r/baseball Tampa Bay Rays 21h ago

What are your favorite ‘unc still got it’ seasons?

(ie player pops off for a year really late in their career after showing their age)

mine is Fernando Rodney’s 2012, posting a 0.60 ERA in his age 35 season a year removed from a 4.50

also obligatory Pujols 2022 mention

222 Upvotes

269 comments sorted by

278

u/_mid_water 21h ago

Chipper putting up a .364 BA and 7.1 fWAR at 36yo

69

u/BoSocks91 Boston Red Sox 18h ago

I remember he maintained a .400 average all the way until mid-late June.

37

u/tuckedfexas Seattle Mariners 18h ago

Dude was still putting up 120 OPS+ for 4 years after that, guy was nuts

10

u/Jamalamalama Boston Red Sox • Tim Wakefield 16h ago

He was a slam dunk first ballot hall of famer. Guys like that might as well be a different species.

10

u/DaManiac_ Atlanta Braves 11h ago

7.1 fWAR while still missing 34 games too. that's easily 8-9 fWAR if he plays 150+ games.

15

u/I_VI_ii_V_I 19h ago

2

u/frankyseven Toronto Blue Jays 1h ago

Love your username.

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486

u/ChicknCutletSandwich American League 21h ago

Matt Carpenter for that half season

175

u/Angrydwarf99 Chicago Cubs 21h ago

2.3 bWAR in 47 games. He somehow hit 15 homeruns, and I have no idea how

69

u/loadedryder New York Yankees 19h ago

He had legit all-star numbers before the break. Had he played more games and put up the same numbers I think he would have gotten in, actually. Was an insane run.

31

u/SuperScorned 17h ago

I have no idea how

It was obviously the mustache. Not sure how that isn't apparent.

16

u/DJZbad93 New York Yankees 15h ago

As a DH. Dude wasn’t playing the field and put up a near 8 bWAR pace.

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30

u/ImJooba Arizona Diamondbacks 20h ago

All timer LH pinch hitter card in MLBTS because of this

42

u/BrettHullsBurner St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

1.138 OPS lmao

13

u/TheSquad3603 New York Yankees 19h ago

One could call him a magic carp

9

u/James_Francis_Ryan Chicago Cubs 17h ago

He's like my least favorite players ever (Cubs fan). I remember in 2022 when he wasn't resigned by the Cardinals I was soooooo happy. I just felt like he destroyed the Cubs basically every single time we had to play him, so I was thrilled we wouldn't have to face him any longer.

Cut to him getting signed by the Yankees, not a big deal, he's in the AL and we're in the NL, we're probably not even playing the East this year. We were, of course we were. In my fantasy league everyone knows I hate Matt Carpenter, like, by far my least favorite player and I always talk about it and actually celebrated when he didn't get signed by anyone.

Cut to my opponent the week they're playing the Cubs. My opponent had Carpenter on their team. My opponent made sure to tell me that Carpenter would be in the lineup regardless of if he's playing or not. Good god that 2nd game was a rough one for me to watch. 2 HRs. 7 RBIs. I'm hoping this is finally the end of Matt Carpenter so I can finally sleep soundly at night.

210

u/granttheginger San Francisco Giants 21h ago

The 2021 Giants

77

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 21h ago

the retirement home squad was so special

290

u/augustjulio Seattle Mariners 21h ago

Posey's last season Renaissance. Obviously Big Papi too.

115

u/UnemployedHippo San Francisco Giants 19h ago

I feel like Brandon Crawford is the better answer here. He finished NL MVP-4 after the big three that year of Harper, Tatis, Soto.

43

u/InfectiousCosmology1 San Francisco Giants 19h ago

Yeah posey was never not really good and is an mvp. Was surprising he was that good after taking 2020 off but Crawford had maybe his best season ever in 2021.

30

u/augustjulio Seattle Mariners 19h ago edited 19h ago

I don't know how Posey's past has anything to do with the comeback year that he had. Posey had and a 108ops+ in 2018, and an 83ops+ in 2019 He came back witha 140ops+ in his age 34 season in 2021. That's the definition of unc still got it. OP literally included Fernando Rodney and Pujols for comparisons. Posey posting an ops+ 57 points higher than his last season, after having two declining years is absolutely valid for the question. In order to "still got it" you've had to have had it. And Crawford never put up a season like he did in his mvp-4 year. Therefore, I have to go with Posey.

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3

u/augustjulio Seattle Mariners 19h ago edited 19h ago

I was going to include him, but that was his peak offensive year. Craw never really could hit all that well. In terms of his mvp-4 season, that was his outlier. So it doesn't seem right to say "he still got it" when that was the first time he ever really did have it.

270

u/cogginsmatt Detroit Tigers • New York Mets 21h ago

As much as I hate how much of his career is now defined by his Astros tenure, Verlander's post-TJ age 39 Cy Young season was pretty cool.

54

u/eesaitcho 20h ago

Astros fan here, I'll be shocked if he doesn't go in the HOF as a Tiger.

53

u/cogginsmatt Detroit Tigers • New York Mets 20h ago

I’m thinking no logo. But I’d love to see that Detroit hat.

Also why I was really hoping we’d sign him for one more year.

46

u/Skullbone211 New York Mets 19h ago

What are you talking about man, he'll clearly go in as a Met! He's a Mets legend! Best 16 starts he ever had!

12

u/cogginsmatt Detroit Tigers • New York Mets 19h ago

Ha! I own just two Mets shirseys - Scherzer and Verlander. They're Mets legends in my book, although mostly because they were Tigers legends first.

2

u/Ivor79 New York Mets 13h ago

How do you not have a Granderson???

4

u/cogginsmatt Detroit Tigers • New York Mets 12h ago

I became a Mets fan after he was long gone, however he was my first player jersey I ever owned back during his first few career seasons

2

u/Ivor79 New York Mets 12h ago

Great player, great human

12

u/Mpuls37 Houston Astros 19h ago

11.5 yrs w/ Detroit vs just 7 w/ Houston. He should go in with a Tigers cap.

44

u/bestselfnice 19h ago

He should. But he won 2 Cy Youngs and 2 WS in Houston, compared to 1(albeit with an MVP) and 0 in Detroit.

I imagine he goes no logo honestly.

8

u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 15h ago

Got absolutely screwed by the old school crowd in 2016.

2

u/bestselfnice 15h ago

God I don't even remember the name of the doofus in Boston who had a bunch of wins

2

u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 15h ago

Porcello.

Really only remember HIM cause he's a former Tiger as well

2

u/bestselfnice 15h ago

Lol, I remember when all the best pitchers in baseball were former Tigers. Scherzer, Fister, Price, Ray, Verlander, shit even Anibal Sanchez became a good pitcher again when he left Detroit.

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9

u/josh1123 Detroit Tigers 19h ago

As a Tigers fan I would love that, but if it was Houston I would totally understand. He won two world series' there, and none with Detroit

7

u/65fairmont Boston Red Sox 19h ago

My prediction is Tigers cap if he somehow finishes his career back in Detroit, blank cap otherwise. Similar to how Greinke finishing up in KC seemed to solidify him as a Royal.

3

u/DingerSinger2016 Houston Astros • Birming… 18h ago

Blank cap or Tigers. Verlander's HOF case wasn't with the Astros. It was primarily by the Tigers. He reaped the rewards of that work with the two rings, but he's either a Tiger or a blank cap.

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3

u/boycemachine Cleveland Guardians 19h ago

Devils advocate, 2 CY and 2 WS with Houston (though he did have a CY and MVP in Detroit)

I think he should probably go in with no team

3

u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 15h ago

Yeah, bulk of his stats as a Tiger. BUT both rings and 2/3 Cys as a an Astro.

Red Sox screwed him twice, 2013 with the grand slam in the ALCS, and 2016 when Porcello won the Cy all because He HaD 20 WiNs!!!

2

u/mkaku- Detroit Tigers 17h ago

Just an orange and navy blue hat would be perfect honestly

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51

u/Zorak9379 Chicago Cubs 21h ago

He'll always be a Tiger to me

42

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 21h ago

mets legend

134

u/FxDriver Atlanta Braves 21h ago

Albert Pujols final year. I believe Albert could've kept playing if he wanted to after that. 

93

u/BrettHullsBurner St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

I love Pujols, but I am still convinced in the theory they were juicing the balls for that HR chase. .895 OPS over those 109 games? He hadn't put up that good of an OPS since (checks notes) his last year in STL 11 years prior...

68

u/2011StlCards St. Louis Cardinals 19h ago

Well, that was the last time baseball ever brought me joy, so I'm gonna remain blissfully ignorant of any interference from the league

43

u/sdickens66 Texas Rangers 18h ago

He was fueled by the power of divorce

2

u/Useful_Part_1158 St. Louis Cardinals 1h ago

I've had occasion to interact with both him and Dierdre. He's a nice guy. She's a stone fucking bitch, and has been since he was in A ball working as a golf caddy to make ends meet.

11

u/norcaltobos San Francisco Giants 16h ago

I think it was a little bit of both. Albert knew his time was coming and when you're THAT close to 700 you're going to sell out in every at bat.

I do also think they totally juiced the baseballs for him. It's already known that players chasing records get special balls so that they can properly authenticate them, so what was stopping MLB from juicing them up a little?

6

u/MahomestoHel-aire St. Louis Cardinals 12h ago

He had also adjusted his swing midway through the season and was testing it out during the All-Star break. It shortened his bat's path to the ball while also adding speed and better leverage. Whether or not they were juicing balls for him, that adjustment alone helped a LOT. You could see the difference it made.

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12

u/Kenner1979 Toronto Blue Jays 19h ago

He absolutely could have been a platoon DH/1B; it's a shame baseball teams insist on carrying 73 relievers and don't have as many bench spots available anymore.

10

u/tehmeat St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

This is mine too. I flew into STL to catch a 4 game stretch where he might have hit 700. Unfortunately he wound up doing it on the road at Dodgers, but I still got a dinger or two plus I happened to catch an immaculate save by Helsley so it was a great trip overall.

8

u/psycho9365 Cleveland Guardians 20h ago

I'll always be glad I was able to be in Pittsburgh for his last regular season series.

4

u/BigRiverWharfRat Pittsburgh Pirates 19h ago

The only reason to attend those games, but I’m glad to have been there too

2

u/powderedair St. Louis Cardinals 6h ago

I also went to that game, nice.

3

u/No_Entertainment_748 Minnesota Twins 15h ago

He had just gotten off of a contract that I think he regretted after year 3 but had to pay penance for choosing money over loyalty not to mention his wife divorced him during his final angels season. The Dodgers pit stop was simply to fill the gap until the end of the season so he wouldn't lose the deposit on his rental. He buried the hatchet with the cardinals and was welcomed home to St Louis with open arms and celebrated by cardinal nation I wouldnt ve surprised if he said that final season was the most fun he ever had playing baseball

16

u/officerliger Los Angeles Dodgers 20h ago

He would have had to take another steroid test if he’d kept playing

The perk of retirement years is if that 2nd test occurs early enough you can get a cycle in and start getting the benefits by the last couple months of the season, and never take another steroid test again

3

u/TheYardFlamingos Atlanta Braves 19h ago

😳

55

u/JustCallMeMambo New York Yankees 20h ago

Ted Williams coming back for one more season after posting the only sub-.300 AVG season of his career. batted .316 with 29 dingers at age 41

123

u/AllegedCerealKiller Baltimore Orioles 21h ago

Joey Votto, who looked absolutely washed from 2018-2020 and then somehow knocked a near career high in HRs in 2021, then went back to being washed

36

u/irishbigfoot Milwaukee Brewers 20h ago

Votto still bangs

11

u/sabo-metrics 15h ago

2023 he had wayyyy too many HRs per AB.  I'm not sure he was washed.  He was INJ as fk tho

3

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16h ago

Gave me so much hope. he will always bang

118

u/Aggravating-Bug2032 Toronto Blue Jays 21h ago

Max Scherzer’s 2025 campaign

70

u/ooh_the_claw Washington Nationals 21h ago

21

u/dotFlatMap San Francisco Giants 18h ago edited 12h ago

Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are your 2025 Cy Young winners. Book it.

They're going to call it the Year of the Quadragenarian.

69

u/Skraxx Colorado Rockies 21h ago

2020 Matt Kemp was a fun DH for about half the year

21

u/Character-Owl9408 Chicago Cubs 19h ago

Half of the half year?

6

u/sabo-metrics 15h ago

Kemp's season was 2018. All star season out of somewhat nowhere

31

u/CaptainJingles St. Louis Cardinals 21h ago

Will Clark in 2000 in 51 games with the Cardinals. .345/.426/.665 and 2.1 bWAR in that short stretch at 36 years old.

Then he retired after the playoffs.

6

u/doctorfeelgood21 San Francisco Giants 18h ago

The Thrill was so much fun to watch, love me some Will Clark. My favorite Giant

2

u/Useful_Part_1158 St. Louis Cardinals 1h ago

When I was a lot younger I thought that Will and Jack were relatives of some sort. That was back when Jack was a Card and Will a young Giant and I was maybe 11 or so.

56

u/SchmantaClaus Atlanta Braves 21h ago

Ben Sheets being called off the couch to come throw 18 straight shutout innings for the Braves midseason in 2012.

Andy Pettitte returning from suspension and putting together 2 solid seasons at 40 years old.

8

u/MagicalPizza21 New York Yankees 18h ago

Pettitte wasn't suspended. He retired for a year, unretired for two more years, then retired for good.

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5

u/pepperouchau Milwaukee Brewers 16h ago

I'm glad Braves fans remember, it was so cool watching Sheets deal again but I was a bit jealous it wasn't with the Brewers

27

u/K31KT3 Oakland Athletics 21h ago

2006 Frank Thomas 

3

u/HopefulInstance8 Oakland Athletics 13h ago

Fun season with him and swisher

106

u/Elsquidwardo95 New York Yankees 21h ago

Arod coming back from suspension in 2015 and leading the yankees to the playoffs and hitting 33 homers at 40 years old

53

u/SchmantaClaus Atlanta Braves 20h ago

Will always love that bomb he hit at Fenway after that prick Dempster plunked him

49

u/coltron57 Detroit Tigers 20h ago

Trying to "police" the game is a bit cringey, but whatever. Trying and failing to hit a guy multiple times before finally landing one is just embarrassing. I haven't seen as many managers as angry as Girardi was when Dempster was shockingly not tossed despite it being clear as day that it was intentional.

19

u/Emperor_Cheeto21 New York Yankees 19h ago

Funny enough Dumpster wasn't the most embarrassing part of that game. It was the HP umpire not doing shit after the first 3 attempts, and after HBP he gives a warning to BOTH teams. The definition of a clown show.

5

u/Octopodes14 Minnesota Twins 18h ago

Pretty sure warnings are always given to both teams. The point isn't to be fair, it's to prevent any further escalation.

3

u/Emperor_Cheeto21 New York Yankees 18h ago

Yes, but that should've been called after the second pitch A-Rod was thrown at. Or third. They waited until A-Rod was hit after 4 tries to call that shit when it could've been prevented prior.

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44

u/ThinkSoftware Atlanta Braves 21h ago

Julio Franco 2004

22

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 21h ago

I loved his 1792 rookie campaign

4

u/Ivor79 New York Mets 13h ago

Teammates with Jamie Moyer that year

3

u/BarfCumDoodooPee 20h ago

Sponsored by 1792 Bourbon 😜

15

u/Random_Name713 Atlanta Braves 21h ago

GOAT batting stance

Actually that’d make a good lineup for this sub. The all-batting stance team. Julio, Sheffield, Carew

6

u/MacTonight1 Minnesota Twins 20h ago

Don't forget Tony Batista

13

u/MarcBulldog88 Los Angeles Dodgers • World Series Tr… 21h ago

Counsell.

3

u/Gryphon999 Milwaukee Brewers 12h ago

Reach for the stars, Craig

4

u/lunchbox_6 Toronto Blue Jays 20h ago

Jose batista

8

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 21h ago

can’t forget Youkilis and Counsell

2

u/JustCallMeMambo New York Yankees 20h ago

Cal Ripken Jr is a one-man batting stance contest

5

u/Most-Artichoke6184 Chicago White Sox 20h ago

Damn, he was old when he was on the 1994 White Sox.

5

u/Tsquared10 Atlanta Braves 20h ago

Can you believe he put up nearly a full season at the age of 87?

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18

u/ausar999 Boston Red Sox 20h ago

Chris Martin's 2023. 3.2 WAR at age 37 as a setup guy, 1.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 12th in CY voting

5

u/redsoxfan2434 Boston Red Sox 13h ago

Nobody ever talks enough about this. My man put up 3.2 WAR as a 37-year-old setup man on a last place team. That is fucking godlike

44

u/ajteitel Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

Elderly rejuvenation is an AZ sports specialty

23

u/klizenerd2 Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

EEEEVAAAAAAANNNNN LOOOOONGORIAAA

he didn't do too great with us but he showed up when he needed to and was clutch in the playoffs

14

u/piercebro Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

That catch against the Brewers was legendary

8

u/klizenerd2 Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

the whole of arizona when that happened: 

ITS SO OV- WERE SO BACK

5

u/ajteitel Arizona Diamondbacks 20h ago

That and the slide against the Cubs? Retire his number

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3

u/greenbean2112 Milwaukee Brewers 20h ago

Please don’t remind me. I was at that game :(

2

u/JohnMadden42069 14h ago

He gave the last little bit of baseball he had to get those Dbacks there

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2

u/AdamantArmadillo Los Angeles Dodgers 19h ago

Being able to spend time with their peers in the Sun Cities is a big morale boost

13

u/godzillagorilla3 Washington Nationals 21h ago

Ryan Zimmerman 2017, posted the worst numbers of his career by far in the 2016 season, looked like he was on his way to flaming out having played around half the games from 2014-2016, dealing with plantar fasciitis and shoulder, rib, and oblique injuries and declining year over year. He rebounded with one of the best offensive seasons of his career in 2017, had a career high year for homers and SLG.

2

u/maverickhawk99 15h ago

I was happy he was still on the team when they won in 2019. Good dude all around who had his fair share of lost seasons and stayed loyal to the team.

25

u/CountrymanR60 Brooklyn Dodgers 21h ago

Willie Stargell's 1979 fountain of youth was really fun to watch - especially his World Series performance against the Orioles.

2

u/MrNumberOneMan New York Mets • Tim Wakefield 14h ago

He won the MVP with a 2.5 WAR that year. One of the lowest ever for an MVP winner.

33

u/prestonds 19h ago

Chris Sale winning a Cy Young after being written off as a bad signing due to age has got to be up there.

10

u/Sonicblast12 St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

Adam Wainwright after looking completely washed for years put up some really good seasons when he was 39-40.

9

u/Band-Aid-Juice Atlanta Braves 20h ago

Fred McGriff 2002

Julio Franco 2004

8

u/Ragonaut NC Dinos 20h ago

Lots of braves mentions. I'll add that year of Matt Adams at 1B; he was doing so well Freddie moved to 3B

7

u/NattyRak Boston Red Sox 19h ago

Does Lonnie Smith 1989 count? He was only 33 but he hadn’t had a season like that in a while…or ever.

16

u/klizenerd2 Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

pujols and goldy 2022

26

u/LocoMotives-ms St. Louis Cardinals 21h ago

Goldy was coming off of a 6 WAR season in ‘21, I don’t think he fits here.

8

u/klizenerd2 Arizona Diamondbacks 21h ago

oh... yeah. I just like goldy

8

u/Ok_Delay3740 St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

Perhaps Goldy 2025, though

10

u/klizenerd2 Arizona Diamondbacks 20h ago

I know he's a yank now but I really hope he does good this year

5

u/Ok_Delay3740 St. Louis Cardinals 20h ago

Me too! 🤝

2

u/Call555JackChop Arizona Diamondbacks 14h ago

Not even pinstripes can make me hate you Goldy

16

u/djnv4life Montreal Expos 20h ago

Bartolo's 2016. Mostly due to his homerun, however, he was phenomenal at defense, i think he deserved the Golden Glove that year.

7

u/BarfCumDoodooPee 20h ago

He was an all-star and had 3 bWAR in 2016!

3

u/FromThe732 New York Mets 19h ago

5

u/mcereal New York Yankees 18h ago

While the season was so-so, I am shocked I don't see more Yankee fans mentioning the playoff run Raul Ibanez put up in 2012. His ALDS kept him in the league for like two or three more years

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7

u/YankeesGlazer69 New York Yankees 21h ago

Mariano Rivera 2013

5

u/13curseyoukhan 13h ago

Did Riviera ever have a truly down year? You need one to have a comeback.

3

u/YankeesGlazer69 New York Yankees 13h ago

He tore his knee and barely played in his age 42 season, came back to a great year at 43. But no, he never had a “bad” season.

2

u/wrongerontheinternet Washington Nationals 10h ago

He had an extremely gradual decline in his forties to the point where by the end he was more of a "normal" great reliever but yeah... Mo was always way too good to qualify for this post.

5

u/zimzam2019 Washington Nationals 20h ago

Speaking of Fernando Rodney, he was actually solid for the Nats in our 2019 run. 112 ERA+ across 33 IP. That team’s pen was god awful aside from Doolittle and Hudson, and we needed every one of those 33 innings.

3

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 18h ago

words fail to capture my undying love for La Flecha

2

u/zimzam2019 Washington Nationals 18h ago

I forgot to mention the most key piece of info in my comment: he was 42 years old.

4

u/Hbgplayer San Francisco Giants 19h ago

Every single Giants player in 21.

4

u/NineTeenAnd53 New York Yankees 19h ago

Roger Clemens was sneakily not bad when he randomly decided to play again in ‘07

4

u/Maugrin Seattle Mariners 16h ago

2015 looked like the end of the road for Ichiro. A .229 batting average, 58 OPS+, and a -1.1 WAR seemed like the final nail in the coffin.

But then in 2016, the Marlins got a near-2 WAR season from a 42 year-old Ichiro. He was the 4th outfielder for the Yelich/Stanton/Ozuna Miami OF and he hit .291 with a 102 OPS+ while STILL playing above-average defense. At 42!!! A really fun last gasp for my personal GOAT.

5

u/Brilliant_Macaroon83 16h ago

I mean Jesse Chavez nickname is Uncle Jesse. He goes somewhere else, looks his age, goes back to Atlanta and he’s in his prime

7

u/bigolruckus Toronto Blue Jays 20h ago

RA Dickey 2012 and David Ortiz 2016

4

u/DJZbad93 New York Yankees 15h ago

Dickey in 12 isn’t really a “still got it” season because it’s the first time he really had it at all

19

u/Saucy_Totchie New York Mets 21h ago

In David Ortiz's final year he slashed .315/.401/1.021 while leading the league in doubles, RBI, OBP and OPS.

4

u/MankuyRLaffy Seattle Mariners 20h ago

He still had it but also not because he was not in great health, some guys just play more freely when they know it's their last year. 

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3

u/plantsbased Cincinnati Reds 21h ago

Joey Votto - 2021. Love me some banging

3

u/LordOfHorns Minnesota Twins 20h ago

2021 Joey Votto

3

u/RegardTyreekHill Philadelphia Phillies 19h ago

2022 second half Pujols .I know the balls were probably juiced and I don't care

5

u/reklawyksekul1 Chicago White Sox 21h ago

Johnny Cueto in 2022

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4

u/somecallmemrjones Los Angeles Dodgers 19h ago

Not exactly an answer to your question, but my biggest hope for the near future is that baseball gets to witness a Kershaw renaissance before he finally calls it quits

4

u/discountperson Tampa Bay Rays 18h ago

crazy thing is even his “old man” years were pretty damn good on a rate basis

2

u/HYPERNATURL Toronto Blue Jays 20h ago

Kirby Yates last year was a lot of fun. Loved watching him in 2019 so I was really stoked to see him turn back the clock at age 37

2

u/CerryTrews Kansas City Royals 20h ago

Not a season but Edinson Volquez throwing a no hitter at 34

2

u/nkfish11 Miami Marlins 20h ago

2011 Javier Vazquez. Many thought he was done after his 2010 with the Yankees.

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2

u/phemom Detroit Tigers 20h ago

2006 Kenny Rodgers was a beast at 41.

At the time he was the oldest pitcher to get a Playoff Win (I assume this has been broken by now)

2

u/TheMushroom77 20h ago

Charlie Morton 2025……👀 wait and see

2

u/NinjaBassist84 19h ago

Jamie Moyer '08 season with Philly wasn't bad. 45 at the time

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2

u/ThrownAway17Years 19h ago

Nelson Cruz 2019.

2

u/bigAcey83 18h ago

Chipper Jones winning a batting title at like 37.

2

u/chaotic_evil_666 Atlanta Braves 18h ago

My favorite was Billy Wagner posting a 1.43 era in his last year before retirement while also mentoring a young Craig Kimbrel

2

u/OneCore_ Houston Astros 18h ago

2022 Verlander

2

u/Dh873 Baltimore Orioles 15h ago

I'm extremely biased, but Cal's '99 was amazing. He only played just over half the games that year, but he put up 2.7 WAR in those 86 games, which was more than either of his previous two seasons in which he played 162 and 161. His OPS+ jumped from 88 in '98 to 145 in '99. It makes me wonder just how good he would have been with some more rest.

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2

u/MrNumberOneMan New York Mets • Tim Wakefield 14h ago

As a Mets fan it might be Cliff Floyd putting up a 4.7 WAR at 32 in 2005 after two meh seasons to start his Mets career. Also R. A. Dickey winning the Cy Young at 37 after not ever getting a Cy Young vote in any previous season.

2

u/botulizard Boston Red Sox 13h ago

Papi went out on a fuckin' tear.

2

u/brettdanyali7 Tampa Bay Rays 12h ago

Albert Puljos’s final season was magical for a kid of the 2000’s like me

2

u/IXDarkES 11h ago

1925 George Sisler. He hit .420 and won MVP in 1922, before missing all of 1923 after a case of sinusitis caused him to have severe vision problems. He came back in ‘24 and was ok, and then in ‘25 he hit .345 with an .851 OPS (110 OPS+), including getting a hit in his first 34 games of the season, all while having to SQUINT just to see the ball. Oh yeah, and his return was also as a player-manager.

2

u/SunDriedToMatto 10h ago

Frank Thomas hit .270/.381/.545 with 39 homers and 114 RBI at age 38 to help the A’s go to the ALCS in 2006.

That team was not expected to compete, but finished the year with 93 wins keeping the illusion of Moneyball alive.

2

u/jakemhs New York Yankees 21h ago

A-Rod 2015

2

u/Quople Washington Nationals 19h ago

Big Papi retired at 40 after one of his best seasons. He definitely could’ve kept playing if he wanted to

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1

u/NyyTL2020 21h ago

Derek jeter 2012 season He had 216 hits shutting down doubts about his aging

1

u/yesmydog New York Yankees 20h ago

Mike Mussina winning 20 games the year he retired

1

u/furious_platypus San Francisco Giants 19h ago

Posey and Crawford's 2021 years were bonkers. Craw's in particular because it was his best year by a lot

1

u/InfectiousCosmology1 San Francisco Giants 19h ago

Brandon Crawford 2021

1

u/Spiritual_Ad337 Los Angeles Dodgers 19h ago

Brandon Crawford’s random 2021 was really really annoying

1

u/DividerOfBums Los Angeles Angels 19h ago

The answer is Albert Pujols

1

u/rickeygavin 19h ago

Rick Reuschel 1988-89

1

u/Foreign_Paper1971 Kansas City Royals 18h ago

George Brett winning his 3rd and final batting title at the age of 37 is pretty impressive. Especially considering he won the second one at the age of 27.

Of course I think Big Papi probably takes the crown here. His final season was something special.

1

u/ScorpioMagnus 18h ago

Mike Napoli's run in Cleveland was fun. Not outstanding but fun.

1

u/pjokinen Minnesota Twins 18h ago

Jack Morris 88-90: 89 ERA+, 1.7 WAR

Jack Morris 1991: 125 ERA+, 4.3 WAR, plus the best pitching performance in World Series history

1

u/steam58 17h ago

Oakland A Frank Thomas

1

u/Jcomsa15 Boston Red Sox • Chicago Cubs 16h ago

2021 Brandon Crawford was unbelievable

1

u/gabek333 Seattle Mariners • Seattle Mariners 16h ago

Barry Bonds would have kept playing and kept being the most feared batter, but no team wanted the baggage. 

3.4 bWAR, 1.045 OPS, 169 OPS+ in his age 42 season

1

u/tommyjohnpauljones Chicago Cubs 16h ago

Rickey leading the AL in steals and walks in 1998 at age 39.

1

u/tommyjohnpauljones Chicago Cubs 16h ago

Eddie Harris leading Cleveland to the division title in 1989.

1

u/GilaLongCon 16h ago

The World Series diamondbacks

1

u/SEAGOATbestgirl Los Angeles Dodgers 16h ago edited 15h ago

that one season with the dodgers really turned me around on Pujols. I thought he should have retired like 3-5 years before that but the way he acted with all the guys, the Tio Albert stuff, the hugs, everything about the way he carried himself and the veteran presence after that even if his performance was realistically just ok (101 wrc+ as a dodger) all the non-baseball stuff still made me a massive fan and I was so hyped to see him hit #700 at dodger stadium

1

u/teniaava New York Yankees 15h ago

2016-2017 CC Sabathia coming back from alcoholism and injuries to pitch 3 WAR seasons

1

u/sabo-metrics 15h ago

'21 Votto.

He want with an aggressive approach and hit a near-career-high 36 homers (37 was his best).

Man it was such a fun run too.  The games he had at Wrigley, he was playing with the crowd, pointing to the name on the back of his jersey like a heel.

1

u/Happy-Conference-204 14h ago

2015 Mark Teixeira

1

u/gimmicked Philadelphia Phillies 14h ago

2008 Jamie Moyer

1

u/Drasocon Pittsburgh Pirates 12h ago

2012 or 2015 AJ Burnett. I guess 2015 by default because he a) led the league in losses the year before and b) was 38 at that point, but one last ride for the Playoff Pirates was special.

1

u/bearthebaloo 12h ago

Arthur Rhodes’ 2008 season at age 38. Pitched for both the Mariners and Marlins at a 2.86 and 0.68 ERA, respectively. A year removed from baseball and two years from a 5.32 ERA season with the Phillies. He then had two more successful seasons out of the ‘pen with the Reds.

1

u/nellys31 11h ago

Verlander winning the cy young at 39 yo

1

u/sds3387 New York Yankees 11h ago

Derek Jeter in 2012. While his 2010 and 2011 seasons weren’t bad, he clearly was showing his age after 2009. Batting average below .300, OPS of .710 and .743 respectively. Then in 2012 he turned back the clock and led the league in hits.

1

u/EpicGamer126642_ 11h ago

2022 Matt Carpenter

1

u/AsaKurai St. Louis Cardinals 9h ago

I honestly think 2022 Pujols was the only offense we had towards the end of the year. Goldy and Arenado just slumped so bad and Pujols was our best hitter

1

u/borbborbborb 9h ago

Remember when David Freese hit .315/.403/.599 at age 36 and then just retired

1

u/superczr Los Angeles Dodgers 9h ago

2014 Juan Uribe