# MLB. Longest time in the minor leagues? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 8, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935 "2015-10-08T16:13:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/1 "2015-10-08T16:13:30Z")
Ten years ago I lived in a city that had an “A” baseball team. At that time, the players were making $600/month. It has to be a tough ride to get to the majors. Who has spent the longest time, in the minors, before they reached the big league? ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/2 "2015-10-08T16:51:35Z")
Well, if you trust Wikipedia, [John Lindsey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lindsey) is, having spent 16 years in the minors before making it to the Bigs. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/3 "2015-10-08T16:55:51Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > Well, if you trust Wikipedia, [John Lindsey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lindsey) is, having spent 16 years in the minors before making it to the Bigs. The cite that wikipedia links to says, it is longer that any other **current** player, so it’s possible someone spent more time in the past: > **[Shelburne: Dodgers' veteran minor leaguer waits for his shot](https://www.espn.com/losangeles/mlb/columns/story?id=5510887)** > > Dodgers veteran minor leaguer has spent 16 years waiting for his shot. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/4 "2015-10-08T17:06:33Z")
There’s at least one player on this list of [Oldest MLB Rookies](https://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-oldest-players-to-make-their-debut-in-the-major-leagues-satchel-paige-and-the-rest/) that also played 16 years in the minors. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/5 "2015-10-08T17:13:25Z")
Lee Riley spent 18 years in the minors before his MLB debut for the 1944 Phillies. But back then, a minor league salary was one you could live on; Riley spend another four years in the minors after his cup of coffee. If you mean “non-MLB,” there are the Negro League players who took years to make it to the majors. Satchel Paige pitched for 18 seasons before getting his chance in MLB. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/6 "2015-10-08T17:58:47Z")
The question asks about players who spent many years in the minors before making the Show. Are there players who spent their entire careers in the minors? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/7 "2015-10-08T18:09:01Z")
Sure, \*most \*of them never make the majors, something like 97% AIUI. There _is_ such a thing as a “career minor leaguer”, who keeps plugging ahead and hoping but just lacks the skills, or has no other attractive career prospects and just enjoys the game and the camaraderie too much, or perhaps is preparing for a future coaching career, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-longest-time-in-the-minor-leagues/733935/8 "2015-10-08T18:13:48Z")
I have no idea what the record is, but Noah Hall is an example of a guy who played into his 30s without reaching the majors: > **[Noah Hall Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hall--001noa)** > > Noah Hall Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics including batting, fielding, prospect rankings and more on Baseball-Reference.com