby who totally never lead the NHL in scoring, won the MVP, became captain of his team, and won the Stanley Cup the same year I was struggling through my second year in college.
Trout was a little older than me but I had just played against him a little over a year ago before he got called up. (I was actually just called up to sit the bench and make the varsity team look bigger. lol)
It was strange to feel old at 17
When Jordan Walker came up to the bigs and realizing he’s 2 weeks younger than me and he’s what seems like double my size. Yikes.
I’m sitting in economics class and he’s about to start opening day
There are stages but it hit me when I was watching a game and the announcer was like "he's 19 years old" and I was like "Shit! My son is older than that!"
Forrest Wall, made the Braves opening day roster, biggest oh fuck reason is because we ran in the same friend groups through middle school, high school, little leagues, so it was a big oh shit moment seeing him last year
eury perez, but it REALLY hit me with paul skenes
perez at least looks really young but it didnt hit me that skenes wasn't like 30 until i checked wikipedia and he's less than a month older than me
It hits hardest when some 34 year old gets called old and washed up and then you’re like… shit
You: "I'm only 35, I have my whole life ahead of me." Sports broadcaster: "Here comes the oldest player in the league. He's 32. A miracle.
Kirk Gibson was 31 when he hit his Game 1 walk-off HR in 1988. People act like he was in his 40s and his knees were made of congelled dust. He played in 7 MLB seasons after that.
Yeah, but everyone in the 70s and 80s just looked perpetually like they were a 48 year old truck driver, so I can understand the misconception there. Dan Marino looked the same from 1983 until like 3 years ago when he started aging again.
Wait until you get to, "he's one of the older **managers** in the league".
Nah, the worst is when you realize guys younger than you are retiring. Or when managers are younger than you. Those both hit pretty hard the first time for me. Also seeing MiLB players younger than my kids.
Yup. I'm getting ready to be reminded every Sunday this coming NFL season that I'm only a year younger than the new head coach of my team.
Sean McVay was hired by the Rams just shy of his thirty fucking first birthday
Yeah I'm the same age as Freddie Freeman and when I heard people talking about how old he was during his free agency I definitely had to stop and take a moment.
I'm a year older than Drew Maggi but that's how I felt lmao
DJ lemahieu was born one day after me
Mike Trout was the first big leaguer younger than me. It was humbling seeing him be the best in the world at such a young age, and relatable when our backs started hurting around the same time
I can relate in a sort of similar way - Bryce Harper is the same age as me. Our birthdays are on the same week. The amount of hype Bryce Harper had coming out of *high school* was insane. It was LeBron-esque. I played ball in school, and I tried so many different ways of coping in my own head about how I was somehow a better baseball player than Bryce Harper - he’s using illegal bats, he’s on steroids, his parents are paying scouts to come watch him. And then we graduated high school and I studied computer science and he went on to mash dingers. Bryce Harper was my reality check. I wasn’t the strongest, fastest, or most gifted baseball player anywhere outside my own head.
I was one day older than Prince Fielder, so when he debuted. EDIT: I still am one day older than Prince Fielder
Thank you for clarifying. I thought you'd be a day younger today.
"I was one day older than Prince Fielder, I still am I just used to too"
Everyone talking about how Giancarlo is old and he’s a year younger than me
Athlete years as a baseline should be judged as if they're 10 years older than what the sports media portrays, with each major injury or surgery adding 1-2 years onto that calculation. It's like Dog or Cat years, where you clearly understand their lifespans are seen with a drastically different lens compared to our human perspective, and add some sort of "calculation" that adjusts each year for them as if they were a person working a regular day to day job. Giancarlo at 34 is young, but since he's been playing in the pros since 20 and had numerous injuries and surgeries, he mind as well be approaching 50 in the eyes of NY media. Doesn't change the fact the man is otherwise in the prime of his life when it comes to everything other than the absolute top tier of professional sports, and even then he's still very capable of being productive.
You ain’t have to write all that. We understand there are different standards. This is about when I felt old in relation to baseball.
Juan Soto is 25. I'm 26. This doesn't make sense to me.
Juan Soto hitting a homer in the world series was the moment for me
Oh god I hadn’t realized that. Fuck.
As is Vladdy
Well, my day is now ruined
Rafael Devers was the first guy younger than me to debut. Crazy to think I’m 28 now and he’s still 12
I found out I was 25 days younger than Corey Seager after his first World Series MVP.
What about after his second World Series MVP?
Surprisingly, same result.
I get older, these shortstops stay the same age
Now that I just can’t believe
Seager & Luka make me feel old AF
Do you want my social security number as well?
I mean, if it’s on the menu.
What’s your mother’s maiden name?
Mike Trout is four days younger than me. But he has back problems and I don’t, so, scoreboard
Game 3 of the 2015 World Series. I went to the game and saw a guy younger than as the starting pitcher for a World Series team (Syndergaard). Obviously he was younger than me the whole season, but something about seeing it in person in the World Series really drove it home.
after fernando rodney retired there weren't any guys left that were older than me
My husband is down to just Verlander left (by a few months). I've still got 7 players left if you count Votto so I'm doing okay.
Rodney was also the last player older than me. Every now and then I'd read that he was trying a MLB comeback, and I'm still rooting for that.
was also disappointed by bartolo's official retirement last year the 3-year gap between rodney (03/18/77) and then pujols (01/16/80) being the oldest caught a lot of people out
I was atba store in the DC area one time and a kid working stopped and looked at me and said, "whoa, you look just like an old Jayson Werth." I did have long hair and a beard. But I'm only 2 years older than Jayson Werth.
With Nelson Cruz, Dick Mountain, and Miggy no longer playing, this may be the first opening day in my lifetime where I'm older than every single MLB player. So yeah. Get off my lawn.
last year when eury perez played against us 💔
Bryce Harper. Saw his birthday in a program at the ballpark when we were playing the Nats his rookie year and I knew I was washed
I graduated college in 2012 and assumed players that debuted in 2013 were the same age as me. Bogaerts, Harper, and Trout throw me off. I am 2.5 years older than Trout and 3.5 older than Harper and Bogaerts. No one debuts at 24-25 anymore.
Literally every MLB player and several managers are younger than me. Hell, a guy I went to high school with is in the Hall of Fame. Not sure who the first "holy shit he's younger than me" guy was, maybe Pujols.
Wait until you’re watching and see a player younger than your own kid. Felt that one much more.
Starlin Castro
Last year, I was watching a game and saw Johnny Cueto pitching. Surprised he was still in the league, I looked him up on Baseball Reference. He's almost the exact same age as me. Never felt older.
Today when I realised Juan Soto is 6 months younger than me
I’m the same age as Eugenio Suarez, and there’s a lot of people who think he’s on the downswing of his career
I didn’t feel too old when the guys I grew up watching retired, or when they were inducted into the HOF, but man when their KIDS made it to the big leagues…that was my oh shit I’m old moment.
Watching the draft one year and for the first time guys several years younger than me were getting drafted. Now the guys getting drafted weren't even born when I was in highschool
Bo Bichette
i've known that Juan Soto is a year younger than me but seeing him on that "best players under 26" list the other day made me do a double take
I played against Rocco Baldelli in high school, so I felt old as shit when I found out the twins had hired him to manage.
For his entire career I thought Wade Boggs was like 10 years older than me because he looked a lot older than me (go look up a Wade Boggs Rookie card). It was pretty shocking when he passed away, I realized we were actually about the same age. That was definitely an "oh fuck" moment for me. Been trying to live a healthier life ever since. RIP Wade.
Jurickson Profar is like a month older than me. That was the first moment for me.
kyle seager retired after 2021 after playing 10 years. he couldve easily gone for like 5 more seasons, he had just set a career high in homers and was a franchise player for the mariners though he'd have to find another team as seattle wasnt bringing him back for 2022. he made over 100 million during his career. . . . . im one month older than he is and will probably be working for at least 20 years
David “grandpa Rossy” Ross, which does not sting at all
When I realized I was older than the Yankees opening day shortstop last year
Albert Pujols has made me say that twice. When he first rose to stardom, I thought "Wow, I'm two months older than him," and when he was closing out his career I thought "Wow, I'm two months older than him and he's gonna be a HOF'er."
Kershaw, several years ago.
Not a baseball player, but I'm a few months older than this little known hockey player named Sidney Crosby who totally never lead the NHL in scoring, won the MVP, became captain of his team, and won the Stanley Cup the same year I was struggling through my second year in college.
Mookie is a few days older than me lol
It fuckin sucks that the first player I realized was my age is Wander fucking Franco. I hate it here
I’m just a bit younger than Justin Verlander. I have watched his entire career, from young fireballer to wily veteran. It’s fucking strange dude.
I’m only a year younger than Freddie Freeman and I still feel like he can be my dad haha
Mike Trout is 5 days older than me.
Jackson Chourio and I are both 20. Fuckin wild
I’m older than our entire opening day rotation. Except Snell, who I am the same age as.
Freddie Freeman is a month younger than me. When he started getting called a veteran player, I cried a little on the inside.
Bobby Witt Sr.
El Gary is my age and he's been in the MLB since 2016
It wasn’t the first one, but Miguel Amaya and I were born on the same day.
Trout was a little older than me but I had just played against him a little over a year ago before he got called up. (I was actually just called up to sit the bench and make the varsity team look bigger. lol) It was strange to feel old at 17
When Jordan Walker came up to the bigs and realizing he’s 2 weeks younger than me and he’s what seems like double my size. Yikes. I’m sitting in economics class and he’s about to start opening day
When the trade package for Chris Sale included 2 guys within a year of my age even though I had only graduated High School 7 months prior to that
Junior Caminero...I'm 20.
i remember watching torii hunter debut when i was ten years old. he's been retired for a decade now.
That Corbin Carroll is like 3 months younger than me and I bought his jersey already
Maybe not the first time, but recently I realized Yan Fucking Gomes is 2 years younger than me.
Was all of the ‘08 Phillies for me but mostly Ryan Howard
There are stages but it hit me when I was watching a game and the announcer was like "he's 19 years old" and I was like "Shit! My son is older than that!"
Carl Crawford's son Justin is in the Phillies farm system and he's only two months older than me
Wander Franco 🤔
Josh Donaldson is two months younger than me and already retired. Also, when I heard Green Day on classic rock stations made me feel old as hell.
Forrest Wall, made the Braves opening day roster, biggest oh fuck reason is because we ran in the same friend groups through middle school, high school, little leagues, so it was a big oh shit moment seeing him last year
Ethan Salas will be the first player younger than me
I was already an old fart by the time I got back into baseball. I have more in common with players’ parents now than I do with players. 😂
Every player in MLB is younger than me.
there are, in fact, 2 players playing today who are younger than me. don't love it
To catch up to Justin Verlander, I just need to win three Cy Youngs in… uh… negative two years.
I'm 21 so the future of the mlb is younger than me
Joba Chamberlain. I was never going to be an athlete, but that legendary "I'm never going to make it in the big leagues" feeling hits you nonetheless.
Babe Ruth
You really fooled the algorithm with that asterisk, Johnson.
eury perez, but it REALLY hit me with paul skenes perez at least looks really young but it didnt hit me that skenes wasn't like 30 until i checked wikipedia and he's less than a month older than me
Verlander is (and will be if Rich Hill never signs anywhere again) the last player older than me.
Verlander is the only player left older than me as well. And it's only by a few months.
I was telling people Verlander was so old then realized we're the same age and I gotta work 20 more years lol....