Hometown Loyalties

[Mr. Baseball]

Below is a list of players for every Major League team based on who has been there the longest without playing for another club. These players don't necessarily have the longest tenures on the roster (Paul Konerko has been with Chicago since 99'), but all of them began their careers in the city they currently play for.

This list was made by yours truly, so it's subject to inaccuracies. If you see a mistake, let me know! I tried to do this as thoroughly as possible.


1. Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones (1993-Present)
2. New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera (1995-Present)
3. Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton (1997-Present)
4. Texas Rangers: Michael Young (2000-Present)
5. Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki (2001-Present)
6. Detroit Tigers: Ryan Raburn (2004-Present)
7. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Roberts (2001-Present)
8. Milwaukee Brewers: Rickie Weeks (2003-Present)
9. Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley (2003-Present)
10. Boston Red Sox: Jon Lester (2006-Present)
11. Cleveland Indians: Grady Sizemore (2004-Present)
12. Tampa Bay Rays: B.J Upton (2004-Present)
13. New York Mets: David Wright (2004-Present)
14. Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer (2004-Present)
15. St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina (2004-Present)
16. Houston Astros: Wandy Rodriguez (2005-Present)
17. Miami/Florida Marlins: Josh Johnson (2005-Present)
18. San Diego Padres: Tim Stauffer (2005-Present)
19. San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain (2005-Present)
20. Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman (2005-Present)
21. Los Angeles Angels: Ervin Santana (2005-Present)
22. Toronto Blue Jays: Dustin McGowan (2005-Present)
23. Chicago Cubs: Carlos Marmol (2006-Present) *I could be wrong on this
24. Arizona Diamondbacks: Stephan Drew (2006-Present)
25. Los Angeles Dodgers: Andre Eithier (2006-Present)
26. Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto (2007-Present)
27. Kansas City Royals: Joakim Soria (2007-Present)
28. Oakland Athletics: Kurt Suzuki (2007-Present)
29. Chicago White Sox: John Danks (2007-Present)
30. Pittsburgh Pirates: Evan Meek (2008-Present)

[Chitown Champ]

I'm not sure what you specifically mean by "began their career." Is it the majors or minors? Because a bunch of players started playing in a different organization in the minors but have played for one team in the major (and they all played for different cities because of the minor league or overseas career) For example, John Danks began in Rangers organization, Evan Meek for Minnesota, Michael Young for Toronto, Sizemore for Montreal, Ethier for Oakland, Soria for LA. I know for a fact that you shouldn't count Ortiz because he started in Minnesota even in the majors. Also, Inge is on the Oakland A's right now.

Oh, and "hometown" is a little deceitful, because it implies these people play on the team they grew up in.

[Mr. Baseball]

This is only based on Major League service time.

[Chitown Champ]

Ok, then Inge is the only error since he's no longer in Detroit. I think Raburn would be next in line (2004-present)

[Mudge]

Oh, and "hometown" is a little deceitful, because it implies these people play on the team they grew up in.

I've got to figure that Mauer has that one sewn up.

Ok, then Inge is the only error since he's no longer in Detroit. I think Raburn would be next in line (2004-present)

Also, David Ortiz is incorrect for the Red Sox. He played for the Minnesota Twins.

In broadest strokes the title is shared by Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia, both of whom came up in 2006, both of whom are still on the team, and neither of whom have played for another major league team.

That said, Lester's first appearance was in June (6/10/06), while Pedroia's was in August (8/22/06), so I guess Lester gets the nod.

[EnterSandman]

Huh...Derek Jeter debuted six days after Mariano Rivera.

[Mr. Baseball]

Huh...Derek Jeter debuted six days after Mariano Rivera.

Is debuted even a word? Guess it is now...

Anyway, thanks for the feedback guys.

[Chitown Champ]

Also, David Ortiz is incorrect for the Red Sox. He played for the Minnesota Twins.

Right. I said that in my earlier post, but forgot to include it in the following one.

[Mr. Baseball]

It's hard for me to believe Rickie Weeks has been in Milwaukee as long as he has. If I'm not mistaken, he made his professional debut at the age of 19. Needles to say, his days as a Brewer could be numbered.

[RickD]

Mo and Derek Jeter could really be considered equals on the list considering one came 6 days after the other.