MLB’s Ageless Wonder | Baseball History
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
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Jamie Moyer played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball. He took the mound in 50 different stadiums, and pitched against 8.9% of all batters. Ever.
He also let up 522 homers in his career. That’s not surprising, given that he pitched over 4,000 innings. Moyer has a reputation as a "compiler": someone who pads his stats by hanging on past his prime.
Does Moyer fit that description? Maybe. But there are plenty of pitchers who top out in the mid-80s, and none of them made it to the fifth-longest career in MLB history. So then, what was the secret to Jamie Moyer’s inexplicable longevity? Let’s dig into it.
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SOURCES:
Major League Baseball
Baseball Reference/Stathead
Retrosheet
SABR Baseball Biography Project
Fangraphs
The Seattle Times
The Philadelphia Inquirer
SB Nation
The Washington Post
Fox Sports
NPR
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SOUNTRACK:
“East” - Silent Partner
“Celebration” - Otis McDonald
“Open Road” - Audionautix
“New Day” - JHS Pedals
“Like Lee” - The Mini Vandals
“In The West” - Kevin MacLeod
“Hey There” - half.cool
“Epic Unease” - Kevin MacLeod
“Chasin’ It” - Audionautix
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By the time Moyer retired, during his career, Moyer had pitched to between 8% and 9% of all MLB hitters EVER.
18:27 looks like someone didnt watch the entire video
@@spaghettisauce445oh just wanted to state a fact. How do you know he watch it or not?
Here's something even crazier to think about: by the time Nolan Ryan retired, he had probably thrown to over 10% of all major league hitters ever. Nolan Ryan pitched 27 yrs
That’s an absolutely insane stat. Is that true?
That Blew Me Away
This guy debuted when I was 4 years old and retired when my oldest kid was 4.
You were 74 when you had your first kid?
Jamie Moyer retired in 2012, Hoyt Wilhelm debuted in 1952
Both were teammates with Charlie Hough at one point in there career.
Wow, never knew that. That's one of the most interesting obscure facts I've ever heard. Wilhelm probably would've debuted much earlier too if he started playing earlier and didn't go fight in WWII.
He was teammates with 22 other players who had 20+ year careers combining for 504 years of baseball experience
Quit it - no way !
Nice
How is that possible… amazing
Fun Fact: Jamie Moyer played with Arthur Rhodes more than any other player during his career. Rhodes was a relief pitcher who played with Moyer in Baltimore from 1993 to 1995, Seattle from 2000 to 2003, and Philadelphia in 2006. Rhodes made his first and only all-star game in 2010 at age 40, just like Moyer. In 2011, Rhodes signed with the Rangers, was released, and then signed with the Cardinals. He would go on to win his only World Series that year at age 41 in his final career season. Another interesting bit is that no matter who won, he would've got a World Series ring.
Not too many men have multiple potential Rhodes to the World Series!
He has two World Series rings
Jamie Moyer lookin like he wants to tell me science facts on Saturday morning PBS.
Jaime and his wife Karen have a grief camp for kids (Camp Erin). When i was a teenager, i kost my dad and went to camp for 3 days. It was gut wrenching but gelped me get through it. Im grateful for the Moyer Foundation for all they do.
They’re absolutely wonderful people!
As a Mariners fan, I was very happy for Moyer to finally win the big one with the Phillies in 2008.
I still have his 1912 rookie
Yea his stats come over a very long period of time, but he PITCHED until he was almost 50! The skill it takes to be capable of being in a MLB clubs rotation that long is amazing. Knowing what he was good at and sharpening his skill got him that far. Lot of work on not only his pitching skill, but his body as well. Pure dedication and professionalism. Not to mention, dude was throwing 80mph and had a sub 4 ERA during the steroid era. let the man in The Hall!!
Availability is an underrated skill and there aren't many players that were more available than him
His numbers during his 40s were the best of his career IIRC they might make the argument on their own
He may not be in Cooperstown, but he is in the Mariners Hall of Fame. I do wish you'd gone into a bit more detail about how exactly he managed to still get batters out with fairly unimpressive stuff in his late 40s, that alone is a magic trick. I mean, when you compare him to another pitcher with insane longevity, Satchel Paige, Satch had the best fastball in all of baseball in his youth, and even though it lost velocity, in his prime it was probably in the triple digits, so "lost velocity" still means low 90s. He also had absolutely ridiculous control, which allowed him to put that "lost velocity fastball" anywhere he damn well pleased. Obviously, Jamie Moyer didn't have that kind of stuff even in his youth, but he still managed to get batters half his age out, so clearly he had something they couldn't hit.
we wish you weren't so long winded
When he really needed an oit He would throw that Change Up a slow as a possible and Batters swing and Miss. I liked his Decade as an M.
@@davidrice3337. It's hard not too be impressed as a Mariner Fan. I think We got too see Peak Moyer if you will . Lol
Our son played hockey several years with C.J. Moyer, and I remember meeting his dad for the first time. Jaime was an unassuming man, somewhat reserved. I didn't even know he was a current Mariner at the time, and he never made references at all. C.J. was a hard working, respectful boy who looked up to his dad. A good role model, a supportive family is what I came away with. Thanks for the great content!
I was born in ‘99, dad was in the Army and we were stationed in El Paso. They took me to spring training from 9 months old to two years old. Family is from Washington and when I was two I’d always mimic the announcer when he introduced Jamie Moyer or Mike Cameron. Will always have love for one of the craftiest lefties to ever grace the bigs. Go M’s!
I've been studying the wins of Randy Johnson, and found his two wins against Jamie Moyer to be a perfect illustration at how long Moyer's career was. The Big Unit first beat Moyer for win number 10, in 1989. His next win against Moyer was for win number 283, 18 years later in 2007. Of course, it helps that Moyer pitched two seasons before Randy's debut in 1988, and he pitched two seasons after Randy's final year of 2009.
Wow. Lol that’s so interesting lol good find
Was lucky too see them both at the Old Kingdome together.
I don't think he's a Hall of Famer, but he's most certainly a first ballot DUDE.
And please continue your series on dudes. Lot from the 2010's Giants; Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross to name a few.
He's prob hall worthy ,eventually. Someday.
>Aubrey Huff
Nah he's no dude, he's a git
The Hall is over-rated anyway. How many great people have probably sacrificed hall of fame status in their sport because they chose family or some other moral choice over 100% dedication to their sport? Not that Moyer would have been a hall of farmer. But I’d argue that with more talented players luck plays a huge part in making it to the hall. Some of my favorite players don’t make the hall but they’re awesome or interesting people who were maybe a bit too cerebral or sensitive to put up Hall of Fame stats. Khalil Greene, an amazing talent at shortstop for the Padres is an example of this. He was really beloved by the fans for the way he played and his demeanor. Stats and prolonged careers are overrated. I love baseball but there is more to life.
In...I wanna say '97...I went to Seattle for two games against the White Sox. Randy pitched the first game. I sat about ten rows above the visitor's dugout (first base side). Trying to even see a Big Unit pitch was near impossible. Next day was Jamie on the mound. The Kingdome had a radar gun that just happened to read ball speed in both directions, and for 4 out of 5 pitches, the catcher (Dan Wilson) was flipping the ball back to Jamie faster than Jamie's pitch was clocked. Jamie faced big Frank Thomas. The first pitch was a 63mph curve. Frank took a fat cut and stared at the pitch with the bat over his shoulder where it landed after taking that swing. The second pitch...laughingly refered to as a cutter left Frank on his knees after spiraling himself into the ground with that swing. He simply took the last pitch, a 64mph changeup, watched as the toss hit Dan's glove with a pathetic thump, and doffed his cap to Jamie on the way back to the dugout.
That’s an amazing story! Good ol’ Kingdome.
As a kid who is a lefty, and grew up a Mariners fan in the 90's and early 2000's, Moyer was one of my All-Time favorites. My dad loved him too.
IMO, players who have special achievements should be in a special wing of the Hall.
Jamie for longevity and being the oldest pitcher to win a game are likely immortal records.
(If it weren't for a bad call at first base, the Phillies would not have given up the lead that Jamie Moyer had when he exited the World Series game and would have been the oldest pitcher to win a World Series game, too.)
Another player worthy of this would be Kent Tekulve. His rubber arm enabled him to appear in 70+ games for many seasons including appearing in 94 regular season games in 1978 and 1979. (And he didn't suck while doing it.) This is a record I doubt will be broken anytime soon.
Neither of these pitchers have HoF numbers for their career numbers but they have had unparalleled performances in the show.
That could open up a can of worms though, what about super obscure one day achievements? Joel Youngblood played 2 games for 2 different teams on the same day, that's definitely a special achievement. Is it HOF worthy though?
@@markzuckergecko621 yeah these things are too arbitrary to have official oversight on but is the important lore and legends that we the fans must keep alive
@@markzuckergecko621 I see your point, but single event like that is NOT insignificant.
Jamie Moyer for longevity along with being the oldest pitcher to win a game is a major achievement. The victory is a mark that he was still effective at the end of his career.
As for Tekulve, he appeared in 90+ games 3 times, 85 appearances once and had 70+ appearances 6 times. AND in 1979 he appeared in 7 of the 10 post season games the Pirates played that year. His career ERA is 2.85. He didn't suck while doing all this.
These are careers that are marked with greatness in unspectacular ways. That's why I think they should be in HoF.
Greatness - isn't that what Hall is all about?
That's why it's also a museum. There is representation of these moments and records in the museum without having to get fans riled up over any type of election.
Agreed
I always enjoy your narratives. You are able to “tap into” baseball’s mystical element, without exactly calling attention to that mysticism. Keep ‘em coming.
Regarding Moyer's HOF credentials:
Statistically? He's not even in the Hall of Very Good. He had a couple of decent seasons zigging when the whole baseball world was zagging with regards to velocity.
But really, this is why we love Baseball. Because the Hall of Fame isn't the be-all and end-all. We don't need that plaque to remember people like Moyer, who was so phenominal in just *making* the Show with that fastball (even in that era) and yet managed to be competitive well into an age when just getting up can sometimes be difficult. I'm a 44 year old washed-up jock, and I feel it. I can't imagine doing it in five years at the *highest level* of this, or any other sport.
I completely understand your sentiment. Sometimes, being in the Hall of The Very Weird is an equivalent honor in itself. Will R.A. Dickey ever make the Hall? Will Darren O'Day? Lenny Wilkens? Jay Buhner? Jim Abbott? Hell no. However, their unique traits, stories and individual triumphs will likely be remembered more by baseball fans than Mike Mussina, and I love Moose. It's about the stories that can be told, and how players are remembered.
and not one scandal, problem, or anything he was involved with. Just a good clean man pitching as long as he can. Gotta love it fr
Nolan Ryan was Throwing 104 mph in That Era
44 is the Last Year I played City Beer League Sports myself. I'm 55 my knees, hips and back are gravel.
Jamie Moyer started his career as teammates with 26 year old Ryne Sandburg. He ended his career as teammates with DJ lemahieu
Youre telling me that a teammate of his is still playing?
Edit: I guess Charlie Blackmon is aldo still playing. One of his teammates.
@@zackaryhaselius2226Adam Ottavino too
The living embodiment of "if you're left handed and you have a heartbeat, there's a job for you in MLB".
he pitched his first game 3 months before i was born in 1986, and his last game long lonnnnng after i disappointed my dad by not making the majors in 2012.
My dad only came to my football games.
Truly an astounding creator. I am sure these videos take hours upon hours to make. Thank you for making them - your work is in-depth and thorough yet digestible and entertaining. Thank you for a great 20 minutes!
Agree!
That intro had me thinking Jaime Moyer was deeply entrenched in baseball history before he was even born
I think Moyer should be in the Hall of Fame just based on age alone, damn the stats! At 49 I could barely even throw anymore, let alone play an actualgame! (I was a high school pitcher.) 😂😂
Jesse Orosco retired at 47 by personal choice, he was signed to play. And has one of the most famous photos in all of baseball, the pitcher on the mound for the mets winning the 86 world series.
Saying someone is a complier or collects stats is not an incompetent statement. To stay in the league for that long, playing against the best competition in the world is an insane accomplishment. I don't understand how people can view that in a negative light.
It's only Negative if Your Branding Yourself the GOAT and you aren't Close.
I didnt know who Jamie Moyer was until he came to Seattle. From then on I was a big fan of his. Great video :D
Moyer was a class act in Philly. Every game we went to, he would spend his free time signing fans’ hats. Me and my father have his signature on our hats. One of our favorites in Philly history.
100% of the fools calling him a 'complier' wish they could win a game as a pitcher in MLB at 40 years old...Let alone 50.
Dude belongs.
Shit...they wish they could win an MLB game at age 25.
Nice try trying to sneak that last Darren Bragg “reds” pic there… in a cardinals jersey 😂
Well done production as usual. Thanks for sharing this story of a very unique player
As a Mariners fan I remember Moyer, yet I had no idea he retired at 49! The Mariner commercials brought back a lot of memories. Moyer is a legend in my mind. Thank you.
Jamie Moyer is one of the reasons I love baseball. To me, he's a Hall of Famer. Legends matter and a 25 year career that spans the Steroid Era is worth remembering.
Thinking back on Moyer being one of the last "4 decade players", it kind of sucks we didn't get one over a the 1990s-2020s.
I saw a stat once that said during the last year of Moyer's career, he had pitched to two thirds of all active managers.
Found this hidden little gem randomly. Should have more views for sure. Well done man. You did great on this.
I would agree but i think the great Vin Scully would be the only one who has ever deafeated father time in his profession.. R.I.P.
Would throw up kazuyoshi Miura, 57 years old still actively an attacking player in soccer.
First videos I have watched on your channel, love it! ❤🔥
Watching this video, I've been wanting to say "how can you not be romantic about baseball" approximately 6 times
You did it again BH. Another fantastic video. Bravo.
Jamie was a dependable middle of rotation arm you could depend upon to go every 5. His stats never lit the world on fire but were plenty good enough to solidify his spot in rotation. U knew what you would get with him.
Great video as always, Baseball Historian! I always found the classic Mariners TV spots to be funny
He’s a HoF’er just on the the fact he faced almost 10% of all batters in the MLB until his retirement. That’s literally unprecedented in a league that’s been around for over 100 years.
They should have a Major League Baseball "Hall of Pretty Damn Good Players". For all the scrappers and long time players who fought through injuries and never seemed to be at the right place at the right time, yet they played their hearts out.
By PITCHING not Throwing....always keeping them off balance.
Dude we were so happy to have him home here in Philly and get to the top of the heap in 08
Jamie Moyer isn't a HOF player, but he's certainly special in a different kind of way. Normally, most pitchers lose the ability to get batters out, and retire before they turn 40. Some even do so before 35. Moyer pitched until he was 49. That takes talent. Talent that, in this current age, nobody has anymore.
He’s a HOFer if his career and story are worth remembering in recounting the story of baseball. Moyer is a legend.
Outstanding video my friend, much love
Great video, but I'll admit I got a bit of a chill from the Roenicke connection. Never knew that little tidbit 😃
(stealing a comment from someone on my own video)
he faced Tony Pérez who was born in 1942, and Starlin Castro who was born in 1990
Another great story, great presentation !
Another great video with enjoyable content and incites !
Great video, man! Jamie Moyer, a real legend.
Jamie Moyer isn't a hall of famer, but he's the platonic ideal of a Hall of Very Good. Every team would be more than happy with an average Jamie Moyer season somewhere in their rotation.
the best chad innings eater of all time
Thanks for telling this story. Good stuff.
Ha Ha Harry who once called HOFer Greg Maddux, Greg Matthews. Hes always a riot.
I remember him in an interview in 1938, when he said, “Gehrig wasn’t so hard to pitch to, but that next guy was tough!” Who was the next guy, you ask? Why it was Tony Lazzari! True story!
He deserves this video that's for sure.
Truly remarkable career amazing video man
I’m a Phillies fan so certainly bias about Moyer but I think making the hall should be more than just a stats check, there should be room for incredible stories and unbelievable careers and I think Moyer falls into that category. It’s incredible the longevity his career had, it’s incredible the success he had without the raw pitching power that we expect at the major league level. I think it’s a career worthy of being immortalized in the hall even if it doesn’t look “typical0
wow man seriously another great video!
Jamie was a guy I looked too from time to time because I topped out at 86. But to be completely fair if he was a righty he never makes the big leagues. Long live the legend that is Jamie Moyer
People seem to think that people who hang on for 25 years are compilers, play it's only the rare few who are able and talented enough to do so and that should be recognized
That video was awesome!
We love Jamie in Philly!
Philly seemed like they just had to let Carlton go. Couldn't keep him around long enough to get that one big one he needed. He went and got it after this tho so congrats to him on a great career.
What an amazing opening to a video.
hes not even remotely the oldest player whos retired recently. rich hill is over 40 and still pitching a bit. playing at 40 isnt breaking reality
You left Moyer getting 3 starts in the minors for the Orioles in 2012, pitching very well, but not getting called up because they didn't have room on the 40.
I think Moyer should be in the Hall of Fame. It's the Hall of Fame not the Hall of Stats.
Amen... But the new age sabermetic WAR guys think its the Hall of Stats. Us oldtimers know a true HoFer. Moyer is. No tiny doubt about it.
I want the Cubs Snoopy shirt from the gift guide
Looks like Otto Bauer
I really enjoyed this video! Lots of great baseball history!
If Joe Mauer is a first ballot HOF'er, Jamie Moyer is undoubtedly a HOF'er.
Did Moyer win 3 batting titles? Did he have an MVP? Or does he have a lower career WAR than Mauer with ten additional seasons?
@@JackieDaytona1776 Exactly, not to mention the guy's ERA is too high and Jack Morris is already pushing it.
I love Jamie Moyer, but no, he's not a Hall of Famer. He is underrated though. His peak years were actually pretty damn good, it's just that his peak was in his late '30s and early '40s. He's also a testament that you don't need a great fastball to be a pitcher. It's amazing it took as long as it did for him to really get injured and he still managed to recover and play well afterwards. Think of all the good pitcher during his career who blew their arms out or couldn't cut it make for long, that had 99-100 mph hr stuff, but good old Jamie Moyer, with off-speed stuff to match his other off-speed stuff, gliding into the games and giving you a solid six or seven innings every game and not breaking a sweat. He really should be more of a role model for a lot of pitchers right now. He's the kind of guy who, in a rotation, can just screw with hitters, because especially between him and Randy Johnson, like you're used to 100mph fastballs and sliders coming at you, and then you gotta adjust to 75-mph fastballs and 68mph change-ups. You want variety like that in your pitching staff, day-to-day, that's gonna be annoying to other teams. He's not a Hall of Fame, but he's in the Hall of, Guy You Want on Your Team. Even if he's not good, he still helping set up the next game or the next pitcher better than others.
All that said, as a West-Coast Phillies fan, who often only saw him late in his career and when he was playing against the Dodgers, he could be really frustrating to watch. Those Dodger teams during the late 2000s, were incredibly fast, and him being so slow with his speed, he could not keep a speedy runner on their base. He could try, but he wasn't picking them off and the next was a go... The double steal green light should always be on when he was pitching anyway, but man,- you get a lineup of people who can bunt for a base hit anytime they want, against him, like four or five of them in a row, especially. uggggghhhhh, you didn't want to see Moyer on those days. Those were truly brutal. You knew, the other team was ground-balling a run in every other inning and you had to keep up.
Fun fact: Gary Matthews did color commentary for the Phillies while Moyer was on the team. When Matthews was done with color commentary he was replaced by.......
Jamie Moyer
Great video yes the man could pitch not just a thrower..
Any man who has the sack needed to pitch a world series game while suffering from diarrhea is a godamn HOF. 😅 C'mon writers association, get your reading glasses and write this man in.
I remember Jamie Moyer in Hardball 5.
Moyer's peak was more than HOF worthy, the problem is he was in his late 30s rebounding from a to that point poor MLB career... even if he just had 2 or 3 more seasons at his peak he would have easily made it... very unusual career. I would say he was definitely NOT a compiler though, he wasn't hanging on for numbers, more like he was always chasing his incredibly late start
No a hall of famer but there is something to be said to play at that level for so long. What he was able to do is very special and is less than 0.1% mlb players have achieved
What's up with the captions? Looks like you cut out like 10% of the video but left the captions for those sections intact
You the MAN lefty!!!!
Bip Roberts at 12:10 not G.M. Jr.
Ok I know I’m probably stupid for not knowing this but what is Father Time????
A phase where pro-athletes' career is winding down. Where their numbers and performances are getting worse.
Mariner fan here, i love Moyer but IMHO he's in the hall of very good. But i would take him over Morris 7 days a week twice on Sunday. I also don't think in my lifetime (47 y.o.) anyone will pitch at 49.
I enjoy your channel...but can you learn how to pronounce "Lajoie" - the dude was a legend, he had a whole team named after him, no one talks about this guy because they're afraid to have to say his name.
When in Trouble on the mound, Moyer would Reach Back amd Throw Even SLOWER!! What a Player
Great story. Great vid. And no doubt about it: Moyer is a HoFer. Its called Hall of FAME. If Moyer isnt famous (among basball fans and critics), then I dont know what.
When I stopped attenting and paying for MLB games/merchandise (1994), Moyer had played already 8 years, I was still active in competitive sports (now am old and aching).
Its all amazing.
He is more Hall of very good. Though his story shows how beautiful baseball can be. How can you not be romantic about baseball❤.
I probably saw him pitch for the Orioles.
I swear that’s a picture of Bip Roberts. Not Gary Matthew Jr.
He's a Hall of Famer
My stance on Jaimie Moyer is that he belongs in the Hall of Fame for any team he spent more than 3 years with, but isn't deserving of Cooperstown.
Moyer was that pitcher that made you believe that anyone could play MLB.
Elect him to the Reliquary of the Eternals.
What was the movie called ?
I think he is a Hall of Famer. As MLK said " longevity has its place"
I thought he was still playing :)