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Moyer & Gibson
At first glance it would not appear that Jamie Moyer has a lot in common with legendary Cardinals’ pitcher Bob Gibson.
Moyer is the Phils’ ancient left-hander. Watching him pitch you get the itch to grab a bat and take a couple of hacks against him. The frustrated high school baseball player in you insists you could probably hit the junk Moyer throws up there.
Moyer is all about finesse, locating his pitches, changing his speeds.
He really is a pitcher, not just a thrower.
Gibson, on the other hand, was a different animal. The longtime star of the St. Louis Cardinals was one of the most feared pitchers in the game.
He threw hard, and would put one under your chin if he thought you were crowding the plate on him. And heaven help you if you did manage to make contact and he thought you were showing him up. Gibson would not forget such antics. In fact he was likely to remind you during your next at-bat.
So what exactly is it these two longtime hurlers share? Gibson won 251 games in 17 years, all with the Cardinals.
Yesterday Moyer collected win No. 250. It’s an impressive number. Of course, Gibson posted all those numbers for one team. He was 251-174, for a winning percentage of .591. He won 20 games five times and 19 once.
Moyer is 46. He is now in his 23rd season, and has toiled for eight major league clubs, some more than once, compiling a mark of 250-190 during that time.
Moyer says he wants to pitch until he’s 50. A few weeks back, that was looking unlikely. Moyers was struggling. But Sunday he looked like his old self, dazzling the Nationals with an assortment of slow and slower offerings.
Moyer is only the 11th major league left-hander to win 250 games.
At some point, Moyer’s numbers say he will have to be considered for a spot in Cooperstown. Moyer doesn’t want to hear it. Yesterday, after win No. 250, he admitted he has not thought all that much about it. His focus was on helping the team win.
He had been stuck on 249 for a couple of weeks.
By just about any mark, Moyer is a Hall of Fame kind of guy. Maybe more important, he’s probably more impressive off the mound than on it.
Moyer is the Phils’ ancient left-hander. Watching him pitch you get the itch to grab a bat and take a couple of hacks against him. The frustrated high school baseball player in you insists you could probably hit the junk Moyer throws up there.
Moyer is all about finesse, locating his pitches, changing his speeds.
He really is a pitcher, not just a thrower.
Gibson, on the other hand, was a different animal. The longtime star of the St. Louis Cardinals was one of the most feared pitchers in the game.
He threw hard, and would put one under your chin if he thought you were crowding the plate on him. And heaven help you if you did manage to make contact and he thought you were showing him up. Gibson would not forget such antics. In fact he was likely to remind you during your next at-bat.
So what exactly is it these two longtime hurlers share? Gibson won 251 games in 17 years, all with the Cardinals.
Yesterday Moyer collected win No. 250. It’s an impressive number. Of course, Gibson posted all those numbers for one team. He was 251-174, for a winning percentage of .591. He won 20 games five times and 19 once.
Moyer is 46. He is now in his 23rd season, and has toiled for eight major league clubs, some more than once, compiling a mark of 250-190 during that time.
Moyer says he wants to pitch until he’s 50. A few weeks back, that was looking unlikely. Moyers was struggling. But Sunday he looked like his old self, dazzling the Nationals with an assortment of slow and slower offerings.
Moyer is only the 11th major league left-hander to win 250 games.
At some point, Moyer’s numbers say he will have to be considered for a spot in Cooperstown. Moyer doesn’t want to hear it. Yesterday, after win No. 250, he admitted he has not thought all that much about it. His focus was on helping the team win.
He had been stuck on 249 for a couple of weeks.
By just about any mark, Moyer is a Hall of Fame kind of guy. Maybe more important, he’s probably more impressive off the mound than on it.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:04 AM
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