In the second inning tonight at Chase Field in Phoenix, 48-year old Julio Franco homered off of 43-year old Randy Johnson. That's 91 years in total on that homer.
I'm going with that as the oldest pitcher-hitter pair until I find out otherwise. So far other "old pairs" I've found include a 36-year old Eddie Joost homering off a 46-year old Satchel Paige in 1953 and a 39-year old Cy Williams homering off of a 43-year old Babe Adams in 1926. Those both add up to 82 years.
Each homer Franco hits adds to his record for "oldest player to hit a home run."
I think the only way to top Johnson/Franco would be against the Phillies and Jamie Moyer. If Roger Clemens comes back then that would top Moyer 3 months.
I found a 22-year-old Robby Cano (who it seems has the same bday as I share with my grandfather, Ichiro!, and quite a few others) homering off of a 19 year old King Felix in this game:
The combined 41 years seems like a lot until you realize Felix was the youngest starter in MLB since, I vaguely remember hearing, Jose Rijo in 1985...?
I found a fun trivia question when looking at Nolan Ryan's last season.
Q: Who was the last player to hit a home run against Nolan Ryan?
A: Mariner LF Dann Howitt
You have to give the Mariners credit for sending Nolan Ryan out in style. Here's the line from his last start on the last day of the 1993 season.
Ryan 0IP 2H 5R 5ER 4BB 0K 1HR
Ouch.
Any idea on who the youngest pair would be?
In 1934, 17-year old Phil Cavarretta homered off of 21-year old Whitey Wistert.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA200508310.shtml
The combined 41 years seems like a lot until you realize Felix was the youngest starter in MLB since, I vaguely remember hearing, Jose Rijo in 1985...?
Bob, is this a mission for you or for Mike C?
Bob is like a Jedi. You can't beat him unless his mind is clouded by the dark side.
But Mike C will have the final word.
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