Last Tuesday night a milestone was reached in baseball.  Most important, it's wonderful news for all of us.

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On Tuesday night, Jamie Moyer was the winning pitcher when the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres 5 to 3.  With the win, at the age of 49, Moyer became the oldest player in M.L.B. history to win a game.  I will bet you the farm that someday, in the not too distant future, we'll see professional athletes playing well into their 50's.

 

Sure, we can take a look back in sports history and find exceptions like the late George Blanda who played in the NFL until he was 48.  Today, there are dozens of active pro athletes who are 40 plus.  Case in point, Mariano Rivera.  He's 42 and still one of the best if not the best closer in baseball.  In a very high endurance sport, cyclist, Jeannie Longo will likely participate in the London Olympics at the age of 53.

When I heard about the Jamie Moyer story I looked at the big "picture."  The bottom line is, we're living longer.  In the past decade, Americans are living a full year longer.  Life expectancy from birth increased from 76.8 to 77.8 years old.  Here are some crazy numbers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  There are about 35 million people in America age 65 or older.  In 1900 there were only 3 million older Americans.  Combining advances in medical treatment and new diagnostics, the future is without limits.  Here's one final very cool prediction.  The HHS says that America's older population will double by 2030, reaching 70 million!

I'm thinking there will be a lot more Jamie Moyers in our future.

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