Jamie Moyer is perhaps most well known for being one of the oldest players in the modern era, pitching in the big leagues until he was 49 and making several comeback attempts after he turned 50. He bounced around several teams throughout his career including a 3 year stint with the Orioles.
Moyer is one of 31 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in MLB games in four decades. At the time of his retirement, Moyer had faced 8.9% of all MLB hitters ever. He played in 50 different stadiums over the course of his career. He played for so long his career predates the Rockies franchise, the franchise he finished his career with in 2012. Moyer played for so long two pitchers that were drafted the same year as him, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, were a year away from being voted into the Hall of Fame when Moyer was still pitching professionally. He played long enough to make appearances against 4 different father son duos.
After being drafted by the Cubs in 1984, Moyer had several good years in the minors, beingvan all star at several levels and leading several minor league leagues in the important pitching stats. He would debut with the Cubs in 1987 and finish 10th in the NL in strikeouts. Eventually he would bounce around several teams before landing with Baltimore in 1992. Signed as a free agent and having had some struggles in the years prior, Moyer actually started 1993 in the minors before making the roster at the end of May. Moyer revitalized his career in Baltimore, setting new career highs in several categories in 1993. The strike shorten 1994 was another down year for him and in 1095 he was in the bullpen but he was still an effective pitcher for all 3 years. His ERA+ with the Orioles is the 2nd highest of any of his stops besides his time in Seattle later in his career where he would become an all star.
In a 1993 pitching staff that included Ben McDonald, Mike Mussina, Fernando Valenzuela, Rick Sutcliffe, and Arthur Rhodes Moyer was the most effective pitcher behind Ben McDonald. Those are some pretty fun names to have in a staff together.
Moyer would find his way to several different entertaining and successful teams in the 2000s. He was a 20 game winner on the 2001 Mariners that won 116 games. he was also a part of the World Series winning Phillies squad in 2008. Over the course of his career he would set the record for home runs allowed by a pitcher.
Moyer is a player who has a very notable career outside of Baltimore but it feels like a lot of people first his early days as an Oriole in the mid 90s. He was never a Cy Young contender or an elite pitcher, being known more for his control and game managing abilities, but his longevity is something that is definitely worth celebrating.