Philadelphia Phillies memory: Jamie Moyer and ‘the old man’s no-hitter’

A great Philadelphia Phillies memory is the “the old man’s no-hitter” of Jaime Moyer.

As the Philadelphia Phillies begin to stumble a bit after a roaring start, it may soon become again time to recall past team glories instead of watching the current team. In that spirit, the eighth anniversary of The Old Man’s No-Hitter is rapidly approaching. May 7, 2010, Jamie Moyer set the gold standard for veteran pitchers even if he didn’t exactly throw a no-hitter.

“Stick a fork in ’im. He’s done.” This is what many fans had said ever since Moyer returned to the Phillies in 2006 to pitch for the team he had watched as a kid growing up in Souderton, PA. But the oldest pitcher in major league baseball at the end of his career proved them wrong again and again, and never more so than he did eight years ago in the next to last season of a 25-year MLB pitching career.

Throwing his usual 80-mph darts with extra precision against the Braves, mixing change-ups with fastballs that belie the term, and even backing a few hitters off the plate, Moyer became the oldest pitcher in the game’s history to throw a complete game shutout at the age of 47 years, 170 days. He booked a two-hitter with five strikeouts that instantly became a no-hit-like standard for grizzled veterans.

This record is likely to be untouched for a quite a while if only because Moyer was roughly three years older than the next oldest player in the game that night.

His win should be called The Old Man’s No-Hitter because, really, at 47, shouldn’t a guy get a two-hit handicap?

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Moyer was backed with a three-run homer by Jayson Werth that night and two RBI apiece from Raul Ibanez and third-string shortstop Wilson Valdez in the 7-0 victory. Sparkling defensive plays by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard also helped. Both were brilliant, over the shoulder catches.

Victorino made his at full-speed in the outfield while Howard’s was at a more stately pace behind first base on a blooper more straight over his head than over his shoulder.

The old man was not, however, merely propped up by the Phillies youngsters.  At one point he had set down seventeen Braves in a row, prompting the suddenly cynic-less Philly crowd to begin a “Jay-MEE, Jay-MEE” chant.

Moyer’s oddities that evening include the following three items: The only Brave hits in the game were singles by Troy Glaus, usually a home run or strikeout in the books. Moyer’s last two-hit shutout was on August 16, 1986, before the birth of some Braves in uniform in May 2010, and finally, only the minimum number of batters plus one came to the plate for Atlanta.

After the game Phillies manager Charlie Manuel summed up his pitcher’s effort quite succinctly: “Outstanding control and command on both sides of the plate.”  Reporters present seemed a bit flummoxed by the Andy Reid-like brevity, but one managed to stumble through a follow-up question about how Moyer’s MLB record had struck the manager.

Manuel replied, “I think it sounds dandy.” This TV viewer couldn’t recall the use of the term “dandy” in sports commentary since Cosell, Meredith, and Gifford were doing Monday Night Football.

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Old Man Moyer, of course, was then re-scheduled to be “washed-up” later in that season. His win that night, though, was his 262^nd of an eventual total of 269, which sort of begs the question about the number of votes Moyer has gotten for the Hall of Fame.