MLB: Players Who Played at Least 20-Years with One Team

Ted Lyons, Chicago White Sox, 594 games

Lyons is one of only three players to have completed a full 20-year, one-team career without having spent a day in the minor leagues. The White Sox signed him following the completion of his college career at Baylor in 1923. Chicago had a geographical advantage since the Sox at the time trained near Waco and frequently saw Lyons during spring exhibitions.

He made nine appearances that first MLB season, but truly established himself in 1924 when he went 12-1 in 22 starts. The following year Lyons led the American League with 21 victories; he would lead a second time (with 22) in 1927. When voters cast MVP ballots following the 1927 season, Lyons finished third, trailing only Lou Gehrig and Harry Heilmann.

Lyons made 30 starts for Chicago five different times, but eventually became known for the relative lightness of his workload. As he aged, manager Jim Dykes took to spacing out Lyons’ starts to give him more rest. In the mid-1930s, he became known as Chicago’s “Sunday” pitcher. After 1930, he only twice made more than 24 starts in any season, but he only once made fewer than 20.

The result was an elongated period of productivity. Through 1942, his 20th season in a White Sox uniform, Lyons won 259 games against 226 losses. Called to military duty in 1943, he returned briefly in 1946 to manage the Sox and make five final starts before retiring as an active player. He resigned as manager in 1948, later serving as a coach and scout.

Like Harder, Lyons never played for a pennant winner. A member of the 1939 American League All-Star team, he was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1955.