Meth-Julio

44-year-old Julio Franco wants to play until the age of fifty.

"My eyesight is good and I still have good hand-eye coordination," Franco said. "I know I have a few more years in me."

Franco has been OK since rejoining the Braves, but will he be able to play another 6 years? I think not. He's a non-roster invitee this spring. He is fighting Robert Fick and Matt Franco (no relation) for playing time at first. Maybe he should worry about making the team.

It did get me to think about player performance after the age of 40 (i.e., the season in which he turned 40). Has anyone played successfully for another 10 years? I found one, Jack Quinn, but he was a pitcher. Pete Rose (surprise!) played the most games after turning 40 (732). Cap Anson had the most at-bats (2597, just 23 ahead of Rose). Anson also had the most runs (444), hits (822), doubles (135), and RBI (520). No wonder his nickname became Pop as he aged and looked after his "Cubs".

Hans Wagner had the most triples (36). Carlton Fisk had the most homers (72, appropriately). Rickey Henderson has the most stolen bases (106). Ty Cobb has the best post-40 batting average (.344 in two seasons). Eddie Collins has the best on-base percentage (.452 in four seasons). Ted Williams has the best slugging percentage (.540) and OPS (.954--wow!).

Franco is 35th in post-40 OPS. Here are the men with an OPS .750 or better after turning 40 (min. 100 AB):

Name              AB	BA	OBP	SLUG	OPS
Ted Williams     582	.287	.415	.540	.954
Cy Williams      320	.275	.424	.475	.899
Ty Cobb          843	.343	.419	.460	.879
Eddie Collins    268	.325	.452	.399	.851
Stan Musial     1142	.294	.375	.471	.846
Brian Downing    727	.278	.390	.443	.833
Tony Gwynn       229	.323	.373	.450	.823
Willie Mays      870	.251	.391	.426	.818
Walker Cooper    257	.272	.311	.506	.817
Hank Sauer       629	.251	.341	.475	.817
Davey Lopes      573	.276	.384	.426	.810
Bing Miller      185	.303	.361	.443	.805
Cap Anson       2597	.317	.399	.404	.803
Sam Rice        1714	.321	.379	.421	.801
Harold Baines    797	.272	.350	.450	.800
Jimmy Dykes      175	.303	.371	.429	.800
Tony Phillips    406	.244	.362	.433	.795
Luke Appling    1620	.301	.408	.381	.789
Gabby Hartnett   150	.300	.356	.433	.789
Dave Winfield   1539	.268	.341	.446	.787
Jack Saltzgaver  117	.325	.368	.419	.787
Willie Stargell  335	.260	.340	.445	.785
Carlton Fisk    1781	.266	.342	.438	.780
Bob Thurman      372	.239	.312	.462	.775
Paul Waner       368	.299	.406	.367	.772
Ken Griffey Sr.  225	.293	.363	.409	.772
Darrell Evans   1212	.228	.347	.424	.771
Mickey Vernon    454	.275	.352	.419	.771
Dummy Hoy        279	.290	.389	.380	.769
Carl Yastrzemski1541	.266	.352	.416	.768
Andres Galarraga 691	.258	.334	.431	.765
Tris Speaker     191	.267	.310	.450	.761
Rickey Henderson1416	.256	.384	.373	.757
Julio Franco     429	.287	.360	.394	.754
Paul Molitor    1040	.293	.343	.410	.753
Wade Boggs       727	.289	.360	.391	.750
Reggie Jackson   755	.232	.345	.405	.750

By the way, the only other active players are Andres Galarraga, trying to catch on with the Giants, and Rickey Henderson, who is directly ahead of Franco...and can't get a job.