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Atlanta Braves: How have recent MVPs produced after age 34

By Seth Carter

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves singles against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park on June 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves singles against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park on June 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Josh Donaldson of Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

In light of the recent Atlanta Braves and Josh Donaldson rumors, we take a look at recent MVPs and their age 35+ performances.

The Atlanta Braves could be on the verge of signing an aging former MVP to a four-year contract worth a lot of money.

Controversy abounds as a decision on Donaldson seems to be coming to a head. You can read all about the rumors and speculation at Tomahawktake.com, we’ve got you covered. In this article we won’t try and figure out how much he’ll get or which teams are still in (and which ones might be out).

In this article, we are going to dive into the past performances of players that won an MVP. Josh Donaldson won the 2015 MVP and is looking for considerable money to take him through his age-37 season. Everybody wants him…NOW, but is he worth it in the long run? Perhaps a better question is: will he be worth it in the long run?

It isn’t an exact science, it’s a risk someone will have to take. So I looked back at most of the position-player MVPs dating back to 2007 and then cherry-picked one from 1999, to see how they all performed at age 35 and beyond.

I love Josh Donaldson, and it’s not my money, but these numbers have given me some second thoughts. Take a look and see for yourself, then let us know what you think in the comments.

Here is a list of the players we will review. Remember we will review their MVP year(s), salaries, WARs, and their performances at age 35 and any season beyond.

  1. Ryan Braun
  2. Miguel Cabrera
  3. Joey Votto
  4. Josh Hamilton
  5. Joe Mauer
  6. Dustin Pedroia
  7. Jimmy Rollins
  8. Albert Pujols
  9. Chipper Jones

There may be some other comparisons that didn’t make the list because they didn’t win an MVP or I ran out of time and could not go far enough back in time, but by all means, let me know in the comments. This is just a sample that mostly covers MVPs that weren’t pitchers from the last decade-plus. It’s a pretty good sample size.

I chose MVPs because J.D. has been there. It takes a special type of player to be named the best of the best in the world at what you do. If anyone, you’d think these are the guys that should have a long shelf-life.

Also, most of these guys are paid like they should have a long shelf-life, too. Let’s dive into the numbers and see how many of them were a waste of money!

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