Why are ballplayers so old?

When it comes to sports, in particular team sports, you usually find that team managers will find a good blend of players of varying ages. The team could include two or three teenagers, a handful of early 20-somethings and a few veteran players for the experience. In Major League Baseball however there is distinct lack of young players.

While baseball in the USA is renowned for its farm system that slowly produces potential Allstar players as they climb through the system from Single-A through to the Triple-A minor leagues only a few make it up to the Major Leagues. And of those that make the cut the vast majority of them are in their mid to late 20s with very few young ballplayers plying their trade in the American or National Leagues.

If you're good enough

As a Brit I am accustomed to the way football teams operate (or soccer for our American friends). All of the football clubs have the mantra "if you're good enough you're old enough" which has shown to be true over the years. Many young starlets have made their debuts in the English Premier League at eighteen, seventeen or even a few aged sixteen (take James Milner as an example). Some have even played for their national team at major tournaments (World Cup, European Championships, etc) having only recently completed their education. So why does it take so long to reach the Major Leagues?

One might say that it takes several years to perfect the skill of hitting, pitching and/or decision making on the field. Others might say it's to do with physical conditioning, it takes time to build up your physique to be able to knock one out of the park. While I accept these answers as plausible it does seem strange that most ballplayers are 27 years old or upwards. At around 32 years old the human body is said to have reached its peak physical fitness and it's all downhill from them on. Baseball seems to break that mould however as there are so many 30-plus ballplayers still in the majors, even a few in their forties!

The question "Why are ballplayers so old?" has many possible answers which may all be true so as there is no definitive answer it all becomes a bit rhetorical.

Out of interest, here are the oldest active MLB ballplayers (correct as of Jan 1, 2018):

1. Bartolo Colón (free agent): 44 (May24, 1973)
2. Ichiro Suzuki (free agent): 44 (October 22, 1973)
3. R.A. Hickey (free agent): 43 (October 29, 1974)
4. Koji Uehara (free agent): 42 (April 3, 1975)
5. Jason Grilli (free agent): 41 (November 11, 1976)
6. Fernando Rodney (Minnesota Twins): 40 (March 18, 1977)

Although the five oldest ballplayers are all free agents they haven't announced their retirement so although they are currently without a club they are still classed as active MLB ballplayers. Where they go in 2018 is anyone's guess but it's still early and you may see starter Bartolo Colón pitch for one more season in the Majors. Not only is Colón the oldest active Major Leaguer he also holds the rare distinction of being the very last active ballplayer who played for the Montreal Expos. Colón ended 2017 7-14 and 6.48 ERA in 28 starts (13 for the Braves and 15 for the Twins after he was traded in July).

A notable mention goes to starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo who, at age 40, retired in September 2017. He would have been 6th on the list. In his final season at the Cincinnati Reds he ended with a 3–6 record and 7.35 ERA in 14 starts.