Baseball is a unique game. Like the stories of old, the game is passed down from generation to generation. It is held dear in the hearts of the old and in wonder in the dreams of the young. It has provided common ground for grandparents, fathers, and sons to banter and rave. Baseball is a game without age.

At least amongst the fans of the game. For those who set foot on the field, it is a different story altogether.

With the success (sort of) of “Moneyball” in Oakland and its subsequent adaptations and adoptions across baseball, the analysis of statistics has made as permanent a home on the baseball field as it has in fantasy leagues. Traditional scouting has been thrown out the window. Make-up and potential have been replaced by real-time analysis of sabermetrics and referrals to Bill James. And while this has been huge in the development on new talent, it has had an unfortunate casualty; veteran players past their primes.

General Managers are no longer enamored with the name on the jersey, but how often it reaches base, the percentage of balls it gets to in the field, and what the batting average against it is when balls are in play. In short, they no longer look for the signs of aging in the movement of the player or his physical condition. They can see it on paper, night in and night out. And what that leads to is early retirements for guys not quite ready to let go.

How else do we explain the glut of veterans still available on the free agent market with camps set to open in just a few days? I’m not talking about a guy like Roy Oswalt, who is just too stubborn to sign with a team that needs him and would rather force him into one of two rotations that cannot fit him.

Rather, I am referencing players like Johnny Damon who needs just two solid years to reach 3000 career hits (2723 currently). Damon was solid last season in Tampa, putting up a season of .261 with 16 home runs, 73 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. Aside from his batting average, every other statistic was in line with his career averages. Damon’s biggest detractor is his defense, which no longer enables him to be an everyday outfielder and in turn relegates him primarily to DH duty.

And let’s face facts, not many teams are looking for a DH right now. Here is a list of the teams and their current DH situations:

Angels: Kendrys Morales, Mark Trumbo or Bobby Abreu 
Athletics: Chris Carter or Jonny Gomes

Blue Jays: Edwin Encarnacion or J.P. Arencibia
Indians: Travis Hafner
Mariners: Jesus Montero
Orioles: Wilson Betemit, Mark Reynolds or Chris Davis
Rangers: Michael Young or Mike Napoli
Rays: Luke Scott
Red Sox: David Ortiz
Royals: Billy Butler
Tigers: Delmon Young
Twins: Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit or Trevor Plouffe
White Sox: Adam Dunn
Yankees: Andruw Jones

Not too many openings available at that position huh? Oh, and did I mention that there is a glut of available DH’s also in Damon’s situation, including the likes of Hideki Matsui, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, and Raul Ibanez? Some familiar names on that list huh?

Now let’s be honest with ourselves here; all of these players are on the wrong side of 35 (Guerrero perhaps 40 for all we know), and Ramirez has his 50 games suspension and his entire year out of baseball to shake off.  All of them are still making contractual demands more in line with what they used to get rather than the current market. Certainly, some of these guys will accept it and either take a lower, non-guaranteed contract just for the chance of latching on with someone. Others will take a chance that someone like Travis Hafner or Justin Morneau will struggle to stay healthy or hope that the Mariners keep to their word and push to turn Montero into a real catcher or that Adam Dunn’s performance last season wasn’t a one year fluke. Outside of that, we’ve likely seen the end of playing days for most, if not all of these players.

And that is where the real rub is. These teams don’t need to take the chances on these guys anymore. Years of practice in building better farm systems mean that they can plug what few holes are left with younger and cheaper players who have the hunger of youth on their side. They aren’t playing for records and they aren’t playing for ego; they still play for the dream.

And in 15 years, they’ll be stepping off the field and onto the golf course, making way for the next wave of dreamers and the next generation of fans.

It is somewhat ironic that just minutes after I submitted this post to the schedule that I learned of the passing of former Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers catcher Gary Carter. At 57, the 2003 Hall of Fame inductee succumbed to a recently diagnosed brain tumor.

The reason I say it is ironic is that in the same span of time that I was writing about the passing of baseball from one generation to the next, one of our generations greatest backstops passed away with many of the current generation really knowing nothing about him. Maybe it was because Carter wasn't the flashiest guy on the field. Maybe it was because he played the game in the shadows of the likes of Andre Dawson or the Strawberry/Gooden combo. Or maybe it was because he spent his entire career behind the mask, quietly doing his job to the peak of his abilities.

Regardless, every generation should know that for the longest time, Carter ranked right up there with Johnny Bench as the guy that people set as the mark of a great catcher. Carter was an 11-time All-Star, 3-time gold glover, and a 5-time silver slugger winner. He was a catcher that could hit in a time when catchers didn't hit well.

So in a week when death just seems to hang over us, I wanted to make sure that we all tipped our hats for one of the good guys in sports.