Jamie Moyer: History (and Trivia) in the Making

Philadelphia Phillies fans are currently being treated to one of the great phenomena of Major League Baseball history.

I’m not talking about Jayson Werth’s 20 doubles, what could be the greatest 6-4-3 combination in baseball history , or the early season dominance of Roy Halladay. 

No, I’m talking about the continued career of Jamie Moyer, baseball’s ageless wonder.

I started watching baseball when I was nine years old, during the Reagan Administration.  That first year as a baseball fan, I fell in love with the 1987 Chicago Cubs, and thus began a lifetime of watching baseball.

I have followed the game through the competitive balance of the late 1980s, two expansions in 1993 and 1998, the 1994 baseball strike, the 1998 Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa saga, the Barry Bonds years, and the dawn of the post-steroid era. It has been a lifetime of baseball watching.

Jamie Moyer has been there the entire time.

The more I see Jamie Moyer, the more he reminds me of Eddie Harris, the Vaseline-wearing junk-ball pitcher played by Chelcie Ross in the movie Major League . Of course, the producers of Major League intentionally cast an older actor to exaggerate what a veteran pitcher he was—Chelcie Ross was meant to be a satirical punch line, a goof on ragged baseball players.

That “punch line” was 46 years old at the time, a year younger than Moyer is now.

Moyer hasn’t always been perceived as a major league-caliber pitcher. If you look at Moyer’s stat sheet, you’ll notice a conspicuous absence in the early 1990s. Moyer missed most of 1991 and almost all of 1992, not due to injury or Tommy John surgery, but due to the fact that he wasn’t very good.

Over the course of those two seasons, he logged over 260 innings for the Cardinals’ and Tigers’ Triple-A teams; he never even threw a major league pitch for the Tigers.

Moyer was 28 and 29, what should have been his prime, during those Triple-A seasons. Guys don’t usually come back from that. But a funny thing happened to Moyer during that time: He learned how to pitch.

His major league ERA in the three seasons before his demotion was 4.07 (93 ERA+). In the three seasons after returning to the majors, his ERA was 4.41 (108 ERA+). (It is important to not get hung up on the fact that his raw ERA went up. Look at his ERA+, and remember that Major League Baseball from 1988 to 1990 was fundamentally different from Major League Baseball from 1993 to 1995).

Since his return to the majors in 1993, Moyer has gone 229-143 with a 4.15 ERA (109 ERA+) in 533 games, while finishing in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting three times, winning 20 games twice, being a member of the 116-win 2001 Seattle Mariners, and going to two World Series with the Phillies.

If the phenomenon of Jamie Moyer were limited to the fact that he is 47 years old, that alone would be enough to be “gotta-go-see-him-when-he-comes-to-my-town” significant. Indeed, we’ve only seen six players Moyer’s age in the majors since World War II: Moyer, Julio Franco, Phil Niekro, Minnie Minoso, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Satchel Paige.

Nolan Ryan never made it to 47, nor did Jesse Orosco, Tommy John, Warren Spahn, or Gaylord Perry. Seeing a guy Moyer’s age play in the majors is, almost literally, a once in a lifetime event.

But Moyer isn’t just an old man playing baseball; he is an old man playing baseball effectively. The guy is the third starter on the prohibitive favorite for the NL pennant. Of the other five guys to make it to the age of 47, only Wilhelm and Niekro did it as actual contributors to their team.

At the age of 47, Franco appeared in 95 games, mostly as a pinch hitter, for the New York Mets. Satchel Paige and Minnie Minoso didn’t actually play until the age of 47—Paige retired at the age of 46 and made one relief appearance at the age of 58 as a novelty, and Minoso retired at the age of 38 before making brief novelty “comebacks” at the age of 50 and 54.

So, basically, three guys have played through the age of 47 in a meaningful way since World War II. That makes Moyer all the more significant.

The flip side to Jamie Moyer is that it seems like every time he pitches, he makes history, or more appropriately, he makes trivia. For example, in his first game of the season, he became one of a handful of players in major league history to play in four different decades. The others to join that club this year are Ken Griffey, Jr., and Omar Vizquel; again, not exactly contributors to their teams.

In Moyer’s most recent start, against the Milwaukee Brewers, the teams had a “turn-back-the-clock” style game in which they wore old throwback uniforms. Except…the uniform that Moyer was wearing, the “throwback,” was a replica of the very same uniforms the Phillies were wearing on the day he made his major league debut against them in 1986 against Steve Carlton.

How many players can say they wore a uniform that was a throwback to an earlier point in their own career?

Moyer is also now constantly facing batters who weren’t born yet when he made his major league debut. Last year, he faced off against Graham Taylor, Cameron Maybin, Justin Upton, Chris Volstad, Ryan Tucker, Jay Bruce, and Clayton Kershaw. This season, Moyer has struck out Braves super-phenom Jason Heyward, who was born in 1989, Moyer’s fourth year in the league.

And then, of course, there was May 7, 2010, the day that Moyer became the oldest player ever to pitch a major league shutout. He didn’t just shut out the Atlanta Braves that day; he faced only one more batter than the minimum 27 batters, he threw only 101 pitches, and his game was strikingly similar to the one pitched by Dallas Braden two days later , except that was a perfect game.

Of course, when you’ve been pitching as long as Moyer has, not all of your accomplishments are special. I n his most recent ball game, that throwback game against the Brewers, he gave up three home runs to join former Phillies legend Robin Roberts as one of only two players ever to give up 500 home runs in a career.

At this point, Moyer leads the league in home runs allowed and is only four away from taking sole possession of first place from Roberts. But as far as “bad” records go, even that is a fun one.

Here’s another Moyer Fun Fact: On Sept. 2, 1986, Moyer was matched up against Nolan Ryan, still a tender 39 years old, at Wrigley Field. That game went 17 innings, and the Cubs were forced to use a rookie pitcher as a pinch runner in the 17th. After the pinch runner failed to score, he stayed in to pitch the 18th inning—his major league pitching debut—and took the loss. That pitcher was Greg Maddux.

Maddux, of course, has been out of the league for two years and is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Moyer is still pitching. 

At the end of the day, the Philadelphia Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball, and Jamie Moyer plays, frankly, a way-too-important role on this team. At the same time, though, Moyer is a baseball specimen at this point, and every game he pitches in should be cherished by baseball fans.

Maybe someday someone will make a movie about Jamie Moyer; I think Chelcie Ross would be perfect for the role.

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The Top 10 Philadelphia Phillies Pitchers of All-Time

When Roy Halladay joined the Philadelphia Phillies, I made a comment on local sports-talk radio that Halladay immediately joins the Phillies’ Mount Rushmore of starting pitchers. Was this hyperbole?

Could a guy in his first season with the Phillies ( a team founded in 1883) possibly be one of the top four starting pitchers in the team’s history?

Let’s take a look at the All Time Phillies pitching staff.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Quarterly Analysis

As we near the quarter mark for the 2010 MLB Season, there have been a fair amount of surprise teams around the league.

One thing that’s not so surprising is, as of today, the Phillies are leading the National League in wins with 24; and with seven games before Philadelphia officially hits the quarter-mark of the 2010 season, 24 wins and counting is pretty darn good.

But that’s what anyone would expect of a team that’s been to the World Series two consecutive years, right?

What is interesting is how the Phillies have arrived upon this success.

Every team has it’s fair share of obstacles throughout the long MLB season.

The Phillies have had their fair share—but with their winning record, it’s easy to forget most of their obstacles.

From day one, the starting rotation has been a man short with Joe Blanton on the DL; the back end of the bullpen had Brad Lidge MIA as well.

Within two weeks of the start of the season, the team lost prolific lead-off man Jimmy Rollins to a calf strain, while 2009 Rookie of the Year starter JA Happ went down with an injury as well.

To make matters worse, Ryan Madson broke his toe fighting with a chair in San Francisco.

Guys were dropping like flies.

Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick seem to still be figuring things out; Raul Ibanez’s struggles at the plate, on the other hand, have been duly noted.

Placido Polanco has battled through a few injuries along the way as well, but he has stayed off the DL and is making GM Rubin Amaro look like a genius.

Through all the injuries, the Phillies continued to do all they could do; they kept fighting.

Flip the calender to May.

First, the Phillies get Joe Blanton and Brad Lidge back, but then Lidge goes on the DL a few days later.

Now what?

Enter newly-minted closer Jose Contreras—one of the biggest surprises of the season.

Next, Carlos Ruiz hurts his knee.

Now what?

Enter Paul Hoover as your starting catcher for a few days.

And now, here in Philadelphia, we sit staring at our newspaper a little awestruck after a dominating 12-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

We look over at the box score and see Jimmy Rollins hitting third and batting .400 after his first game back from injury.

We notice Shane Victorino, the fill-in leadoff hitter, leading the club with 32 RBI’s.

We notice Chase Utley, who leads the team with nine home runs.

We notice Ryan Howard’s HR total is a little lower than usual, though his batting average is higher than normal.

We notice Jayson Werth, who’s thriving (and we hope Amaro does whatever it takes to keep Werth in a Philadelphia uniform after the 2010 season).

We notice Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick’s hard work and progress.

We will remember those clutch hits and plays Wilson Valdez made while Rollins and Castro could not.

We marvel at the high level of performance and consistency Roy Halladay brings to the mound every fifth day.

We dream of a 100-win season for our Phillies, and a possible third trip to the World Series.

Almost a quarter of the way through the 2010 campaign—despite the trials and tribulations—this Phillies club looks confident, focused, and determined to keep fighting to make those dreams for Philadelphia fans a reality…

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Have the Philadelphia Phillies Already Found Their Closer?

In the last two years, the Phillies closer role has been filled by “a veritable who’s who of incompetent puppets,” as said by Dr. Kelso from ABC’s television show Scrubs.

In 2009, Brad Lidge did almost everything in his power to warrant a demotion from the closer’s role, if not from the major league roster in general. Blowing an almost mind-numbing 11 saves, as well as posting a 5.45 FIP, he was clearly earning the loser portion of closer. 

His gallant replacement was set-up man Ryan Madson. His pitching featured a simmering high 90’s fastball and disappearing change-up. He spelled Lidge on occasion, but unfortunately managed to muster an equally poor six blown saves. Despite that ugly number, Madson was mostly a victim of bad luck as his 3.23 FIP shows.

Regardless, to say the Phillies closer has been a weak spot would be an understatement.

Coming into 2010, Lidge was on the DL after multiple offseason surgeries, Madson was the stand-in closer, and Jose Contreras was a 38-year-old former starting pitcher that had suffered a disappointing 2009 campaign. The Phillies had taken a one-year flier on in an attempt to add some middle relief depth.

What a drastic role-reversal a couple of months can create. 

Now, in mid-May, after a brief and relatively successful return, Lidge is back on the disabled list, Madson ended up on the wrong side of a fight against a folding chair, and Jose Contreras—yes, that Jose Contreras—has emerged as the Phillies’ most successful and dominant reliever. 

Contreras’s rise has been quite extraordinary. He went through spring training with some bad statistics and some ugly outings. He looked like he was somehow going to turn the Phillies’ very small investment into a bad deal.

But somewhere between Spring Training and the regular season, Contreras managed to figure something out. 

At this point in the season, albeit early season, Contreras owns a magnificent 9.0 K/BB rate and 1.82 FIP. 

He is striking out batters at an alarming rate with a filthy mix of mid-90’s splitters and nasty sliders. Even more importantly, he has maintained some outstanding control with a very respectable BB/9 rate of 1.35.

So as of right now, the Phillies bullpen is not acting like the hole that would sink the Phillies ship that many expected it to be. Even more importantly, even in the absence of Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson, the Phillies closer role looks to be in decidedly good hands.

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Wilson Valdez Likely Axed with Return of Jimmy Rollins

With Jimmy Rollins slated to make his return to the lineup, someone will have to face the axe in order to make room on the roster.

Unless something drastic happens very, very soon, it appears as though the unlucky player to get the axe will be Wilson Valdez.

But really, it’s the only move that makes sense.

Charlie Manuel has made it clear he’s keeping all of his pitchers, and Valdez is the guy currently filling in for J-Roll.

In fact, that’s not even entirely accurate. Juan Castro was Rollins’ replacement, and Valdez is actually Castro’s replacement, making him the third shortstop.

He might have survived and simply been used as an emergency guy throughout the season, but with pitchers dropping like flies the Phils seem to have decided they simply can’t part with any of them and risk losing someone else.

Valdez has been good in the field, but his hitting has been slightly below-average, to put it nicely, with a .229 average, four RBI, and four runs.

It’s not a bad line for a replacement player, but when we look back and see he had a five-game streak of hitting into a double-play, it paints a picture of a guy who has had a hit here and there, but hasn’t been able to contribute when it counts.

Valdez is out of options, so he will have to clear waivers first if the Phillies want to try to send him back to triple-A Lehigh Valley. However, it’s likely he wouldn’t make it through waivers and has likely played his final game as a Phillie.

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Yank These: Philadelphia Phillies Should Be America’s Team

Baseball is America’s pastime, and the Yankees are considered by many to be “America’s Team.”

With their history of success and a seemingly insurmountable mountain of hardware lining the organization’s trophy cases, it is easy to see why this is the case.

But although they are, historically and statistically speaking, the “best” team, does that mean they are “America’s” team? I propose that the Yankees personify many characteristics of America, the only problem is, they’re all the wrong ones.

This is my formal proposal to Congress, Obama, whomever…that the Philadelphia Phillies should take over as the penultimate representation of the Stars and Stripes in MLB.

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Phillies’ Closer Brad Lidge Gets Some Good News After Elbow MRI

If you listened closely enough this past Wednesday, you could hear the collective groan of a city when we were all informed that Brad Lidge would be leaving Denver in the middle of a series with the Rockies to head back to Philadelphia for an MRI on his surgically-repaired elbow.

Ryan Madson is already out for a couple months and the bullpen probably wasn’t up to snuff to begin with, so losing Lidge would be an absolute catastrophe.

But Lidge and Phillie fans everywhere got some good news on Friday when it was revealed that there is only minor swelling in the joint and nothing more serious like a bone chip or any ligament damage that would have required a stint on the DL.

“We knew the elbow joint swelled up, but the problem is, we didn’t really know if there was something in there that made it swell up,” Lidge told the media after a Phillies win against the Brewers. “In my mind, I was praying there wasn’t. Fortunately, it turned out that way.

“My goal now is to get the inflammation out of there very fast. Hopefully, it’ll not take much more than a day or so. Then, obviously, we’ll be doing everything we can to prevent it from coming back. Once it’s gone it shouldn’t be back.”

Lidge will resume throwing on Saturday, and could even close out the game later that day, if necessary, and if he throws without any discomfort.

Phillies’ skipper Charlie Manuel is going to take it easy on Lidge because he understands he will be a vital piece later in the season. If they work him too hard in May, it could affect his ability to contribute in August and September when the games really start to count.

So if Lidge isn’t 100 percent when he throws Saturday morning, Manuel will look for other options should a save situation arise. It probably won’t be anyone specific, just whomever he feels most comfortable with at that time—most likely Jose Contreras.

Hopefully the Phils can continue to hit the long ball like they did against the Brewers Friday and they’ll be far enough ahead that it won’t matter.

Joe Blanton steps onto the mound without a win this season and a complete game could be just what he needs to get his season moving in the right direction.

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The List You’ve Been Waiting For: My 10 Favorite Phillies

It’s easy to root for a winning team, but what makes it even easier is when that winning team is made up of a bunch of likable guys.

The Phillies have a roster full of character players who truly enjoy the game. They play hard and they like each other. And as proven by their appearance in the previous two World Series, this team is good.

Here’s a look at my 10 favorite Phillies on a squad with a lot of guys to like.

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Solution For The Phillies Closer Problems

There is no doubt that the Philadelphia Phillies have a closer problem, and if they want to be a contender for the world series or even the division they are going to need a decent closer. Brad Lidge blew 11 saves last year and struggled with elbow soreness after one save. Ryan Madson is on the DL with a broken toe after kicking a chair after one of his two blown saves already. Jose Contreras never saved a game in his career. The two time defending NL champs may have to start to look somewhere else for a solution.

For example, they could look for a good closer stuck on a poor team such as David Aardsma of the Seattle Mariners, who converted 38 out of 42 save opportunities last year and is 8 out of 10 so far this year. However, Aardsma has had only one successful season as a closer and has only 46 career saves. This may not be the best option for the Phillies if they want to win. Plus, Aardsma has never taken the ball in the ninth inning of a playoff game or any game of true importance.

Joakim Soria is single handedly keeping the Kansas City Royals bullpen together and would fit very well as the Phillies closer. For example Soria has only one more blown save (12) in his four year career than Brad Lidge had all of last season. Soria has a career ERA at 2.21 and has had more than one solid year as closer in the majors (42 saves in 2008, 30 in 2009). Soria is also 8 out of 10 this year and would thrive in a bullpen that could give him a lead to hold in the ninth inning.

The Phillies could also think about an in house solution that is a better option than Contreras like Sergio Escalona in Reading (AA). Escalona has saved 5 games this year and has a 2.92 ERA. Escalona also saved 12 games last year and pitched briefly in the Majors.

Scott Mathieson is a hard throwing right hander from Vancouver,BC and has saved 5 game in AAA Lehigh Valley. Mathieson underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2006 but is slowly coming back to shape. Mathieson has allowed only one run in 16.2 innings this season and could be up to the Major League as soon as Jose Contreras fails to get the job done. However, the thought of an injury ridden rookie taking the ninth inning of a playoff is not an idea Manager Charlie Manuel is going to want to go with.

The Phillies have a team that has already shown they are capable to go deep into the playoffs without a closer. If they can make Contreras or another in house solution such as Escalona or Mathieson work and not have to sacrifice any players to get a closer from another team, they will be the best team in baseball.

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Shock Value: The Practical Application of the Taser in Athletics

In the span of less than a week, two Philadelphia Phillies fans ran onto the field at Citizens Bank Park, with one being subdued by use of a Taser fired by a Philadelphia policeman.

Is the Taser a reasonable manner of suppressing runaway fans, or is there a better, safer way to squelch these shenanigans?

Of course there is, but nothing is more entertaining than witnessing the incapacitation, via the Taser, of a stupid fan who dares breach security for a jaunt on the playing field.

The novelty of seeing such a fan evade a number of clumsy security guards quickly grows old. When it’s time for “relief,” nothing beats a Taser-toting, trigger-happy cop eager to squeeze one off. And he usually throws strikes.

The latest fence-hopper to get Tasered was Steve Consalvi, a 17-year-old maniac who ran onto the field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on May 3.

After a few victory laps, Consalvi felt the stinging wrath of the Taser, and was promptly arrested, thus becoming a hot topic in ‘current’ events, while earning the nickname “Stunning” Steve Consalvi.

Before his mad dash, Consalvi called his father, asking permission to run onto the field.

In a perfect world, the younger Consalvi should have been Tased right then and there. What kind of pansy calls his father for permission before embarking on such a renegade, anti-comforming sprint?

Any sensible kid would do that.

Clearly, Consalvi’s act was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, and was thoughtfully premeditated. Had he killed somebody running onto the field, he could be facing the death penalty.

What exactly did Consalvi expect his father to say?

“By all means, son. Run onto that field, and grab a gallon of milk on your way home.”

Of course, Consalvi’s father advised him not to do it. Consalvi should have been Tased again for his egregious display of parental disobedience. So, he was lucky to escape with a single Tasing, when three would have been more appropriate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally condemning Consalvi’s actions. I admire the audacity it takes for a fan to run onto a baseball field.

It gives new meaning to the term “ball four.”

And I appreciated the nod to Philadelphia Phillies history when Consalvi tasted voltage, yet was able to pull off the Pete Rose headfirst slide as he was going down, the “electric slide,” if you will.

However, due to the juice surging through his body, Consalvi was unable to place a bet on that night’s Cincinnati Reds game. 

What I do condemn is the notion that a Taser should not, under any circumstances, be used in such situations, when fans break free of security to frolic on the playing field, whatever the sport.

In fact, the Taser should always be used in such a situation. By golly, it’s only fair to a dissident fan to know the punishment before embarking on his/her scheme. And, it’s only fair that fans in attendance enjoy a Tasing for having the game interrupted. 

What’s so great about the Taser?

Its immediacy—problem solved.

Once the Taser is deployed, the situation is over, saving one or more athletes the responsibility of pummeling an unruly fan and possibly facing a frivolous lawsuit.

And a convulsing, drooling patron serves as a firm reminder to other fans that there are dire consequences to a foray onto the field.

Those who protest the use of the Taser are short-sighted pacifists, who are too concerned with the rights and feelings of a trespassing fan when the majority of their concern should be directed at the athletes themselves.

I find it nearly impossible to feel sympathy for someone who has been Tased. Scientific studies have proven a common link between all people who have ever been Tased—they all deserved it.

Consalvi’s father is one of these people. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he didn’t think the police should have Tased his son.

In their defense, Mr. Consalvi, the police “didn’t think” your son should have run onto the field.

In these cases, the safety of the athletes far overrides the safety of the intruder. That’s why Tasing in the most sensible option.

Why? Because there’s the possibility that only one person gets hurt, and that’s the person who deserves it.

Tasing is not an inhumane or cruel act under the circumstances. Compassion for the runaway fan is secondary in these instances, and the safety of the athletes takes precedence.

Are you a fan considering a mad dash on the field, and you want compassion? Have your girlfriend make the run.

The larger her breasts, the greater the compassion.

You can applaud such compassion as she’s discreetly fondled from the playing field.

Compassion was the last thing on Consalvi’s mind. His concern was becoming a temporary folk hero. He succeeded in that respect. The fact that he was Tased only added to his fame.

And Consalvi had to know that he would face some form of physical apprehension. No fan interrupts a sporting event expecting to be escorted politely from the playing area.

Ironically, that would likely be more of a deterrent than the threat of physical violence. But we all know physical violence makes the highlight reel.

Historically, the runaway fan seems to strike most often in baseball, football, and tennis.

Apparently, grass, natural or otherwise, is like catnip to the chemically imbalanced, temporarily crazed fan.

When is the last time a fan veered onto a basketball court, and the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers weren’t playing?

You never see a fan rush a bowling tournament, or a fishing competition, or a hockey game. But don’t think it can’t happen.

In the realm of fan intrusion, anything is possible. If you believe otherwise, then how do you explain the “fan man’s” interference in the 1993 Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe boxing match.   

It’s imperative that all sports organizations embrace the use of the Taser, not only for its practical applications, but for its entertainment and endorsement value as well.

The Taser could be sport’s next great marketing gimmick.

How could Amp Energy Drink not want to sponsor the highlights of the latest fan Tasing?

And how about a “Taser-Cam” at stadiums and arenas, in which a lucky fan is randomly selected on camera and given the opportunity to rush the field while being chased by a Taser-wielding law enforcement officer.

What does the sporting world need most? Drug reform? Hah! Reasonable ticket prices? Phooey! Likeable role models? Bull! What it needs are sanctioned fan vs. Taser events.

Would fans flock to “Taser Night?” Heck yeah. In this promotion, the first 1,000 fans through the gate receive a replica Taser gun, while the first 100 to leave actually get Tasered.

Can you imagine the music blaring from the public address system when a fans nerve receptors feel the Taser’s fury? There’s Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning.” And anything by funk pioneers Zapp would fit the mood.

For beach music aficionados, the Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” is perfectly thematic for a good Tasering. 

Does anyone remember Johnny Kemp? You will after “Just Got Tased” blares over the speakers after a hoodlum is crippled by a blast from the stun gun.

Why stop there? There’s Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps.” The Clash’s “Shock The Casbah.” Bon Jovi’s “Tase Of Glory.” Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.” Boston’s “Don’t Look Back.” Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Goin’ Down.” The Beatles “Hello, Goodbye.”

Clearly, the Taser is the best option to manage fans on the run, and it’s use should be recommended, encouraged even, to combat such situations, and provide maximum entertainment.

It’s advantages easily outweigh its disadvantages, of which there aren’t any, save for the few people who have died after being Tased. Usually, good “conduct” gets you off easy.

However, all things considered, the Taser has “shock value.”

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