Oldest Major Leaguer Hits 100
Oxnard's Malinosky faced the likes of Dizzy Dean, Richard Nixon
AP
Oxnard's Tony Malinosky was playing ball against Dizzy Dean, Mel Ott, and Carl Hubbell before Joe Torre was even born.
So forgive Malinosky -- a former Brooklyn Dodger -- if he likes to play armchair manager.
"I've got a very good TV and we usually watch the Dodger games," Malinosky, baseball's oldest living major leaguer, told MLB.com. "I like to discuss certain plays and second guess the manager. But I don't know Joe Torre. He seems all right."
Malinoski turned 100 Monday, just two days before the Dodgers open the MLB playoffs against St. Louis. His brief career with the Brooklyn Dodgers began April 26, 1937 and ended in July of the same year.
Malinosky batted .228 that season, according to Baseball-Reference.com. St. Louis' Joe Medwick led the league that year with a .374 average.
A knee injury sidelined Malinosky, but not before he collected hits off Hall of Famers Dean and Carl Hubbell. The NY Giants' Hubbell finished the season with a league-high 22 wins.
After his baseball career, Malinosky joined the Army. He fought in the Battle of Bulge during World War II.
But Dean and Hubbell weren't his only memorable encounters.
He attended Whittier College with President Richard Nixon. Malinosky recalled reuniting with Nixon during the early 1970s.
"We talked about our school days and I called him 'Dick,' the way I always did," said Malinosky. "But maybe I made a mistake. I don't think he was pleased. He took me aside and said, 'When we're in company, I prefer to be called Mr. President.'"
Editor's Note: At 104, Emilio Navarro is recognized as the oldest living professional baseball player. In the late 1920s, he played in the Negro Leagues.
