Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
SYRACUSE — During a recent homestand, the Syracuse Mets trotted out a lineup featuring two players born during Ronald Reagan’s first term and another born during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.
In its first season as the Mets’ Class AAA affiliate, Syracuse has relied on an unusually mature bounty of past-their-prime veterans (and, notably, one former professional football player). Coming out of the All-Star break, Syracuse’s position players had combined for 9,472 games of major league experience.
Journeymen such as Rajai Davis, 38, Rene Rivera, 36, and Gregor Blanco, 35, came to upstate New York in search of one more shot at the big leagues.