Mike Trout Cashing In - 12 year extension @ 430 Million

This topic of staying with one franchise drove me to do some research on players who played at least ten years in the majors, all with one franchise.  In the nearly 150 years of professional baseball, there have only been 177 of them.  And the Yankees have by far the most, with 25 (second is Detroit with 15.)  Here is the Yankee list:

Derek Jeter -- 20
Mariano Rivera -- 19
Mickey Mantle -- 18
Lou Gehrig -- 17
Frank Crosetti -- 17
Bill Dickey -- 17
Jorge Posada -- 17
Bernie Williams -- 16
Whitey Ford -- 16
Roy White -- 15
Ron Guidry -- 14
Joe DiMaggio -- 13
Phil Rizzuto -- 13
Don Mattingly -- 12
Earle Combs -- 12
Bobby Richardson -- 12
Mel Stottlemyre -- 11
Tommy Henrich -- 11
Spud Chandler -- 11
Thurman Munson -- 11
Arndt Jorgens -- 11
Gil McDougald -- 10
Joe Collins -- 10
Red Rolfe -- 10
Jake Gibbs -- 10

Now class, if you have been doing your homework, you should have at least heard of most of these guys.  But you will be forgiven if the name Arndt Jorgens does not ring a bell.  He was the Yankees backup catcher to Bill Dickey from 1929-1939.  He played on five World Series champions but did not make a single appearance in a World Series game -- Dickey caught every inning of every game, and Jorgens did not get so much as a pinch-hitting or defensive replacement whirl.  But he got five rings and winners shares, same as Dickey.  One of three major leaguers born in Norway.  Norway is not exactly the Dominican Republic when it comes to churning out baseball players.

Yogi Berra should be on this list, but two years after he retired from the Yanks after seventeen years with them (and a year after he was fired as their manager) he got into four games as a gimmick in 1965 with the Mets.  The Mets ruin everything.

For the record, the players who have spent the most years with one franchise and who played for no other franchise were Brooks Robinson of the Orioles and Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox, each with 23 seasons.  The others who played at least 20 seasons with the same team, besides Brooks and Yaz and Jeter, are:

Al Kaline --22 (Tigers)
Stan Musial -- 22 (Cardinals)
Mel Ott -- 22 (Giants)
George Brett -- 21 (Royals)
Walter Johnson -- 21 (Senators)
Ted Lyons -- 21 (White Sox)
Cal Ripken -- 21 (Orioles)
Willie Stargell -- 21 (Pirates)
Luke Appling -- 20  (White Sox)
Craig Biggio -- 20 (Astros)
Red Faber -- 20 (White Sox)
Tony Gwynn -- 20 (Padres)
Mel Harder -- 20 (Indians)
Alan Trammell -- 20 (Tigers)
Robin Yount -- 20 (Brewers)

Considering that there have been nearly 20,000 people who have played major league baseball, that's a pretty exclusive club.  Eighteen out of 20,000.

Barring injury or trade, Mike Trout will move well up this list in the years to come.  And a most deserving member at that.