Trivia - Baseball

Very tricky. You have to go with pure longevity here, but it has to be someone who started their career at the end of one decade and ended it at the beginning of another, so timing is key. The first 3 guys I thought of (Aaron, Cobb, Rose) played a long time but still in only 3 decades. And a lot of guys with that type of longevity are pitchers like Nolan Ryan and Jim Kaat (who I'm almost positive pitched in 4 different decades, and theoretically could've hit home runs in all of them, but highly unlikely).

So I'm going to start with Ricky Henderson as my most solid guess, who I don't think retired for good until the early 2000s. My second guess will be Carlton Fisk. If I'm right with both of them, I'll consider it a W but I can't come up with 2 more right now.

Edit: Willie Mays has to be one, I know he started in the '40s and finished up flopping around for the Mets in the '70s.  He might be the most solid guess actually.

So I didn't cheat. I chewed on this for a bit myself and then shared it with a co-worker.

I thought Griffey Jr had a chance, but I was pretty sure he retired in 2009. He came up in '89. I knew he played half a season for the White Sox in 2008 and then went back to Seattle in 2009. Ultimately, he didn't play in 2010, so not a correct answer.

The other guy I was kicking around was Bonds. Came up '85 or '86. 90s/2000s. I couldn't remember when he retired. I knew there was some controversy. Wasn't sure he made it to 2010. He didn't...last season 2007.

My coworker got two of these on his own just talking outloud with me. Omar Vizquel. Came up in '89. Lasted until 2012, last playing with the White Sox and then Toronto.  Omar had one homer in 1989.  He had two homers in 2010 with the Sox and then none in 2011 or 2012.  Just made it.

Rossi got one....Rickey Henderson. Came up in '79. 80s/90s. Retired after playing 30 games in 2003.

I only got one correct: Willie McCovey. I knew he played into the 80s because I remember getting his 1980 Topps baseball card when he was with SF. He came up in '59.

The other correct answer: Ted Williams. 1939-1960. And the sumabitch also missed three seasons because he was flying a plane in WW2.

I think Willie debuted in the early 50s, maybe just after Mantle.  You were right, he played in the early 70s with the Mets and was a shell of former self at the end.