One Team Players – The Best In The Era of MLB Free Agency

(Photo by Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)

It seems like they’re facing diskettes these days – players who have continued their entire careers with an MLB team. Guys like Joey Votto and Clayton Kershaw are deadly breeds. Players who choose to stay in the same city, after a long period of time through free agencies, often become popular and even famous in their hometowns.

Fans raise their status and treat them differently, because by choosing a residence, it shows something different about these players. Many are looking for ways to stay in their hometowns or with their groups after retirement. Of course, we know that deals play a big role in these decisions, but when you’ve been with a team for 10+ years, fans come to you no matter what the reasons are.

But teams also need to keep players. It doesn’t matter how much a player loves a team, if the team thinks the trade is in the organization’s interest, that player (see Manny Machado) will lose.

With Jadier Molina Now playing more than 2,000 games with the Cardinals and setting a game record with a team set by a catcher, this is a good time to see some of those memorable players whose careers have become part of the MLB after the 1976 release, but still decided to play his entire career on a team. What will the starting lineup look like for a loyalty team?