Colorado Rockies history: Jamie Moyer rewrites MLB history books

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DENVER, CO – APRIL 17: Starting pitcher Jamie Moyer #50 of the Colorado Rockies delivers against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on April 17, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. Moyer became the oldest player in the major leagues to record a win as the Rockies defeated the Padres 5-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Moyer’s catcher that night was Wilin Rosario. Rosario was born on February 23, 1989. Moyer was about ready to enter his fourth season in the major leagues when he was born. Just three months prior to Rosario being born, Moyer was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Texas Rangers with Rafael Palmeiro and another player for reliever Mitch Williams and five other players.

Also, the home plate umpire for the game was Joe West. He was the only person on the field with more MLB experience than Moyer (he has been an MLB umpire since 1976, with a hiatus in 2000 and 2001 due to a labor issue with umpires that caused baseball to hire 25 minor league umpires in September of 1999).

When Moyer made his MLB debut on June 16, 1986, he faced future Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton. Carlton was 41 years old and he was born on December 22, 1944. The oldest player in baseball was future Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro. He was born on April 1, 1939.

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The oldest two players in the National League were Pete Rose (who was the Reds manager and part-time player) and Tony Perez. Rose was born on April 14, 1941 and Perez on May 14, 1942. Moyer faced Perez three times in his career and Perez went 0-for-3. Moyer also faced his son, Eduardo, too. He was 2-for-11 against Moyer. Eduardo, though, had already retired six years prior as he retired after the 2006 season. He had also become the Marlins hitting coach in 2011.

At the time of his win, the youngest player in National League was Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals. Harper was born on October 16, 1992. Moyer had spent the entire 1992 season in the minor leagues but he was about to turn 30 years old. He returned to the majors the next season for his seventh season.

Aftermath

Moyer only went on to win one more game as a Rockie in seven more starts. He lost three and had an ERA of 7.25 and an opponent’s batting average of .325 in the starts. He was released by the Rockies and spent time in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays and Orioles before retiring at the end of the season.

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