Moyer Methuselah Of The Mound

Satchel Paige called his autobiography “Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever,” so that title is already taken before Jamie Moyer sits down to write the story of his life in baseball.

Too bad because it fits perfectly. Moyer, who turns 49 in about 10 days, plans to be pitching for some Major League team in 2012 and he has demonstrated the possibilities for some teams recently after a long, painful recovery from Tommy John surgery on his left arm.

If Moyer pulls it off, this would be one of the most remarkable comebacks of all time. It’s tough enough to get all of the way back from that type of operation if you are a quarter of a century old, never mind a half a century old.

Supposedly, in recent workouts Moyer was throwing only about as fast as 83 mph, barely hard enough to crack a pane of glass if thrown head-on. Scouts at a college game would be drawing Xs through the name of any pitcher they watched who topped out at that speed. Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban whiz with the Cincinnati Reds, probably is physically incapable of throwing his changeup that slow.

However, Moyer has more experience in the big leagues than any manager after 24 years of throwing, and as they say in real estate pricing, it’s more about location, location, location. Moyer can put the ball just about anywhere he wants to. That’s the story of his career. He never was rocket armed. He is 6 feet tall and his weight is around 170 pounds. One scout who saw Moyer throw recently said something priceless, that he still has the capability of making batters look like idiots.

Think knuckleball kinship more than fastball kinship when considering Moyer. His resume has 267 wins and for those of us who wondered how many years it would take before we saw another 300-game winner, a Moyer comeback might offer the answer. He is 33 victories away and if his arm is good enough to transport him through the 2012 season who’s to stay he can’t keep on rolling?

It sounds farfetched for a guy old enough to be a grandfather to find a home in someone’s rotation, but teams are always on the prowl for starting pitching. The Hall of Fame knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhem was 49 when he last pitched in the majors in 1972. Wilbur Wood would probably still be pitching at 70 if a line drive hadn’t shattered his kneecap. He never had a moment’s worry from his arm and did such things as start both games of a doubleheader.

The great Paige himself, banned from the majors because he was black until well past his prime, was a 42-year-old Cleveland Indian rookie in 1948 and made the American League All-Star team at 47. When he was 59 at the end of the 1965 season Paige pitched three famous innings against the Boston Red Sox for the then-Kansas City Athletics, allowing just one hit.

If Moyer can pitch at all he is the type of a guy a team wants in the clubhouse. One of a small number of four-decade major leaguers, Moyer must be one of the most charitable players in the sport. He has been recognized several times for his community and charitable service, including winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 2003. Fans would eat it up having a player like him on their side.

When he hurt his arm in 2010, Moyer had nine wins for the Phillies, the team he spent his last five years with after being most closely identified with the Seattle Mariners. Moyer might be a low-priced option for the Phillies as they slightly tweak a roster that was felt to be a likely World Series champ. Seattle, where he spent 11 years, is building and might find room for him.

Moyer is living in San Diego, so the Padres, Angels or Dodgers would be geographically convenient for him. But he is unlikely to be terribly choosy. Certainly, what matters most to Moyer now is simply getting a chance from any big-league club to show he can still do the job.