At forty years of age, Boston’s David Ortiz is outperforming even players nearly half his age. The Red Sox’ first-place designated hitter leads the majors in a .695 slugging percentage, nearly a hundred points more than any other player.
He also leads all of baseball with thirty doubles, is second in hitting with a .339 batting average, second in RBIs, and third in home runs with nineteen. All of these stats seem staggering, especially for a guy who made his major league debut nineteen years ago.
Ortiz, although he is the oldest, is not the only representative of players close to forty who are having exceptional seasons in 2016. In fact, there are no fewer than five players among the league leaders who made their major league debuts back in the twentieth century.
Victor Martinez of the Detroit Tigers is 37 years old and currently ranks fourth in the American League in batting with a .318 average. He made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, spending his early years as a catcher. He made his first All-Star Game in 2004.
The New York Yankees have been led by thirty-nine-year-old outfielder Carlos Beltrán, who debuted in 1998 and won Rookie of the Year honors with the Kansas City Royals a year later. Beltrán currently ranks second in the American League in home runs, having hit nineteen home runs so far in 2016.
Adrian Beltre, who began his major league career in 1998 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, remains one of the most feared sluggers in baseball. Not only is he among the top fifteen leaders in hits and several other offensive categories, but the thirty-seven-year-old third baseman for the first-place Texas Rangers is fourth in the entire league in defensive wins vs. replacement (WAR).
Baseball’s 2016 Fountain of Youth hasn’t been limited to offense and defense, but has also placed itself on the pitcher’s mound. Bartolo Colón of the New York Mets is tied for second with games started and fourth in walks allowed.
Additionally, the forty-two-year-old became the oldest player to hit his first major league home run this year, when he went deep against All-Star left-hander James Shields at Petco Park on May 7. of his years at the major league level, dating back to 1997.
Colón spent the last three years of the century with the Cleveland Indians, where he won 75 games and made his first All-Star appearance. Then Cleveland traded him in 2002, and his next destination illustrates just how long Colón has been around.
His next ten wins would come with his new team, the Montreal Expos.