List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise



The following is a list of former Major League Baseball (MLB) players who played in at least 10 MLB seasons and spent their entire MLB playing careers exclusively with one franchise. In most cases, this means the player only appeared with one team; there are also players whose team was relocated (e.g. the Athletics) or had a name change (e.g. the Angels) during their career. Some listed players subsequently went on to coach or manage with other teams, or may have had minor league or foreign league appearances with other franchises. Some listed players had their careers ended by accidents, such as Roberto Clemente, who died in a 1972 airplane crash, and Roy Campanella, who was paralyzed in a 1958 automobile accident.

, 190 players have completed the feat, of which the New York Yankees have had the most, with 26. The San Francisco Giants have had the most in the National League, with 15. Bid McPhee and Mike Tiernan, both of whom played exclusively in the 19th century, were the first two players to do so. Brooks Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski share the distinction of the longest tenure with a single team, 23 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, respectively. Mel Ott and Stan Musial share the distinction of the longest tenure with a single team in the National League, having played 22 seasons with the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. Stephen Strasburg, who played 13 seasons with the Washington Nationals and announced his retirement in April 2024, is the most recent player to complete a career of at least 10 seasons with one team.

Players
Only players who are no longer active are listed here. This list does not include active players, or free agents who have not yet retired (such players are listed below). A player is considered "inactive" if he has not played baseball for one year or has announced his retirement.

Honorable mentions

 * Bug Holliday played 10 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds franchise, from 1889 to 1898, appearing in 930 games. During the 1885 World Series, one of several pre-modern World Series held from 1884 to 1890, Holliday played in one game for the Chicago White Stockings of the National League (today's Chicago Cubs). This was Holliday's only major-league appearance for a franchise other than Cincinnati. As MLB considers the first World Series to have been the 1903 edition, some baseball sites list Holliday as having only played for a single franchise.

The following players died during their careers, after playing nine seasons with the same franchise:
 * Ray Chapman played his entire career with the Cleveland Naps/Indians, from 1912 to 1920, appearing in 1051 games. He died in August 1920, late in his ninth major-league season, after being struck by a pitch in a game against the New York Yankees.
 * Addie Joss played his entire career with the Cleveland Broncos/Naps, from 1902 until 1910, appearing in 296 games while pitching in 286 games with 260 starts and 234 complete games. He died in April 1911, just before what would have been his 10th season in the major leagues. Joss was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in.
 * Don Wilson played his entire career with the Houston Astros, from 1966 to 1974, appearing in 268 games while pitching in 266 games with 245 starts at 78 complete games. He died in January 1975, prior to the start of spring training of what would have been his 10th season in the major leagues.

Negro league baseball

 * While Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson each only played for a single team within Major League Baseball (hence their inclusion in the above list), each also played for other teams now considered major-league within Negro league baseball: Campanella with the Baltimore Elite Giants and Robinson with the Kansas City Monarchs.
 * Within Negro league baseball, Buck Leonard and Bullet Rogan each had careers in excess of a decade with a single major-league team, the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs, respectively.

Late-career moves
Players who spend 20 or more seasons with a single franchise before ending their career playing for another team (thus disqualifying them from inclusion in the above list) include:
 * Hank Aaron: 21 seasons with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves before finishing his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975 and 1976
 * Phil Cavarretta: 20 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, before ending his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1954 and 1955
 * Ty Cobb: 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, before ending his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1927 and 1928
 * Harmon Killebrew: 21 seasons with the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins before being released by the Twins and finishing his career with the Kansas City Royals in 1975
 * Willie Mays: 21 seasons with the New York / San Francisco Giants before being traded to the New York Mets in 1972 and ending his career there in 1973
 * Phil Niekro: 20 seasons with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves before playing for three other teams during his final four seasons and ending his career with a game for Atlanta in 1987
 * John Smoltz: 20 seasons with the Atlanta Braves before ending his career with the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.
 * Warren Spahn: 20 seasons with the Boston / Milwaukee Braves before finishing his career with both the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets in 1965.

Other examples of long-tenured players who made late-career appearances with a different franchise include:
 * Dwight Evans: 19 seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1972–1990) before ending his career with the 1991 Baltimore Orioles.
 * Yogi Berra: 18 seasons with the New York Yankees (1946–1963) before appearing in four games while a player-coach with the 1965 New York Mets.
 * Christy Mathewson: $†$ seasons with the New York Giants (1900–1916) before making a single appearance with the 1916 Cincinnati Reds.
 * Lefty Gomez: 13 seasons with the New York Yankees (1930–1942) before ending his career with a single appearance for the 1943 Washington Senators.
 * Hank Greenberg: 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (while also missing three seasons due to military service during World War II) before ending his career with the 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Counts by franchise
Table last updated April 6, 2024.

Active players
The following active players have played at least 10 seasons with only a single MLB franchise, making them potential future additions to the main list above.

Players are removed from this list (and this article) when they make an appearance with a different MLB team. Players who retire or are inactive for over a year (have not played professional baseball at any level) are moved from this list to the main list.


 * † Denotes a player who is currently a free agent.
 * Denotes a player who is under contract with a different team.