this is Jamie Moyer's 25th MLB season he just arrived in Colorado to pitch for the Rockies it is the 80th time his family has moved during his career his average fastball velocity is 77.8 mph in the 2023 Little League World Series fan Chen Jun from Taiwan was clocked at 82 m per hour his average fast ball was faster than Jamie Moyer's and he was 12 years old Jamie Moyer is 49 years old and he is about to face D Gordon he is 25 years younger at the time was literally half of Jamie Moyer's age when Jamie Moyer made his ml debut D Gordon wasn't even born yet that was 26 years earlier in 1986 at Wrigley Field a stadium that didn't even have lights installed at the time Harry carry who was an announcer when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier was the commentator that day Tom Siver and Pete Rose were still in the league Larry Bird was the MVP of the NBA and D Gordon's dad who played 21 MLB Seasons hadn't even made his debut yet yes D Gordon's dad is younger than Jamie Moyer now D Gordon is about to face Jamie Moyer who at the time was 49 years old he is older than the first ever CD he is older than light beer he is older than ATM machines and he is pitching his 600 and 93rd career game Major League Baseball goes back to the 1870s it is over 145 years old there have been over 23,000 MLB players in history at the time of this game Jamie Moyer had pitched so long and was so old he had faced over 8% of all Major Leaguers in history Mo Miss this is the first two pitches off the plate then on a 2 count D Gordon takes a 79 mph fast ball over the plate D Gordon played over 10 years was thrown over 14,000 pitches and this was the slowest fast ball he saw in his entire MLB career in 2022 the Nationals let D Gordon pitch for one inning he threw one fast ball it was 81 mph so D Gordon a position player had more veloc vity on his fast ball than Jam Moyer he also ran faster Gordon's time to First was 3.75 in 2015 the 10th best in baseball at 49 Moyer took 4.59 seconds to Sprint to First that makes him the slowest in the league amongst qualified Runners even slower than 270lb Daniel vogelbach knowing this Gordon made up his mind that he was going to try to bunt for a hit Moyer threw another fast ball Gordon fouls it off for strike two this fast ball was 78 mph the new slowest pitch Gordon had ever seen at this point in his career Jamie Moyer's average fast ball is an insane 16 mph slower than the average fast ball in MLB today it's 6 mph slower than the average change up 6 m per hour slower than the average slider 7 m per hour slower than the average splitter slower than the average curveball and the only knuckle Baller in MLB today Matt Waldren throws his knuckle ball faster than Jamie Moyer could throw a fast ball at 49 the average fast ball in the Little League World Series in 2010 was around 74 mph that's only 4 mph slower than Moyer's average the Little League Mound is also 14 ft closer to the plate than a major league man so not only is Moyer's fastball going at a little league speed it's traveling further taking even longer to get to the plate for a Major League hitter used to 100 mph pitches Moyer's ball looks like it's in slow motion and on a 22 count Moyer throws one even slower a 69 mph curveball Gordon puts on a weak swing just to foul it off there's two strikes the season prior Gordon only struck out 11% of the time making him one of the hardest hitters to strike out so Moyer goes to his best pitch D Gordon thinks it's a fast ball swings but it dies below the zone at the last second he got this strike out without throwing a single pitch fast than 79 mph in baseball this is one of the most counterintuitive strikeouts possible it's well established that the faster a pitch is the harder it is to hit since 2008 against fast balls between 95 and 100 mph MLB hitters only hit 237 on Fast balls 100 mph or faster they only hit 180 but against fast balls between 90 and 95 mph they hit 272 with a slugging percentage of 463 meaning when the average MLB player sees a fast ball slower than 95 mph they roughly have the same numbers as Hall of Famer Carl yky but Moyer throws way slower than that at this age he can barely hit 80 against fast balls 80 mph or slower MLB hitters bat 315 with a slugging percentage of 552 meaning the average MLB player when facing a fast ball as slow as Jamie Moyers have numbers better than Mickey Mantle yet somehow at 47 years old throwing 80 mph the Phillies not only let Jamie Moyer pitch he had one of the most legendary games of his career and the first pitch from Jamie Moyer is on the outside corner and we're underway he starts the game off with an 83 mph fast ball to Omar and fonte it's the the slowest fast ball in fonte has seen all season yet it's the fastest pitch Moyer will throw the entire game this game in May is being called by Tom McCarthy he's been with the Phillies for almost 10 years yet is 6 years younger than Jamie Moyer his partner Gary Matthews was teammates with Moyer as a rookie that was 24 years ago today Moyer gets INF fonte to ground out quickly on a fast ball then gets PR to hit a Lazy Fly ball now he has to face Chipper Jones a future Hall of Famer and still one of the most dangerous hitters in the game this season he's making $14 million that comes out to about $150,000 per game which is more than twice the amount of money that Jamie Moyer made in his entire rookie season back then the league minimum was $60,000 that was in 1986 it was 10 times less than the Le leue minimum today Chipper Jones who's in his late 30s during this game was in Middle School and Jamie Moyer wasn't throwing much harder than he is today in high school Moyer had a 22 and3 record and once through three no hitters in a row he was dominant there was 40 rounds in the draft the average fastball was below 90 in MLB at the time and Moyer was only 18 with time to grow yet he threw so slow not a single team drafted him him Moyer went to college and eventually got into the league in 1986 where his fast ball maxed out at only 85 milph yet somehow over 24 years later he's still pitching and against one of the best hitters in the league he throws Jones four fast balls and gets him to pop out despite only going up to 83 milph in the first inning he threw his fast ball for nine out of his first 11 pitches and no one can make solid Conta his opponent on this day is Derek low he is the oldest pitcher on the brav staff yet he is over a decade younger than Moyer in fact by the time Derek glow made his MLB debut Moyer was already 34 and had been cut by three teams by this point Moyer should have already been retired in his first five seasons he ranked as the third worst pitcher in baseball according to ra so the Rangers cut him from the team the Cardinals picked him up and Stu him in the miners he ended up making seven starts for them and his erra got even worse so the Cardinals cut him from the team the Cubs picked him back up on a minor league contract let him go to spring training but when he didn't make the team they cut him Moyer's career looked so hopeless after cutting him the Cubs offered him a job as a minor league pitching coach Moyer said no instead the tiger signed him to be a quote mop-up guy that that's a pitcher who comes in solely during blowouts so the team doesn't have to waste their good pitchers in games they already know they can't win except the Tigers didn't even think Moyer was good enough to do that they signed him to be the mop-up guy for their triaa team his salary was $122,000 at this point the average length of a career for a pitcher was 5.6 Seasons Moyer had already pitched six the average age for a player was 28 Moyer was now 30 he had one of the worst ER raids had pitched in only seven M Mo games in 3 years and in other words was completely washed up even if he would have retired at this time like people thought he probably would his career would still have been longer and more successful than the average MLB pitcher he spent his entire 29-year-old season in the miners instead of calling up Moyer in September the tigers called up one of their best pitching prospects he threw harder was significantly younger and had a bigger future but 17 years later this guy has been retired for over a decade while Moyer is about to face Troy gloss in the top of the second he smacks a lead off single but Moyer knows what to do he throws a slow fast ball low in the zone and it turns into a double play the pitch after he gets David Ross on the exact same pitch he just retired three batters in three pitches this entire half inning only took Jamie Moyer 1 minute and 23 seconds to complete the next inning he gets another soft ground out he then throws a perfectly placed 83 mph fast ball in the inside corner Nate MCL has no option but to foul it off for strike two moer throws the exact same pitch but even more inside even though it's only 83 mouth can't hold up and gets embarrassed he then does the exact same thing to drik low he throws two perfectly plac fast balls right on the corner to Martin prao down 02 he has to swing at anything close chases this high pitch and grounds out things are about to get harder he's facing Chipper Jones outmatched in every way Moyer has to get creative so he throws an 82 mph fast ball 2 in from Chipper Jones's head hoping this will make him uncomfortable it does he then gets him to fly out on an 80 mph change up then Troy gloss the only Brave to get a hit off Moyer is is up again he throws a fast ball 2 in from his head again this works perfectly and Choy gloss pops up a 79 mph curve he then gets Matt Diaz to pop up then gets David Ross to pop up then a 74 mph curve gets mky Cabrera to pop up Moyer just got the last five batters he face to pop up he's throwing so slow and hitters are so off balance they're in front of every single pitch and hitting them straight into the air yet still while throwing this low he's somehow getting swing and Miss Nate mclouth strikes out again on this 79 mil per hour cut fast ball the slowest fast ball he struck out on in his entire career Brandon Hicks is way in front of this pitch and Strikes Out Omar en fonte is way in front of this pitch and Strikes Out Martin prto flies out and Chipper Jones pops out again Jamie Moyer has given up one hit faced the minimum thrown seven shutout Innings and has retired fired 17 batters in a row without throwing a single pitch faster than 83 mph at 47 years old he's about to attempt to become the oldest player in history to throw a complete game shut out 17 years earlier Moyer couldn't even win a game he had just been cut by three teams in three seasons spent three seasons in the miners and had not won an MLB game in over three seasons but the Orioles let him pitch in their minor league system by May he'd pitch well enough to get called up but was failing miserably over his first four starts with the O's he had an ER well over four based on what batters were Hitting off him it should have been a lot worse and had just given up seven runs and couldn't make it out of the second inning when one of his friends sent him a pink garter belt inspired by the movie bold Durham Moyer was told wearing this lingerie under his uniform would make him pitch better and in the first start he wore it he dominated Moyer swears that as soon as he began wearing this lingerie under his jersey his pitching transform he had the best year of his career up to that point and finally reestablished himself as an MLB pitcher while wearing it he got traded after a few seasons then had the highest winning percentage in the league then as a free agent went to the Mariners at 33 his career wasn't even half over at 36 he got Sai Young votes for the first time at 38 he led the league with 20 wins then in 2003 he had the lowest erra of his career was an All-Star for the first time in his career and finished top five in sa young voting Moyer just had a breakout season when he was 40 years old from ages 23 to 32 a player so-called Prime Moyer had a 4.51 erra with a war of 11 from ages 33 to 40 a player so-called declin more Moyer's Ra was almost a full run less and he had more than double his War Moyer was given an extension which he played out in Seattle when he got there the team was filled with stars in 2001 they won more regular season games than any team in history but now they sucked Moyer was 42 he felt old he was old was tired of losing and made up his mind he was going to retire at the end of the season ending a career that lasted 19 Major League Seasons but then the Mariners traded him Jamie Moyer all of a sudden was on a team about to make history he was the oldest active MLB player the oldest pitcher in Philly's history to record a win the oldest pitcher in history to get a hit and he was the second best starting pitcher on the best team in the league at 45 years old he became the oldest player to start in the NLCS started in the World Series and won he not only won his first World Series he played a massive role in winning it so the Phillies gave him a 2-year contract when he was 45 years old at the time it seemed like somewhat of just a thank you for helping them win a World Series but here he is 2 years later at 47 attempting to become the oldest pitcher in history to throw a shut out he immediately gets into trouble after seven Innings his fast ball is only reaching 79 and Troy gloss sends this one up the middle for a leadoff single the announcers are confused on why nobody is warming up in the bullpen and there's nobody up in the bullpen with him in the eighth inning now I don't think I've ever seen that point you know he's gassed which is understandable then Moyer places a perfect pitch on the corner and explodes Matt das's bat David Ross pops up and on a 3-2 count with two outs he gets Melky Cabrera to fly out the entire Stadium gets on their feet to applaud more ER who only needs three more outs for a complete game but before that he has to hit he leads off the inning and fans are giving him another Standing Ovation Jamie against Jesse Chavez he takes strike one as the entire stadium is chanting his name he swings through the second one now he's down 02 takes a ball takes another ball hits a foul fouls off another then takes another ball Moyer has worked a Full Count he then fouls off a pitch fouls off another pitch then fouls off his fifth pitch of the entire at bat the entire stadium is on their feet Chavez is throwing 14 mph faster than Moyer and he can't get him out then on the 11th pitch of the atat moyer is finally retired he gets another Standing Ovation as he prepares to come out for the last inning he gets Nate mclouth to pop out gets Eric hsky to ground out and gets Martin prao to ground out to complete a complete game shut out the oldest player in history to do this it is his 673rd career game and according to gamees score he just pitched the best game of his career at 47 years old the second best game of his career was 24 years earlier in between these two games there were five different presidents the worldwide web was in vented and the Earth's population grew by 3 billion people the Phillies who had arguably the best pitching staff of the 2010s continued to rely on Moyer consistently eating innings for the first place Phillies in his 24th Major League season but in July he throws this pitch Moyer just tore his UCL this injury requires Tommy John when you tear this your elbow is in such bad shape it takes 12 to 18 months to pitch again but Moyer stays in the game he still manages to get Randy wi to ground out he then has to face Albert buol the best hitter in baseball with a torn UCL he smacks a single now he has to face allar Matt holiday Moyer is losing velocity he smacks a 78 mph fast ball for a single he throws two pitches well out of the Zone he's behind in the count his UCL is torn Moyer is in big trouble and somehow still gets out of it Moyer does not return to the game he doesn't throw another pitch All Season he needs Tommy John surgery at this point only one pitcher in MLB history has gotten Tommy John surgery in their 40s and went on to pitch another MLB game but that guy was 6 years younger than Jamie Moyer was Moyer is 47 meaning if the surgery is perfect it's successful and he heals he still won't pitch for another two seasons and no team in their right mind would sign a pitcher who can't even throw 80 mph coming off a career-threatening injury at 49 years old Moyer decides he's going to try to come back anyway he remains unemployed in 2011 and doesn't throw a pitch so he can rehab from surgery when he's finally able to throw he tries to throw a batting practice to his son's Little League team he threw 50 pitches six of them were hitable he nailed two kids and quit but he keeps trying and eventually gets his location down he tries out for MLB Scouts his velocity is 77 mph but his location is Flawless the Colorado Rockies are a terrible team with young players because they play in high altitude which makes the ball go significantly further nobody wants to pitch for the Rockies so they have very few options they think Moyer might be able to Mentor their young pitchers so they figure they have nothing to lose by inviting him to spring training if he's somehow good he makes the team if he sucks they cut him and basically lose nothing that spring at 49 he dominated Moyer won the job at 49 and is pitching in K's field the hardest Park to pitch in by far it is 2012 Bryce Harper is in the league he is 29 years younger than Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer's average fastball is being clocked at 77 mph rice Harper was clocked at 81 mph when he was 13 years old the average fastball in the Little League World Series in 2010 was around 73 mph in may he faces the Diamondbacks their manager Kirk Gibson got four hits off of Moyer in one season that was 24 years ago he's going against Patrick Corbin he's gone on to pitch an MLB for over a decade has multiple Allstar appearances a top five sa young finish and a World Series yet Jamie Moyer has more wins in his 40s than Corbin has had in his entire career Moyer is younger than three out of the four umpires he's younger than one of the announcers the other announcer is in his 50s and played with Moyer in the 1980s he opens the game against AJ Pollock today he's been in the league for 12 Seasons this is the slowest fastball he'll see his entire career it is 7 8 mph that is above average for Jamie Moyer he ends up grounding out Moyer gives up a hit then faces MVP candidate Justin Upton he's played 16 seasons in MLB Moyer throws him the slowest fastball he's ever seen in MLB for strike one then something even slower it's fouled off for strike through then throws him the new slowest fast ball he's ever seen in his career and Strikes just up and out he can't help but laugh Moyer gets a popup to end the inning next up up is Paul Goldman he'll go on to make seven all-star teams win five silver Sluggers and an MVP Moyer throws him the two slowest fast balls he'll ever see in his major league career both are strikes then he swings and misses at 72 to strike out an error brings John McDonald to the plate he's a short stop but the Diamondbacks let him pitch one time his fast ball was over 5 miles per hour faster than Moyers is he ends up swinging and missing so bad he decides to bunt on the slow Moyer and gets a hit Moyer's in trouble but a pop up and strikeout gets him out of it after an error walk and steal Moyer is in trouble again however a 78 mph fast ball causes a double play and he gets out of another Jam the next inning a leadoff double by gmid puts him in trouble again it doesn't matter he gets a ground out a fly out and another ground out to get out of it on the other side of the field his opponent Patrick Corbin who is 27 years younger than Moyer is struggling he's already given up three runs and Jamie Moyer is coming to the plate with an opportunity to break the game open he takes a strike but battles back and on a 2-2 count hits this dribbler Moyer the slowest player in baseball hustles Jes Paul gmid out and gets a hit two run score and Jamie Moyer just became the oldest MLB player in his history to get an RBI then comes right back out gets three quick ground outs and ends the inning the sheer slowness of Moyer's pitching is throwing everybody off he faces the Diamondbacks cleanup hitter and throws his fastest pitch of the night at 79 then strikes him out on a 75 mph curveball right down the middle Paul goldmit tries again this curve is only 67 mph moer Gets behind the count 20 but two very slow change UPS get him back in the count and on 22 he freezes him on a 71 mph curve right down the middle this is Moyer's 96 strikeout since he turned 40 almost a decade ago meaning Moyer has more strikeouts after turning 40 than dantro Willis Jonathan papon and Mike clevinger have had in their entire careers Moyer comes in for one more inning gives up an RBI single and gets taken out after six and 1-3 Innings with five strikeouts Moyer just became the oldest player in history to record a win breaking his own record it's his 269th win nearly 40% of those wins came after he turned 40 years old he had three times more wins in his 40s than he had in his 20s he pitched twice as many innings had twice as many strikeouts and nearly three times more war in his 40s than he had in his 20s he started 257 games after age 40 that's more starts than Steven strawberg had his entire career he had eight complete games after he turned 40 and he gave up more home runs than anyone in major league history Moyer was released shortly after this win and still tried to make a comeback he pitched for the Orioles and blue jays in the miners and even tried coming back as a knuckle baller at age 50 but it never materialized and after an historic career he finally retired at 50 years old
