They haven’t killed all the old guys yet

Monday is a big day for baseball veterans. Ken Rosenthal posted an article Competitor In it, 41-year-old Max Scherzer announced his intention to continue pitching. Justin Turner’s agent told Jon Morosi that the soon-to-be 41-year-old plans to play in 2026. However, 35-year-old Kyle Hendricks has had enough. The player who started Game 7 of the 2016 World Series for the Cubs is coming to an end after 12 seasons on The Show.

As an older Millennial, these decisions got me thinking. Clayton Kershaw has retired, Kenta Maeda is returning to Japan, and Adam Ottavino is trying to negotiate the Rockies president of baseball operations job. Our generation is going extinct, at least on the baseball diamond.

This doesn’t bother me too much. For most of my time covering baseball full-time, I was older than most major leaguers. Some of the rookies and college players I meet these days were born after I graduated high school. I feel old whether Caleb Tilba pitches or not.

Still, it reminded me of something about Lauren batting The podcast was released during Game 7 of the World Series. As Scherzer pitches to Freddie Freeman or Miguel Rojas, she wonders if we’ll ever again see pitchers born in the Reagan administration face hitters born in the George H.W. Bush administration.

The answer to that question is almost certainly yes, and that will be the case even if Scherzer doesn’t return. In fact, in 2025, no fewer than 30 pitchers born under Reagan are pitching in the major leagues. Believe it or not, Rich Hill, who made two starts in the majors this year, was born while Jimmy Carter was still in office.

It’s no surprise that the Clinton era dominated here. He took office in January 1993 and served for eight years, so in the 2025 season, the ages of players born during his tenure range from 24 to 32 years old. Those were the prime years of baseball. This year, people born during the Clinton era accounted for 70.5% of major league appearances, 73.0% of innings pitched and 72.6% of WAR.

Enjoy it while you still can, kids. Time eventually catches everyone. Like our Reagan babies, they are becoming increasingly rare.

Players at any position born before January 20, 1989 do not have a contract for next season. Turner, McCutchen, and Goldschmidt have all expressed commitments to play in 2026, and I expect them all to land somewhere. There are always people signing Fan every year. But eight months from now, we may be left with just six position players older than the Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy.”

In the 2010s, Nelson Cruz was doing whatever he wanted and playing 30 games a year at a time when most men were reading Max Hastings and working their butts off. It’s shocking how few of our position players are in their 30s, let alone their 40s.

Luckily the pitchers protected us.

Yes, it’s an old man’s game. One of the old guys just started Game 7 of the World Series and pitched well. There’s quite a bit of depth here, too. Quality low to mid-leverage relievers, a closer or two, and some average or better starting pitchers. Compared to the position player group: It’s been three or four years since Gurriel and I don’t understand why you’d want to waste a roster spot on him. The pitcher who comes closest to that description is Kimbrel.

We might lose one or two of those guys before the season starts. Strickland has retired and returned once. Pressley apparently had offers after being cut by the Cubs, but he grew tired of pitching again and publicly considered retirement. Remember what happened with Lance Lynn last year? He was ready to pitch in the right situation, but none of the offers he received were enough to entice him back. I expect at least some pitchers will go through the same thought process over the winter.

But there’s still quite a bit of depth with the older Millennials. Our Reagan-era baby population may be declining, but we’re not close to disappearing altogether.