Waiting for the Phone to Ring

I played college baseball – mostly as a pitcher, because, no matter how many times I told myself to not bail out on breaking balls coming right at me, I would simply freeze as it beautifully dropped over the plate! So, I took greater pleasure in doing that to other people!

I was a nasty junk ball pitcher with an assortment of moving pitches and changes from varied looks, and a dirty nasty slip pitch that nobody ever once took a swing at (but if they ever guessed when it was coming, it would still be rolling somewhere in the Philly suburbs).

An Orioles scout told me I had major league junk, but a small college fastball. Oh well… but, he saw me pitch a great game one time and said, “We’ll give you a call.”  Every so often when the phone rings and the caller ID is something I don’t recognize, I just wonder if maybe ……

I had really given up on the idea at my age, until reading in the past day that the Orioles have signed a minor league deal with Jamie Moyer. Hey, I’m not that much older than Moyer … sure hope Duquette has my phone number!

Moyer missed last season, but made the starting rotation with the Rockies this year. He had a 5.70 ERA with a record of 2-5. His 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks on May 16^th made Moyer the oldest pitcher to record a victory in the history of the Major Leagues!  So… after a few starts at Norfolk, why not get him to Baltimore to set that record all over again in an Orioles uniform?  That would bring some folks out to the ballpark!

I guess that the thinking on this is that – coming back from Tommy John surgery – perhaps it is taking the old guy a bit longer than average to regain his form. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And hey – the last two pitchers we got from the Rockies have done great in Baltimore (Hammel and Lindstrom).

Actually, Moyer was with the Orioles in a previous life (actually, it was still this life, but you know what I mean). He compiled a record of 25-22 from 1993-1995. Along with the Birds and the Rockies, he has also pitched for the Cubs, Mariners, Red Sox, Rangers, Phillies, and Cardinals. He has 269 career wins. To put this total into perspective, the Orioles won a total of 267 games in the past four seasons prior to this year.

But here is another value he could have for the Orioles… When Derek Jeter gets that grandiose HOF look in his eyes that says, “I’m as great as even Ty Cobb” … Moyer can look at him and say, “I knew Ty Cobb; Ty Cobb was a friend of mine, and you sir are no Ty Cobb!”

So frankly, I’m pulling for the old guy, just as I’m now pulling for all old guys everywhere! Don’t you youngsters write us off too fast, or I’ll “out you” on Twitter – using my Tablet!

Twitter: @OSayOrioles