When Lance Berkman was traded to the Yankees at the end of July, he lost his status as a Major League Baseball "lifer". A lifer--as defined by ESPN--is a player (pitcher or position player) who has played with only one team for at least ten years. In this case team is defined as Major League team--this person could have very well have come up in another team's minor leagues. There are currently 11 MLB lifers: can you name them?
Bonus question: On the flip side of the loyalty scale, there are 9 active Major Leaguers who have player for 4 or more franchises and compiled at least 300 home runs. Can you name them?
Answer in the comments below. I'll reveal the correct answer later. Good luck!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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Lifers:
ReplyDeleteMariano Rivera
Ichiro Suzuki
Derek Jeter
Eric Chavez
Jorge Posada
Todd Helton
Albert Pujols
... And that's all I've got.
Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Eric Chavez, Jorge Posada and Todd Helton are correct
ReplyDeleteIchiro and Pujols will qualify for this list at the end of the year, but don't yet (only 9 completed years) according to ESPN.
6 more!
Chipper Jones
ReplyDeletePaul Konerko
Chipper Jones is correct but Konerko played for both the Dodgers and the Reds.
ReplyDelete5 more!
Jason Varitek
ReplyDeleteVaritek is correct. Despite the fact he came up in the Seattle system, the only Major League team he has played for has been the Boston Red Sox
ReplyDeleteJimmy Rollins didn't play his first full season until 2001 but I'm not sure how he is categorized.
ReplyDeleteBonus: Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada
ReplyDeleteJimmy Rollins is correct (he played in 2000 so this is his 11th season meaning he completed 10 seasons). 3 more!
ReplyDeleteFor the bonus, Soriano is correct but Tejada only has 293 HR so he misses out. 8 more here!
Vernon Wells, has he played long enough?
ReplyDeleteYup! Vernon Wells is correct. 2 more!
ReplyDeleteHint for the last two lifers: both are in the American League, one is a pitcher and one is an infielder.
ReplyDeleteScot Shields, seems like he's been pitching for the Angels forever.
ReplyDeleteMichael Young
ReplyDeleteShields is not there quite yet, but Michael Young certainly is!
ReplyDeleteOne more for the regular question (and still 8 more for the bonus)
Bonus: Derrek Lee, Jim Thome, Jim Edmonds
ReplyDeleteDerrek Lee (4 teams, 309 HR), Jim Thome (5 teams, 581 HR), and Jim Edmonds (6 teams, 391 HR) are all correct. 5 more for the bonus!
ReplyDeleteBonus - Carlos Delgado?
ReplyDeleteDelgado doesn't exactly qualify since he still hasn't played for Boston. But once, he does, he would be on this list.
ReplyDeleteAnother hint: the last player remaining for the original question is a starter.
ReplyDeleteFor the bonus hint (5 left): 3 of the guys played for Texas at some point and the other 2 played for Toronto at some point.
Tim Wakefield?
ReplyDeleteNo...Wake pitched for Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteThink AL Central
Mark Buehrle?
ReplyDeleteThere you go! Regular question is done (here is the ESPN list: http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/lifers)
ReplyDeleteOn to the bonus!
Hank Blalock
ReplyDeleteNope...Blalock has only played for 2 Major League teams and only has 153 HR...
ReplyDeletePudge Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteAlso didn't realize Michael Young played enough in 2000 to qualify.
Manny for the Bonus?
ReplyDeletePudge (307 HR, 6 teams) qualifies, but Manny (although a good guess), has (as of now), only played for 3 teams.
ReplyDeleteTroy Glaus, Scott Rolen
ReplyDeleteTroy Glaus (320 HR, 5 teams), and Scott Rolen (301 HR, 4 teams) are both right.
ReplyDeleteThe remaining two guys both played for Texas AND the White Sox. And they both are outfielders. So there's your last hint.
Andruw Jones
ReplyDeleteAndruw is one (405 HR, 4 teams)
ReplyDeleteCarlos Lee
ReplyDeleteAnd Carlos Lee (323 HR, 4 teams) is the other. Nice work, people!
ReplyDelete