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Players who reach 10 years of major-league service time are statistical superheroes: Fewer than 10% in baseball history have played for a decade or more.
This season we will be recognizing all the Baseball X-Men who achieve this milestone. Here are September's honorees:
Japanese veteran right-hander Yu Darvish made his debut for the Rangers in 2012 – pitching 191.1 innings and winning 16 games with a 3.90 ERA during his rookie campaign. The 5x All-Star has amassed nearly 1300 innings and racked up over 1500 strikeouts with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs, and Padres. He’s finished second in Cy Young voting twice in his career.
Houston native Nathan Eovaldi was an 11th round draft pick in 2008 by the Dodgers and made his big-league debut in 2011. Eovaldi pitched for the Marlins, Yankees, and Rays before joining the Red Sox. In 2018, Eovaldi played a crucial role for the Red Sox World Championship team as he pitched 22.1 innings with a 1.61 ERA in the postseason, including a heroic 6-inning relief appearance in Game 3 of the World Series.
Matt Carpenter was a 13th round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2009 and made his major league debut in 2011. Since then, Carpenter has spent his entire career in St. Louis and appeared in 1324 games with 1152 hits and 155 home runs. The 3x All-Star won a Silver Slugger award in 2013 when he led the majors in hits (199), runs (126), and doubles (55).
Jordan Lyles, the Astros 1st round pick in 2008, made his debut for Houston in 2011. Since then, Lyles has pitched in 288 games – including 181 starts – for the Astros, Rockies, Brewers, Padres, Pirates, and Rangers. Congrats on 10 years of service time, Jordan!
Wade Miley, a former Diamondbacks first round pick, has pitched over 1500 innings in 279 career games since his debut in 2011. The southpaw has played with six clubs before joining the Reds in 2020. This season, he sports a 2.74 ERA with 112 strikeouts and 11 wins.
Tyler Chatwood, a former second-round pick, began his big league career as a starter before moving to the bullpen nearly full-time in 2019. His best season came in 2016, when he posted a 12-9 record with a 3.87 ERA for the Rockies.
August Honorees:
The Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez spent time with the Astros, Tigers and Diamondbacks before settling in Boston in 2018. The 3x silver Slugger and 4x All-Star has hit four 30+ home run seasons and won a World Series in 2018.
July Honorees:
An Angels first-round draft pick in 2009, Mike Trout made an immediate impact upon arriving in the big leagues, winning AL ROY and finishing second in MVP voting. Since then, the Millville Meteor has launched 310 home runs into orbit, been selected to 9 All-Star Games, and was named AL MVP three times.
Salvador Perez is the newest member of the 2015 World Champion Kansas City Royals to join the 10-year service time club! Since his debut in 2011, Salvy has won 5 Gold Glove Awards, 3 Silver Slugger Awards, and a World Series MVP to go along with his ring.
Since his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011, Paul Goldschmidt has established himself as one of the best first basemen in the big leagues, racking up 3 Gold Glove Awards, 4 Silver Slugger Awards, and 6 trips to the midsummer classic.
Alex Cobb has pitched in 171 games – all as a starter – accumulating almost 1,000 innings pitched and 62 wins since his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011.
Since his debut in 2011 with the Houston Astros, Jose Altuve has made seven All-Star teams. The Venezuelan second baseman was part of the World Champion Astros in 2017 – the same year he won the AL MVP.
June Honorees:
Tony Watson played seven seasons with the Pirates before heading to the West Coast to play for the Dodgers, Giants and now Angels. The 2014 All-Star has appeared in 655 career games, all in relief, and owns a lifetime 2.90 ERA.
Brandon Crawford joined the Giants crew in 2011 and since then, the 3x Gold Glove shortstop has started 10 straight Opening Days. The fourth-round draft pick out of UCLA in 2008 has earned a pair of rings and two
All-Star nods over 10 major-league seasons.
Drafted in the 50th round – 1,475th overall – in 2006, Jarrod Dyson rose through the ranks and made his big-league debut in 2010 with the Royals. Before returning to the Royals for the 2021 season, Jarrod logged some games with the Diamondbacks, Pirates and Mariners. Primarily a center fielder, he has stolen 262 bases in his career.
Jhoulys Chacin has started 227 games out of his 273 appearances with the Rockies, Braves, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Angels and Red Sox. From Maracaibo, Venezuela, Jhoulys made his big-league debut in 2009 at age 21.
A first rounder out of Northeastern University, Adam Ottavino debuted in 2010 with the Cardinals. He returned to a big-league roster in 2012 with the Rockies and has been a durable presence on the mound. In 499 appearances, almost all in relief, Adam owns a 3.48 career ERA with 616 strikeouts, averaging 10.4 per nine innings.
With a 3.96 ERA in 231 career games – 201 of them starts – Danny Duffy has logged 10 years of service all with the Royals. The third rounder was a member of the World Series 2015 squad, and joins former teammates Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer in the 10-year club in 2021.
Kyle Seager, a UNC product and older brother of Corey Seager has spent the duration of his career in a Mariners uniform. In 2014 he made the AL All-Star team and earned a Gold Glove for his defense at the hot corner.
May Honorees:
Mike Minor was the seventh overall pick out of Vanderbilt University in the 2009 draft. He’s pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. His best season came in 2019, when he struck out 200 batters in 208 1/3 innings and made the AL All-Star team.
Brandon Belt, a former Texas Longhorn, has spent his entire career with the San Francisco Giants. He was a valued contributor on World Championship teams in 2012 and 2014 and logged a career best .275/.394/.474 slash line to make the NL All-Star team in 2016.
After six seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Jake McGee has pitched exclusively in the NL West with the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. He also played for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In 570 appearances – all in relief – he has averaged 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Lance Lynn made the NL All-Star team with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 and posted consecutive top six Cy Young Award finishes with the Texas Rangers in 2019-20. He also pitched for the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees and is off to a strong start this season with the Chicago White Sox.
Mike Moustakas has 194 career homers with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. He’s a three-time All-Star with a 2015 World Championship ring on his resume. He joins former Royals teammate @hosmer305 as a new member of the 10-year-club.
April Honorees:
Two-time All-Star Jonathan Lucroy navigated his 10 years of major league service with the Milwaukee Brewers and seven other teams. In 2014, he finished fourth in National League MVP balloting and set a single-season record for catchers with 53 doubles. Jonathan was a member of the Team USA squad that beat Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic title in 2017.
Craig Kimbrel has made a habit of dominating hitters since he broke into the majors with Atlanta at age 22. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2011 and has gone on to make seven All-Star teams over a 12-year span with the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. He led the NL for four consecutive seasons in saves. Craig's ratio of 14.65 strikeouts per nine innings is second highest in MLB history (minimum: 500 innings pitched) behind Aroldis Chapman.
Buster Posey encountered his biggest career challenge in 2011, when he suffered a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle in a home plate collision. He bounced back like a champion, returning to hit .336 and win the NL MVP Award the following year. The six-time All-Star and 2010 NL Rookie of the Year has won four Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove in 10 years of service time with the San Francisco Giants.
Craig Stammen joins his former University of Dayton teammate Jerry Blevins as a member of the 10-year fraternity. After breaking in as a starter with Washington in 2009, he’s been a bullpen workhorse for the Nationals and the San Diego Padres. Craig logged more than 70 innings in relief six times during an eight-year stretch from 2012 through 2019.
Carlos Carrasco was 16 years old when he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent out of his native Venezuela in 2003. He spent the entirety of his big-league career with the Cleveland Indians before being traded to the New York Mets in January. Carrasco, nicknamed “Cookie,’’ inspired people around the game with his comeback from leukemia two years ago. A true leader on and off the diamond.
As the third overall pick in the 2008 MLB first-year player draft, Eric Hosmer has been a steady two-way performer since the Kansas City Royals summoned him to the majors at age 21. He’s a four-time Gold Glove Award winner and was a leader of the Royals’ 2015 championship team. From 2015-2019, “Hoz’’ appeared in 795 games – the most of any big-league player.
Jake Arrieta, a Texas Christian University product, won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He’s thrown two no-hitters in his career, and has posted a 113-81 record with a 3.74 ERA over parts of 12 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. In 2015, Jake went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA to join Ferguson Jenkins, Bruce Sutter, Rick Sutcliffe and Greg Maddux as the fifth Cubs pitcher to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Massachusetts native Steve Cishek played college ball at Division II Carson-Newman College in Tennessee. With his sidearm delivery and effective sinker, Steve has amassed more than career 600 appearances for the Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels. He set a Marlins' franchise record when he converted 33 straight save opportunities in 2013-2014.
