The best careers after age 35 in MLB history: 26. Dutch Leonard, 1944-53 (35-44)
- 96 wins (96-88)
- 3.01 ERA
- 14 shutouts
- 26.7 WAR
One of the first things that come to mind when discussing the career of Dutch Leonard is an important distinction. Throughout MLB history, there have been two Dutch Leonard’s to make appearances in professional baseball. Ironically enough, both were starting pitchers and both played in the early 1900s.
Fortunately, for the sake of this list, there are some key differences between the two. For starters, the first Dutch Leonard was left-handed and played from 1913-25 while hanging it up before he turned 35-years-old. The Dutch Leonard that earns a spot on this list, however, was right-handed and spent 20 years in the MLB from 1933-53. This specific Dutch Leonard, or Emil John Leonard, earns the 26th spot on this list.
For the first ten seasons of Leonard’s career, he was a relatively average pitcher. He won 95 games while losing another 93 with a 3.47 ERA. But, in 1943 at the age of 34, something clicked. That season, Leonard earned All-Star honors with the Washington Senators, throwing a then career-low 3.28 ERA. From there, Leonard began to dominate opposing hitters.
Leonard lowered his ERA by half a point after the age of 35 thanks to five seasons of sub-3.00 marks. He excelled at keeping balls in the yard, owning a stifling 0.4 home runs per nine innings during that span. The five-time All-Star struggled in 1949, his first season with the Chicago Cubs. Chicago moved him to the bullpen where he blossomed, finishing 102 games in the final four years of his career. Leonard ranks 19th all-time in WAR for pitchers over the age of 35, according to FanGraphs.