Mike Sandlock, Oldest Living Former Player

The title of Oldest Living Former Major Leaguer has changed hands many times over the years. Only a handful of them have made it to the age of 100, including Connie Marrero, who passed away recently. The man who held the title of second oldest for some time, Ace Parker, died in 2013 at the age of 101.

What does it mean to be the oldest living former baseball player? Or the oldest living anything, for that matter?

Unlike other baseball titles – best hitter, winningest pitcher, strikeout king – the title of oldest is an honor which is at least partly based on having good genes. Clean living does not always win out over bad habits. Recent pics of Marrero show him with a cigar sticking out of his mouth.

I spoke to Mike Sandlock (born 1915), who now holds the title of Oldest Living Former Major Leaguer back in 2012, when he was #3 on the list. The former catcher had been recently honored by the Dodgers at a Mets game, honored for being the oldest living Dodger.

He expressed what I would call a keen awareness of the relative meaninglessness of that honor, that he was being feted simply for being old. Very old.  

This, I guess, does not apply to baseball players in particular, but to anyone celebrating an advanced birthday. The event takes on new and added meaning, and becomes more than just a birthday but a chance for the rest of us to gawk at the wonder of someone who has reached 90, or 95, or 100.

It’s our nature to gawk. But in doing so we should always remember the accomplishments of the person beyond their having achieved that magical age. We should celebrate their lives, not just their milestones.

And that's what my purpose has been in speaking to the oldest living players - to hear their stories, to appreciate their achievements in a byegone era, the last remaining memories of which are fading fast.  

So, Mr. Sandlock, here’s to you: 16 seasons of professional baseball beginning in the late 1930s, including 5 years during which you appeared in the majors, for the old Boston Braves, for the Dodgers, and for the Pirates. You strung together some good years for the Hollywood Stars in the Pacific Coast League in the late 40s and early 50s. And of course, you played for the legendary Leo Durocher at Brooklyn. Lots of stories, lots of history.

The oldest living former player is fascinating.

They all are, to me.