Miguel Cabrera and Rich Hill may be two of the five oldest players in MLB, but they sometimes have to run like their younger counterparts.
The Detroit Tigers hitter and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher with a combined age of 83 years (and a combined weight of 488 pounds) found themselves in a foot race on Wednesday when a Cabrera grounder to first base in the second inning meant Hill Had to run and cover first.
It soon became a question of who would reach first base, with Hill winning a very entertaining run, catching the toss from Carlos Santana. Hill and Cabrera exchanged a few quick words and snaps after the play, while the sparse Detroit crowd disagreed with the call.
At 43 years old and 67 years old, Hill is the oldest player in MLB, and is also on his 12th team. Cabrera, who himself sits at 40 years and 29 days old, is behind only Hill, Nelson Cruz (42 years, 320 days), Adam Wainwright (41 years, 260 days) and Justin Verlander (40 years, 86 days) in MLB. is in fifth place.
Santana is 37 years and 39 days old, making this a very old play overall.
That play was the only out in a dominant outing by Hill, who finished the 8–0 Pirates victory with six scoreless innings, seven strikeouts, two walks, and only one hit allowed. The ageless wonder now holds a 3.80 ERA, 4-3 record and 43 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings for the 23-20 Pirates.
Like seven of his fellow starters, Cabrera finished the game 0-for-3 with no hits. It's been a tough season for him, with a .182 batting average.