There are certain players who, when you think of a team, you can’t help but think of that player wearing that uniform. There’s something about putting on that uniform every day that sticks in people’s minds. You’ll always be in that uniform … even if someday you wear somebody else’s.
José Ramírez has certainly attained that status for the Guardians. Sunday marked Ramírez's 1,619th career game, all of which have come with Cleveland. That ties him with Terry Turner for first in franchise history. He could secure sole possession of the record as soon as Monday, which would make him the only active player to lead an MLB franchise in games played.
Below, we take a look at the player who has played the most games with each individual franchise.
(Active leaders may include players who are no longer with that franchise. Totals are updated through April 5, 2026.)
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Tony Fernandez, SS (1,450)
Runner-up: Carlos Delgado (1,423) | Active leader: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (984)
Guerrero, who signed a 14-year, $500 million extension with the Blue Jays in 2025, will likely surpass this total in the near future, but for now Toronto's all-time leader is Fernandez. Fernandez actually played for seven teams in his career, but 12 seasons of his 17-year career came with the Jays; he edges out Delgado by 27 games.
Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr., SS/3B (3,001)
Runner-up: Brooks Robinson (2,896) | Active leader: Manny Machado (860)
The streak may have ended at 2,632 games, but Ripken actually played 3,001 games for the Orioles. Robinson is a lot closer to Cal than you might otherwise think.
Rays: Evan Longoria, 3B (1,435)
Runner-up: Carl Crawford (1,235) | Active leader: Yandy Díaz (825)
Longoria, Crawford and Ben Zobrist are the only players who have played at least 1,000 games for the Rays since the franchise entered MLB in 1998. Díaz has a chance to become the fourth if he stays with Tampa Bay through 2027.
Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski, OF (3,308)
Runner-up: Dwight Evans (2,505) | Active leader: Xander Bogaerts (1,264)
For a team with as rich of a history as the Red Sox, it’s jarring to see someone with that much of a lead over second place. Of course, Yaz is second on the all-time games played list behind Pete Rose, but Yaz only played for one team.
Yankees: Derek Jeter, SS (2,747)
Runner-up: Mickey Mantle (2,401) | Active leader: Aaron Judge (1,154)
Lots of huge names on this list, obviously, though Yogi Berra (2,116 as a player) passes Jeter if you count all the many games he wore the uniform well after his playing days were over.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Cleveland: José Ramírez, 3B and Terry Turner, INF (1,619)
Third place: Nap Lajoie (1,614) | Active leader: Ramírez
Turner, who played exclusively during the dead-ball era and finished his career with eight home runs, had held this record since his final season with Cleveland in 1918. But Ramírez is poised to pass him for first place, making him the only active player to lead an MLB franchise in games played.
Royals: George Brett, 3B (2,707)
Runner-up: Frank White (2,324) | Active leader: Salvador Perez (1,716)
Perez will soon pass Brett for first on the Royals' all-time home run list, but he has a ways to go to overtake him in the games-played department. Brett played two full decades for the Royals, from his age-20 season to his age-40. Did you realize he stole 201 bases in his career?
Tigers: Al Kaline, OF (2,834)
Runner-up: Ty Cobb (2,806) | Active leader: Nick Castellanos (837)
Kaline is one of the more underappreciated players in baseball history … but certainly not by Tigers fans.
Twins: Harmon Killebrew, 1B/3B/OF (2,329)
Runner-up: Sam Rice (2,307) | Active leader: Byron Buxton (906)
Killebrew played 390 games in a Senators uniform before the franchise moved to Minnesota, where he played another 1,939 games. Joe Mauer (1,858) ranks second behind Killebrew if we just look at the Minny years.
White Sox: Luke Appling, SS (2,422)
Runner-up: Paul Konerko (2,268) | Active leader: Yoán Moncada (739)
Appling was the all-time games leader when he retired, well earning his famous “Old Aches and Pains” nickname. As for Konerko, it’s easy to forget he actually debuted with the Dodgers and played part of two seasons in L.A. (and one in Cincinnati!) before landing on the South Side.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Angels: Garret Anderson, OF (2,013)
Runner-up: Tim Salmon (1,672) | Active leader: Mike Trout (1,658)
Anderson had injury problems late in his career, but his longevity is under-considered: He ended up with 2,500-plus hits, after all.
A’s: Bert Campaneris, SS (1,795)
Runner-up: Rickey Henderson (1,704) | Active leader: Marcus Semien (773)
Campaneris spent 13 seasons with the Athletics, playing for the team in both Kansas City and Oakland. Henderson, who had four separate stints with the A's during his 25-year career, came close to surpassing Campaneris but fell just shy of the record.
Astros: Craig Biggio, 2B/C (2,850)
Runner-up: Jeff Bagwell (2,150) | Active leader: Jose Altuve (1,986)
It’s probably fair to say that moving away from being a catcher helped to extend Biggio’s career a bit, yes? There is probably not another franchise with a more obvious top two than this one.
Mariners: Edgar Martinez, 3B/DH (2,055)
Runner-up: Ichiro Suzuki (1,861) | Active leader: J.P. Crawford (861)
Ichiro didn’t debut with Seattle until he was 27, so he’d be the clear leader here had he not spent his formative years playing in Japan.
Rangers: Michael Young, SS/2B (1,823)
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus (1,652) | Active leader: Adolis García (745)
Young came that close to a World Series twice, but his 13 years in Arlington outlasted everyone.
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Braves: Hank Aaron, OF (3,076)
Runner-up: Chipper Jones (2,499) | Active leader: Freddie Freeman (1,565)
Aaron played 21 seasons for the Braves -- 12 in Milwaukee and nine after the franchise moved to Atlanta. His 3,298 games played overall rank third all time, behind only Pete Rose and Carl Yastrzemski.
Marlins: Luis Castillo, 2B (1,128)
Runner-up: Jeff Conine (1,014) | Active leader: Giancarlo Stanton (986)
I, like you, thought the answer would be Conine. He was 114 games short. Castillo actually leads the Marlins in (take a breath) games, at-bats, plate appearances, runs, hits, triples, stolen bases, caught stealing and sac bunts.
Mets: Ed Kranepool, 1B (1,853)
Runner-up: David Wright (1,585) | Active leader: Brandon Nimmo (1,066)
It’s still Ed! Wright’s injuries kept him from catching him. But because Kranepool spent so much time as a part-time player, Wright has way more plate appearances with the Mets than Kranepool (6,872 to 5,997) … not to mention a lot more hits, homers, RBIs, runs and pretty much everything else.
Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, 3B/1B (1,799)
Runner-up: Tim Wallach (1,767) | Active leader: Bryce Harper (927)
The Nationals’ first Draft pick represented the franchise honorably for nearly two decades and now holds many of its most significant offensive records.
Phillies: Mike Schmidt, 3B (2,404)
Runner-up: Jimmy Rollins (2,090) | Active leader: Bryce Harper (867)
Believe it or not, Rollins actually had more at-bats than Schmidt with the Phillies (8,628 to 8,352), which can be attributed to Rollins almost always batting leadoff and walking a lot less often than Schmidt.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Brewers: Robin Yount, SS/OF (2,856)
Runner-up: Paul Molitor (1,856) | Active leader: Christian Yelich (982)
We will all think of Yount every time we see that specific hat logo, forever. Bet you did not realize that he played in exactly 1,000 more games in Milwaukee than Molitor.
Cardinals: Stan Musial, 1B/OF (3,026)
Runner-up: Lou Brock (2,289) | Active leader: Paul Goldschmidt (836)
The Man set the precedent, and the example, for Cardinals baseball that the franchise attempts to live up to still today.
Cubs: Ernie Banks, SS/1B (2,528)
Runner-up: Cap Anson (2,277) | Active leader: Ian Happ (1,148)
Mr. Cub played in three different decades at the Friendly Confines and, of course, never sniffed a World Series or postseason game. He’s the all-time record holder in most games played without ever reaching the playoffs, and it feels pretty safe that such a sad record will stand the test of time.
Pirates: Roberto Clemente, OF and Honus Wagner, SS (2,433)
Third place: Willie Stargell (2,360) | Active leader: Andrew McCutchen (1,713)
Clemente and Wagner having the exact same number of games played for the Pirates is one of the stats that makes you do a quadruple take.
Reds: Pete Rose, 1B/3B/OF (2,722)
Runner-up: Dave Concepcion, SS (2,488) | Active leader: Eugenio Suárez (925)
Rose still tops this list despite spending time with the Expos and Phillies.
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
D-backs: Luis Gonzalez, OF (1,194)
Runner-up: Paul Goldschmidt (1,092) | Active leader: Goldschmidt
Gonzalez played 1,194 regular-season games for the D-backs, but it’s fair to say he’ll be remembered for one -- that walk-off in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series -- most of all.
Dodgers: Zack Wheat, OF (2,322)
Runner-up: Bill Russell (2,181) | Active leader: Chris Taylor (1,007)
Wheat became the Dodgers' all-time leader in games played during the 1918 season and has held the record ever since, though all of those games came while the franchise was still located in Brooklyn.
Giants: Willie Mays, OF (2,857)
Runner-up: Mel Ott (2,730) | Active leader: Mike Yastrzemski (790)
The legendary Mays surpassed Ott for the franchise record in 1971, which turned out to be his last full season with the Giants before being traded to the Mets in '72.
Padres: Tony Gwynn, OF (2,440)
Runner-up: Garry Templeton (1,286) | Active leader: Manny Machado (977)
It speaks to Gwynn’s longevity and identity with this club that he has almost twice as many games played as No. 2 on this list.
Rockies: Todd Helton, 1B (2,247)
Runner-up: Charlie Blackmon (1,624) | Active leader: Nolan Arenado (1,079)
No player is more synonymous with the Rockies than Helton, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024.