Roger Clemens

by Ryan Hennigan

Who died and made the rule that MLB players have to retire by the age of 40, or else they will be worthless? From my observations, the moment a player hits the big four-oh his value immediately sky dives down. This is true for all players no matter how talented they are, as major league clubs no longer want to trade for them, to sign them to big multi-year contracts, or play them as much as the players with youth. And even if they are Barry Bonds, Curt Shilling, or Roger Clemens, their team and the media is always underestimating them and labeling them with question marks as to how they will perform.
To me, and anyone who has had the honor of watching them perform, this question of age that lingers around some of the best players in the majors is ridiculous. The management of clubs that have these players have no need to worry, and here is why.
Players 40 or over have been putting up huge numbers ever since the game began. For example, at the age of 41, Ted Williams hit 29 home runs in only 310 at bats with a .316 batting average in his last year of play, 1960. Even before him, also at the age of 41, Ty Cobb hit in 93 RBIs with a .357 batting average.
Players of today put up similar numbers in their later years and also prove against the 40 year old limit. At the age of 41, Barry Bonds hit 26 home runs last season. He is now 42 and is 9 home runs short of breaking the all-time home run title held by Hank Aaron. Curt Shilling is now 40 and last season he won 15 games. The last two seasons, at the age of 41 and 42, Randy Johnson stacked up 17 wins each. In conclusion, these players are more than able to perform (maybe even more qualified than younger players), and furthermore their leadership abilities make them even more valuable.