The seven, or eight, or maybe nine iterations of the Versus Club
The v30 Club gets its name from the phrase “[homered] v[ersus all] 30 [teams].” Stated another way, it consists of players that have hit a home run against all the franchises that existed during their playing career. Each expansion of Major League Baseball has ushered in another version of the Club. Let’s take a look at how the v30 Club has evolved.
The v16 Club, First Edition (1901-1902)
We consider the founding of the American League in 1901 as the start of our v30 journey. The National League had been around since 1876 but experienced instability with numerous teams folding, disbanding, or outright expelled with some teams only lasting a single season. But as we entered the Modern Era in 1901 there also came remarkable stability after a single early-century shuffle.
The Baltimore Orioles of the 1901 American League were not the same Orioles that played for the American Association between 1882 and 1891 then the National League between 1892 and 1899. They were also not the same Orioles that currently play in Baltimore. No, the 1901 version of the Orioles are their own distinct team. Of course, the Milwaukee Brewers (but not the present-day Milwaukee Brewers) were also a founding American League franchise. Prior to the 1902 season they moved to St. Louis and became the Browns. The Brewers/Browns franchise would go on to become the current-day Orioles. This is all great baseball history, but for the v-Club there were 16 franchises in 1901 and 1902 because franchise relocation does not add more teams. Unsurprisingly, there are no v16 club members in this first edition.
The v17 Club, (1903- approx. 1920)
The Orioles disbanded after the 1902 season. Their replacement was the New York Highlanders, who we know today as the New York Yankees. Historians have cemented a position that the 1901-02 Orioles and the 1903 Highlanders are not considered the same franchise.
Read more: The 1901-1902 Baltimore Orioles
This leaves us in a sticky spot because most players in 1903 are technically playing towards the v17 Club, meaning the 16 franchises in place in 1903 plus the 1901-02 version of the Orioles. There are 434 players who played in the years 1901 and/or 1902 and then any season thereafter. The last player to officially retire that could have potentially played against the Orioles was Nick Altrock, a pitcher who played who hit in his final game in 1933 but hadn’t played regularly since 1909. Yes, those are years are… staggering to say the least. Altrock never played against the Orioles. Hall of Famer Johnny Evers debuted in 1902 and played his final game in 1929 but his regular playing time had ended by 1917. George McBride ends up as our anchor debuting in 1901 and retiring in 1920 making the v17 era the years 1903 to 1920 for players debuting before 1903. None of the of those aforementioned 434 players hit one against all 17 franchises.
The v16 Club Redux, (1903-1960)
If your major league debut was in 1903 or after you were positioned to join the second edition of the v16 Club. This was an era of peace and prosperity for the American and National Leagues as there was no team movement whatsoever until the early 1950s. Then came the relocation boom, but to reiterate, franchises moving does not add more teams to the Club.
There are three members of the v16 Club and now is a good time to look at some Club mechanics. For any batter playing before Interleague play began in 1997 you had to play for at least two American League teams and two National League teams during your career. Start with American League team A. You can’t hit a home run against AL team A until you’re playing for American League team B. Since the AL and NL didn’t play each other you’d repeat while playing for National League teams C and D. There were only 161 position players who met this criteria who played the entirety of their career before the first MLB expansion in 1961.
The v18 Club (1961)
It may have only lasted one season, but the v18 Club is my favorite of the clubs despite having no members. The American League expanded to 10 teams in 1961 with the addition of the Los Angeles Angels and the next iteration of the Washington Senators (the previous iteration who moved to Minnesota and re-branded as the Twins after the 1960 season).
How did expansion affect memberships? If you debuted prior to 1961 you now had to collect the “original” 16 franchises plus the two expansion teams but you had to do it all before the end of the 1961 season because here comes the…
The v20 Club (1962-1968)
The National League followed suit in 1962 and added Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets as expansion teams. Now batters had to have the original 16, plus the Angels and new Senators, plus these two teams to make it into the Club. Another mechanism of the v-Club is that nothing is retroactive. Let’s say that by 1965 a batter has ledgered against all the teams except the Mets and Astros. This does not grant them admission into the v18 Club. Once the league expands membership opportunities for previous club versions are permanently closed.
There are two members in the v20 Club.
The v24 Club (1969-1976)
The biggest MLB expansion was four teams added in 1969: The Kansas City Royals, Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos, and San Diego Padres are all added and all v30 rules still apply. There are three members in the v24 Club.
The v26 Club (1977-1992)
1977 saw the addition of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. Whereas the two previous Clubs had lifespans of 7 or 8 seasons, the v26 club had some stability clocking in at 16 seasons and the number of members is reflected accordingly at seven.
The v28 Club (1993-1997)
The Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins are added in 1993 to bring the number of franchises up to 28. More important is the year 1997 which is the first year of Interleague play and where a key Club mechanism changes. Because American League teams now face off against some National League teams each year, there is no longer the requirement that you must play for two AL teams and two NL teams. Now you just had to play for two different teams and their leagues didn’t matter (i.e. you could theoretically play for one team, collect all 29 other teams then collect the team you played for previously after moving to a second team).
There are three members in the v28 Club.
The v30 Club (1998-Present)
With the addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays we reached our present-day count of 30 franchises. Interleague play obviously becomes a huge boon to players getting added as opportunities become more abundant. But to be clear, Interleague play between 1997 and 2001 was only between the same divisions (e.g. AL East vs NL East). After 2001 the match-ups rotated (e.g. AL East vs NL Central one season, AL East vs NL West the next). This meant that a long-tenured player was only getting certain opportunities once every three years. Despite this slow churn, there were 67 players inducted before 2023.
The latest timeline marker is the introduction of the balanced schedule in 2023. Now instead of waiting up to three years between opportunity against a particular opponent, you now had a chance every season to get that ledger. Balanced scheduling means a team plays all other 29 teams over the course of a season. This means it’s possible for a batter to collect all 29 teams in a rookie season then wait for a team move to collect the last.
Nine additional players joined the v30 Club in 2023 signaling a big shift in how home runs could be collected.
The v32 Club (the future)
It may not seem like it but we are amidst the second longest period of stability that baseball has ever seen. Expansion is still on the distant horizon with no clarity as to the when or where. And to repeat, team moves don’t change Club status so the current histrionics in Oakland, Sacramento, and Las Vegas over the next few years don’t change anything. That team will still be the same Philadelphia Athletics team founded in 1901 (and to match an Orioles energy not the 1876 National League team, or 1882 American Association team, OR the 1890 Players’ League team. The former two teams are noted in history as “expelled” from their respective leagues).
When baseball does expand again, we’ll close the book on the v30 Club. Any club member still playing at that time will need to collect two more teams to collect another membership card and the door opens anew for anyone still looking to add a Club membership to their legacy.