Other Crap

Longest-running one-franchise players

I got to obsessing over obscure baseball facts, as I often do, and I wondered. Who is the guy who played the longest for a franchise without ever playing for another franchise? Who are the two of those guys who played longest together? How about three? Luckily for me a SABR member wrote an article about this recently in the Baseball Research Journal. Here are the answers:

One guy

Carl Yastrzemski played all of 23 seasons for the BoSox, from April of the first season to October of the last. Brooks Robinson played in parts of 23 seasons for the Orioles, but did not start until a September call-up, and called it quits in August of his final year, so Yaz stands alone. The following one-franchise guys played in all or parts of 22 seasons: Mel Ott, Stan Musial, Al Kaline. Among more recent players, Cal Ripken and George Brett are in the next group at 21.

Two teammates

Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammel broke in on exactly the same day, a September call up in 1977. They played together for all of Whitaker's career - 19 seasons. Frank White and George Brett played together 18 seasons. Others: Gantner and Yount 17, Maz and Clemente 17, Feller and Lemon 16, Walter Johnson and Clyde Milan 16, Ott and Hubbell 16, Bagwell and Biggio 15, Ford and Mantle 15 (they would have made 17 if not for the Korean War).

Three teammates.

This record should be held by Ford, Mantle and Berra. They were all on the Yankee roster continuously from the 1951 season to 1963 - 13 seasons. There are two reasons why they do not hold this record: (1) Ford spent 1951 and 1952 in military service; (2) Yogi is not a one-franchise player. I had forgotten that. He came out of retirement to play in four games for the Mets in 1965, going 2-for-9 in his only non-Yankee plate appearances. The record is actually shared by two groups who lasted all or part of 12 seasons together. Brett, White and Paul Splittorff played together from 1973 to 1984. Billy Freehan, Mickey Stanley and John Hiller played together for the Tigers from 1965 to 1976. The Tiger group is actually the winning entry, since they were together about two more calendar weeks than the Royal group.