Are the Phillies Too Old? Chase Utley sat down with the media on Thursday to talk about his health, less than 24 hours after Ryan Howard did the same thing. Injuries are nothing new to the team. As this team gets older, it will happen. Virtually every starting position player spent time on the disabled list in 2011. But are they too old?

Let’s look at the 10 (arguably) core players on the team and their age:

• Ryan Howard: 32
• Chase Utley: 33
• Jimmy Rollins: 33
• Placido Polanco: 36
• Shane Victorino: 31
• Hunter Pence: 28
• Carlos Ruiz: 33
• Cole Hamels: 28
• Roy Halladay: 34
• Cliff Lee: 33

That’s a combined 321 years old, or an average of 32.1. It’s important to remember that this is essentially the same team that was old in 2011 and won 102 games (despite an early exit in the playoffs). So maybe it’s not really an issue. Or is it? What is more important - age or experience level?

A 2010 study from Springer Science+Business Media that examined the performances of 39,698 Major League baseball players in the 20th century found that hitting performance peaks at age 30, base stealing at 27, and pitching at 34.

From The20’s @GonzoCSN:

“Not long ago, Ruben Amaro said pretty much that same thing — that the Phils are an experienced group and maybe the birth dates on their drivers’ licenses aren’t such a big deal. Except, well, you see their ages and you see their injuries, and you do wonder if one isn’t directly tethered to the other.”

Weigh in: are the Phillies too old to win? Or are they just fine?

-LD

[Springer Science+Business Media, @GonzoCSN]

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