Jamie Moyer is cooler than you

At age 49 years and 150 day, Jamie Moyer won a major league baseball game.
He pushed former Dodger Jack Quinn aside and set the record for oldest pitcher to win a game. (Quinn pitched one more season after getting that last win but couldn't chalk up another W!)

So caps off to Jamie Moyer, an All Star and World Series champion and millionaire many times over.

I've written two pieces about Moyer that I want to dust off in this momentous occasion. 

This January I wrote a 25 Man Roster consisting only of players who were born after Jamie Moyer's big league debut on June 16, 1986. It's not a bad roster with Buster Posey, Elvis Andrus, Justin Upton and Clayton Kershaw.

And in 2010, I wondered about the beginning of Jamie Moyer's career. Had he just been mediocre in his 20s, we'd be talking about him for the Hall of Fame.

Congrats Mr. Moyer. May you break your own record many times over. 

All “Born After Jamie Moyer’s Debut” Team - A 25 Man Roster

Jamie Moyer is going to try and keep pitching. He’s sitting on 267 wins and signed with the Colorado Rockies (always a good place for pitchers to revive their career) at age 49.

More than one person has noted that Moyer has pitched in the majors longer than some players have been alive. And that’s true, seeing that he’s logged 24 years in the show. But we here at Sully Baseball don’t just make idle statements. We create 25 man rosters.

So here a 25 man roster of the best players born after Jamie Moyer’s big league debut. I used June 16, 1986 as the absolute oldest date allowed for this roster. He pitched 6 1/3 innings at Wrigley Field that day, earning the win for the Cubs against the Phillies. He beat future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton that day. He got future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt to ground into a double play.

Every single player on this roster was born AFTER that day.

Felix Hernandez, Billy Butler and Yovani Gallardo were born in 1986, but before his debut, so I excluded them.

But don’t worry. There are All Stars, World Series heroes and even a Cy Young Award winner who can honestly say that Jamie Moyer has been a big leaguer longer than they’ve been alive.

All “Born After Jamie Moyer’s Debut” Team

Starting Catcher
Buster Posey

The 2010 Rookie of the Year gave the Giants a much needed spark in their lineup and helped propel them to the World Series title. His season ending injury in 2011 probably ended his catching career. He has 32 career starts at first base.

Posey was born on March 27th, 1987, just before Moyer began his second season in the majors.



Starting First Baseman
Freddie Freeman

One of the brightest young stars in the game, Freeman finished second in the 2011 Rookie of the year vote. He smacked 21 homers and hit to a .282 clip.

Freeman was born on September 12, 1989, two days after Moyer threw a complete game victory for the Rangers against the Orioles.


Starting Second Baseman
Gordon Beckham

The White Sox first round draft pick in 2008 has made his mark at second base. He finished 5th in the 2009 Rookie of the Year vote, slugging 14 homers and posting an .808 OPS.

Beckham was born on September 16, 1986, the day after Moyer pitched 5 innings to defeat the Expos in Montreal, getting future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson to ground out to end a rally.


Starting Shortstop
Elvis Andrus

Andrus, stolen from the Braves organization in the Mark Teixeira deal, has been the spark plug for the Rangers back to back pennant winners. He has at least 32 steals in all three of his seasons and stole 4 bases in the Rangers ALCS upset over the Yankees in 2010.

Andrus was born August 26, 1988, three days after Moyer threw a complete game 9-3 victory over the Astros, helped by a home run by future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson.


Starting Third Baseman
Pablo Sandoval

The beloved “Kung Fu Panda” exploded onto the scene and into the hearts of Giants fans in 2008. He posted an OPS above .900 in both 2009 and 2011 and provided much needed home run pop. He struggled in the Giants World Series title run but clubbed a key RBI double in the NLCS against Philadelphia.

Sandoval was born on August 11, 1986, the same day Jamie Moyer and the Cubs lost 10-7 to Pittsburgh.


Starting Left Fielder
Mike Stanton

One of the most exciting young sluggers in the game, Stanton made the Marlins squad in 2010 at age 20 and hit 22 homers. He followed that with 34 jacks in 2011 and an 141 OPS+.

Stanton was born on November 8, 1989. Moyer had finished his first season with Texas then and had 32 career big league wins.


Starting Center Fielder
Andrew McCutchen

McCutchen, a rare Pirates draft pick that wasn’t a bust, is the electric and multi talented centerpiece to the franchise. Super fast with power and a flare for the dramatic, he made the 2011 All Star team with 23 homers, 23 stolen bases, 89 RBI and a 127 OPS+.

McCutchen was born on October 10, 1986, 15 days after Moyer pitched 7 solid innings against the eventual World Champion New York Mets.


Starting Right Fielder
Justin Upton

The first pick in the 2005 draft made it to the Diamondbacks in time to play in the 2007 NLCS. He broke out in 2009 and last year was one of the best players in the National League, displaying 31 homer power, 21 stolen base speed, an OPS of .898 and helped propel Arizona back into playoffs. He crushed 2 homers in the Division Series against Milwaukee.

Upton was born on August 25, 1987, 5 days before Moyer got roughed up by Atlanta in a 13-4 Cubs loss.


Designated Hitter
Jay Bruce

A key part in the Reds turnaround, Bruce was a consistent home run threat and an All Star in 2011. His walk off homer clinched the NL Central title for the Reds in 2010 and was one of the most dramatic moments in Reds history.

Bruce was born on April 3, 1987, 4 days before Moyer would throw 1/3 inning of relief for the Cubs in their 9-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.


Rotation

Clayton Kershaw

One of the most dynamic young pitchers in the game, Kershaw had dynamic stuff right out of the minor leagues. But everything came together in a magnificent 2011. He led the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and hits per nine innings and winning the Cy Young Award over favorites Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

Kershaw was born on March 19, 1988, just before Moyer was to begin his third season in the major leagues.


Tommy Hanson

A 22nd round draft pick, Hanson worked his way up the Braves system to become a mainstay in their rotation. He has a career 3.28 ERA over 460 1/3 innings pitched during his three years in Atlanta. Hanson started a game in the 2010 Division Series against the Giants.

Hanson was born on August 28, 1986, the day after Moyer lost a 7-1 game for the Cubs in Houston.


Jaime Garcia

Garcia finished third in the 2010 Rookie of the Year vote when he won 13 games to a 2.70 ERA for the Cardinals. He won 13 games the next year and started 5 games in the post season. He had a 1.80 in over 10 innings in the 2011 World Series.

Garcia was born on July 8, 1986, 2 days before Moyer lasted only 2/3 of an innings in the Cubs 11-4 loss to the Dodgers.


Jeremy Hellickson

After losing Matt Garza and many other key members to their pitching staff, the Rays needed to look within for the 2011 season. They found Jeremy Hellickson who went 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA over 189 innings. He won the Rookie of the Year and helped pitch the Rays to their third playoff berth in four years.

Hellickson was born on April 8, 1987, 5 days before Moyer pitched 8 strong innings, striking out 12 to win the game for the Cubs over the Phillies.


Daniel Hudson

Once a top prospect for the White Sox, Hudson flourished with the Diamondbacks in 2011. He won 16 games and logged 222 innings as Arizona made it back to the playoffs. He also batted .277 and won the Silver Slugger Award.

Hudson was born on March 9, 1987 as Moyer was in spring training getting ready for his second big league season.




Bullpen

Neftali Feliz

Another part of the terrific Mark Teixeira trade, Feliz became the Rookie of the Year in 2010 and clinched the Rangers first ever pennant. He closed out their second pennant the next year and came within a strike of clinching the World Series. At age 24, he has become one of the top closers in the game.

Feliz was born on May 2, 1988, the same day Jamie Moyer pitched 6 innings and got the win for the Cubs in Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego.


Aroldis Chapman

“The Cuban Missile” arrived on American shores with an arm that seemed super human. He averaged 12.8 strikeouts per inning pitched and has almost a 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio while hitting triple digits on the radar gun.

Chapman was born on February 28, 1988, just as Jamie Moyer was reporting to spring training after 2 seasons in the bigs.



Craig Kimbrel

Kimbrel was brought up to help the Braves during the stretch run in 2010 and his 17.4 strikeouts per 9 innings gave Atlanta an outstanding pen. The next year he kept up his dazzling numbers, saving 46, striking out 127 and walking only 32 in 77 innings. He won Rookie of the Year in 2011.

Kimbrel was born on May 28th, 1988, 4 days after Moyer pitched into the 10th inning of a hard luck 3-0 Cubs loss to the Atlanta Braves.



Ivan Nova

“The Super Nova” gave the Yankees an unlikely source of depth on the staff in 2011. After an unremarkable promotion in 2010, he received Rookie of the Year consideration in 2011, winning 16 games and throwing 165 1/3 innings. In the suspended Game 1 of the Division Series, Nova won the game with 6 1/3 effective relief innings.

Nova was born on January 12, 1987, after Moyer’s first season in the majors.


Vance Worley

With a team loaded with Cy Young contenders, Worley gave the 2011 Phillies outrageous pitching depth. He went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA and gave the Phillies help with long relief as well.

Worley was born on September 25, 1987, two days after Moyer and the Cubs lost 5-0 to the Phillies in Wrigley Field


The Bench

Reserve Infielder
Starlin Castro

Castro became one of the elite shortstops in the game before he could legally buy a drink. A solid hitter with some pop, he finished 5th in the 2010 Rookie of the Year vote. The next year he made the All Star team while leading the league in hits. Off the field problems are already haunting him, but they are unresolved as of this writing.

The first big leaguer born in the 1990s, Castro was born on March 24, 1990 just as Moyer was beginning his second season with the Texas Rangers.


Reserve Infielder
Pedro Alvarez

The left handed power hitting third baseman provided some pop for the Pirates when he arrived in Pittsburgh during the 2010 season. His numbers tailed off during his second year in the Steel City but remains an important piece in the Pirates hopes for 2012 and beyond.

Alvarez was born on February 6, 1987, just as pitchers and catchers were reporting for Cubs spring training and Jamie Moyer was preparing for his second season.


Reserve Outfielder
Jason Heyward

The J-Hey Kid homered in his first at bat and became an instant fan favorite in Atlanta. He wound up hitting 18 homers posting a 131 OPS+ and finishing second in the Rookie of the Year vote as the Braves returned to the playoffs. He tailed off badly in his second year but remains a big reason for the Braves optimism for the years to come.

Heyward was born on August 9th, 1989 while Jamie Moyer was recovering from injuries. He would come back to the Rangers that September.


Reserve Outfielder
Austin Jackson

Acquired from the Yankees in the Curtis Granderson deal, Jackson gave the Tigers a solid centerfielder with speed and extra base power. He finished second in the 2010 Rookie of the Year vote. The next season he led the league in triples and played a key part in Detroit’s Division Title.

Jackson was born on February 1, 1987 as Moyer was preparing for his second big league season.


Reserve Catcher
Alex Avila

The All Star and Silver Slugger catcher had his breakout season in 2011, helping the Tigers win the Division and make it to the ALCS.

When Avila was born on January 29, 1987, Moyer had 7 career big league victories.


25th Man
Madison Bumgarner

There are several choices for the 25th man, but I am going with Bumgarner for the way he shone on the biggest stage. The 20 year old Bumgarner already showed he had great stuff for the 2010 Giants, but in Game 4 of the World Series he threw 8 shutout innings against the hard hitting Rangers to earn the victory and put San Francisco on the cusp of the title. He won 13 games and pitched to a 3.21 ERA over 204 2/3 innings in 2011 helping create an incredible 1-2-3 punch in the Giants rotation with Lincecum and Cain.

Bumgarner was born on August 1, 1989 as Moyer was rehabbing and a month before he returned to the Texas rotation on September 5th.



That is a solid 25 man roster with some other names left off.

Rick Porcello, Michael Pineda and Chris Volstad are all talented arms. Matt Moore has already had post season glory. Alicides Escobar and Gerardo Parra have had their moments. Mike Trout will probably become a big star.

And Colby Rasmus is in my doghouse, so forgive me if I went with 5 other outfielders.

And Jamie Moyer can come up to each of these players and say “Hey, I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been on this Earth!”

Good luck Jamie.
I hope you get those 300 wins!

We haven't seen a day like today since October 15, 2001

OK, who is playing in the NLCS.
We have no clue at this point.

It could be Brewers vs. Phillies.
It could be Diamondbacks vs. Phillies.
It could be Brewers vs. Cardinals.
It could be Diamondbacks vs. Cardinals.

And we will find out by the end of tonight. For the first time since October 15, 2001, both Division Series of a league are going the full 5 games.

For the first time in 10 years the right to go the LCS is basically a one game affair.

In 2001, like this year, there were actually 3 game 5's.

The Diamondbacks and Cardinals played a thriller that ended with Tony Womack's walk off hit in the bottom of the 9th, making Curt Schilling a complete game winner.

The Mariners, who won 116 games that year, forced a fifth game after coming from behind and winning the 4th game in Cleveland. Jamie Moyer out pitched Chuck Finley to give the Mariners the 3-1 win.

In New York, just 2 days after Jeter's flip to Posada, the Yankees looked to come all the way back from the 0-2 hole. They fell behind in the game 2-0 but an error by Eric Chavez put the Yankees up for good in the third. They would hold on to the 5-3 win.

Who will be the heroes tonight?
What will the match up be?

One team playing tonight will have home field advantage in the World Series eventually.
Two teams will become obscure playoff participants.

We've been waiting 10 years for a night like this.

Latest Post on THE HARDBALL TIMES - If Jamie Moyer had been average in his 20s

My latest article for The Hardball Times ponders the question "If Jamie Moyer had pitched better in his twenties, would he be a Hall of Fame candidate?"

The debate over the value of wins in determining a pitcher's worth found an interesting case study with Felix Hernandez and the Cy Young Award this year.

Imagine if Jamie Moyer was on the cusp of 300 wins?

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Jamie Moyer deserved better

What the hell happened to the Phillies? Aren't they supposed to be the NL answer to the Yankees and Red Sox juggernaut?

Aren't they supposed to be a dynasty in the making?

Don't the know they have Jamie Moyer pitching tonight, sitting on 267 wins... a mere 33 wins from a trip to Cooperstown?

He pitched well... 6 innings, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts versus the lowly Pirates.

But the mighty Phillies managed NO runs off of Ross Ohlendorf! Going into tonight's game he was tied with ME for wins.

Come on Phils!
You've got an unlikely uniform to retire and Hall of Fame ticket to punch. Let's get on the ball. You can't blame EVERYTHING on Chase Utley's injury!

What was so hard about that?

Tonight was just what this Red Sox fan ordered.

A nice blowout win. Good pitching. Good hitting. Even a turn back the clock home run from Mike Lowell.

I feel bad for Jamie Moyer, whose Hall of Fame candidacy is looking less and less insane, but a nice old fashioned ass whuppin from the Sox made for a very calm drive home tonight.

And a nice performance by John Lackey against a contender didn't hurt either.

Win one of the next two... win the series... and make it easy like tonight.

Next stop for the Jamie Moyer Express... COOPERSTOWN!

I wrote a piece last March tongue firmly in cheek about Jamie Moyer possibly winning 42 more games over his career... getting to win #300... and becoming the single most unlikely Hall of Famer possibly of all time.

It was a theoretical post as Moyer was 47 years old going into this season (and has now pitched in 4 different decades) and would have to go a few years into THIS decade to pull it off.

It was just one of those Sully Baseball idle thoughts that I have 4,392 times a day.

Well in his performance last night, a 2 hit shutout against the Atlanta Braves, he sure looked like a guy who had his eyes on the prize.

Look, I don't think he is going to get to 300... but he's only 38 wins away now.

38 wins doesn't seem like that much, does it?
Especially on a team like Philadelphia.

I still don't think he will... but man am I rooting for it!

I talked earlier this week about the passing of one Phillies Ace, Robin Roberts and the dominance of the new Phillies ace, Roy Halladay.

I might be wrong about this, but I think Moyer is closer in age to Robers than Halladay!

Can there be 42 more wins for Jamie Moyer?

On June 16, 1986, the Cubs were facing the Phillies at Wrigley Field. Both teams were hopelessly behind the Mets. The Phillies started Steve Carlton that day, whose brilliant Hall of Fame career was winding down. Future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Ryne Sandberg also played in that game. So did some big names from the 1970s like Davey Lopes and Kent Tekulve.

And pitching for the Cubs that day was a rookie making his big league debut. He won the game, beating Carlton, letting up 4 runs in 6 1/3 innings.

That pitcher is now in Philadelphia and still pitching... in fact Jamie Moyer won the 5th starter's job for the Phillies going into the 2010 season... and guess what? When all is said and done, HE could be a Hall of Famer!

He will be pitching in his 4th decade (yes, I am counting this as a new decade.) In his first six seasons in the bigs, he played for three different teams, went 34-54 with an ERA in the high 4's. He spent all of 1992 in the minor leagues. I bet if you told him then that he would still be pitching in the bigs in 2010... well he probably would have thought you were either crazy or wondered how you bent the rules of time and space.

But here he is... all of these years later... still pitching. Thanks to a truly rotten trade by the Red Sox, Moyer settled into a groove in Seattle and pitched for 10 1/2 seasons. And now has spent the past 3 1/2 seasons in Philly.

He has a World Series ring with the 2008 Phillies, a pair of top 5 Cy Young finishes and one more top 10 finish, pitched in the 2003 All Star Game and along the way earned 10s of millions of dollars.

You'd think that would be enough. But folks... he's pitching on arguably the best team in the National League. In two of the last three years his ERA has soared to nearly 5 but his win totals remained in double digits.

He is currently sitting on 258 wins.

Imagine if he wins 12 this year, which isn't out of the question.
And then he wins 11 the year afterwards.

Are you seeing where I am taking this?

Let's say he has 4 mediocre seasons with high win totals. If over the next 4 seasons, get wins 10 or 11 each year...

He'd get 300 wins, and we're talking first ballot Hall of Famer.

Does he have it in him? He'll be 47 this season, so I am talking about pitching into his 50s.

But can he do it? He's not a power pitcher. In his prime, his pitches couldn't destroy a spider web.

He has the NL's best lineup hitting behind him and he'll be starting every fifth day.

Basically Jamie Moyer is to pitching what Harold Baines was to batting.
Harold had a nice but hardly eye popping career. But as I wrote before, if he got 7 more hits a year, he would have cleared 3,000 and been Hall of Fame bound.

Moyer doesn't have a shot without 300. But NOT reaching 300 is the only thing keeping Bert Blyleven out.

And the idea of Jamie Moyer being a Hall of Famer while an ace and a post season stud like Jack Morris is kept out is mildly insane.

But I like insanity. So count me in to wanting to see Jamie Moyer get 42 more wins in his career.

How can you not root for a man who career stretches from playing Ron Cey to playing with Cole Hamels?

And THAT'S the season folks!

Congrats to the WORLD CHAMPION PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES!

It's hard not to feel good for Charlie Manuel, Jamie Moyer and Matt Stairs.

And the Rays not winning the World Series doesn't make their incredible season any less memorable.
(Who would have thought that winning the World Series would even be a standard for the Rays?)

I'll write a lot more later...
But watching the Phillies dispatch the Rays in 5 just made me think "WHY COULDN'T THE RED SOX DO THAT?"

Oh well.
I feel good for my cousins, for Mike Ferraro, Joe Mortimer, Tami Vernekoff and every other Phillies fan out there.

Enjoy it.

(Seriously... if only the Sox won one of those games at Fenway... let it go. Let it go!)