Two nights ago, Colorado Rockies' pitcher Jamie Moyer pitched seven strong innings in defeating the San Diego Padres 5-2.
Moyer at 49 years of age (he will be 50 in November) thus became the oldest man ever to win a major league baseball game, breaking an 80 year old record. For the curious, that record was set by Jack Quinn, of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
It's truly a remarkable feat.
Jamie Moyer made his major league debut in 1986, facing off and defeating the Philadelphia Phillies. His opposing pitcher that day? Steve Carlton.
To put it in perspective, six of the players on the San Diego roster were not even born when Moyer made his debut. The Rockies themselves did not start play for nearly another decade.
Here is the box score for the June, 1986 game:
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Foley PH-SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Roenicke CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Gross PH-LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Schmidt 1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Von Hayes LF-1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Juan Samuel 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Rick Schu 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Daulton PH-C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Stone PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Wilson RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John Russell C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Jeltz SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Carlton P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Carman P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Hume P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent Tekulve P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 35 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Carlton, L (4-8) | 3.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Tom Hume | 1.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Kent Tekulve | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Don Carman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davey Lopes 3B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Shawon Dunston SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ryne Sandberg 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Keith Moreland RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Gary Matthews LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jay Baller P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jody Davis C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leon Durham 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jerry Mumphrey CF-LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Steve Lake C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Smith P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Moyer P | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Martinez CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 33 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Moyer, W (1-0) | 6.1 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Jay Baller, H (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lee Smith, S (9) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Also on the Cubs' roster that day (though not playing) was Ron Cey. Terry Francona was also on the Phillies at the time. The losing pitcher (Carlton) began his career in 1965, in a game where Francona's father pinch hit. Carlton came on as a reliever for Bob Gibson.
In the nearly 26 years since, Moyer has pitched more than four thousand innings, and allowed 513 home runs, the most in the history of the game.
Moyer is a year younger than President Obama. He's three years older than John F Kennedy was when Kennedy was murdered in 1963.
I'm 42 years old - seven years younger than Moyer. I'm not a professional athlete to be fair, but I try to stay in some sort of shape. I get a stiff neck from lifting my suitcases.
He doesn't look a day over 100.
2 comments:
Wow! 49 years old and still have strong pitch! Woohoo! And I googled his face. OMG. He doesn't look old either. --I am not a fan of sport but this is a nice reading.
Thanks for this. I really like what you've posted here and wish you the best of luck with this blog and thanks for sharing. 1985 County Exempt California License Plate
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