Atlanta Braves: Top 3B (age 34-37) every season of the past decade

In light of the potential deal between the Atlanta Braves and a certain big-named free-agent third baseman, we review the top third basemen between the ages of 34-37 for every season of the past decade.

Some of you dedicated Atlanta Braves‘ fans have voiced your opposition to my recent (and might I add, incredible) article covering recent MVPs and how they faired after the age of 34.

One argument was that Josh Donaldson will be 34 and the article starts by analyzing age-35 seasons and beyond. I thought it’d be more important to look at the 35+ ages because I think we all expect 34 to be a great season for the “Bringer of Rain.”

The concern with his potential four-year deal is it’s four years. It all sounded great to Braves’ fans when the talks were at three years. Donaldson will take a substantial investment by the Braves that will run through his age-37 season.

The MVP article was simply looking at players that have earned the prestigious MVP awards because they are the best of the best.

There was no SPIN applied to buttress my nefarious agenda against Josh Donaldson re-upping with the Braves… I am pretty sure we’d be best friends if we met in real life. I already have a bottle of champagne ready for when the Braves announce that we have signed him. UPDATE: I drank it. 

The reason that the article looked like a hit job was that (for the most part) recent MVPs have simply not performed from age 35 on. It probably triggered some emotions because Braves’ fans want Donaldson to sign with the Braves and to be a stud. We want it to happen and the numbers in the MVP article didn’t look promising.

That article didn’t consider position or AL vs. NL, or anything else. It only looked at how MVP caliber players performed when they got old. I encourage you to read it to see how much money went to waste on these players when they got old.

I was shocked as I sorted through the information.

Today I wanted to look at things from a different perspective. I used Fangraphs’ amazing sortable databases to run some numbers.

I took a look at every third baseman between the ages of 34-37 (the ages of Donaldson’s alleged contract demands) and created a breakdown of the top player in that demo for each season of the past ten years.

No spin, no agenda, just taking a look at how things worked out for the old guys at third.

Also, I would like to note, I appreciate all of your feedback and complaints. I know you are passionate Braves’ fans like us. You care about the team and its success. I thank you for reading and interacting.

Now hold my hand and let’s go on a journey through the past ten seasons and see how our beloved old guys have performed, and who was the best at the hot corner.