Father time remains undefeated, but some athletes are battling as long as they can to play at a high level into their 40s.
Tom Brady is the perfect example of that with two Super Bowl rings in his 40s, including a Super Bowl MVP in his age-44 season.
But it’s not just quarterbacks that are sticking around longer. That movement has gone from the gridiron to the diamond with MLB players, particularly pitchers, having longer careers due to advancements in technology and how bodies can recover.
San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller joined WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and talked about Brady’s impact on the acceptance of older players in MLB.
“I think it just really comes down to each individual guy,” Preller said (1:44 in player above). “In general, if you have really good makeup and good work ethic – I think we look at other sports, too.”
Preller mentioned Brady by name as someone that pitchers and other baseball players can look to as an example, or even just for motivation.
“I think, again, just from a motivation standpoint to see somebody at 45 years old go out and perform or win a Super Bowl at 44 years old. I think he opens up people’s minds that like yeah, it can be done,” he said. “Obviously, you got to take care of your body and be really disciplined with what you do. We have Nelson Cruz, and Matt Carpenter, and Yu Darvish that are north of 35 years old and they’re still doing it at a high level. Again, those are all three really special people, though, I think probably similar to Tom Brady in that respect.”
Preller and the Padres must see something special in Darvish after giving the 36-year-old pitcher a six-year contract extension this spring.
There have been pitchers throughout history that succeeded into their 40s, including Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, and even Justin Verlander just won the AL Cy Young award at 39 years old.
“I think the guys we’ve seen that you can do it, whether it’s Adam Wainwright in St. Louis, and guys are still going right now at 40-plus years old. I think the mental discipline, the mental makeup is probably just as important as the physical ability at that age,” Preller said. “I think the ones that are doing it at that age are really special. It’s probably a combination of physical ability and makeup, and that’s probably why they’re able to do some things at that age that others aren’t able to do.”
As technology continues to advance and players are able to take better care of their bodies, we could see more and more guys playing into their 40s. Baseball is an ever-changing game and this is going to be something to watch out for.
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