whoknew
Footballguy
Ken_Rosenthal :
Jamie Moyer threw for scouts last Thursday in SD area. Reports from scouts excellent. Nearly a year removed from TJ. Turns 49 Nov. 18.
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Link
JAMIE MOYER EYES COMEBACK IN 2012
Jamie Moyer knows there are people out there who will scoff at his comeback bid.
As always, he welcomes them.
“There will be naysayers, but they’ve been there my whole career,” the former Phillie said in a telephone conversation the other day. “I don’t let them affect me in a negative way. If anything, I turn it into a positive.”
Early in his career, critics said Moyer didn’t throw hard enough to last in the majors. He lasted 24 seasons. He was released three times before starting over in the minors at age 29. He won 233 games after that.
So, if you doubt he can make it back to the majors at age 49 after major elbow surgery … well, doubt away – Moyer will use it as fuel in his drive to pitch again in the majors.
The free-agent lefthander is nearly 11 months removed from ligament-replacement [Tommy John] surgery. He has worked his way up to 60 pitches during bullpen sessions and is about to start contacting clubs that might want to watch him throw.
“If this were the middle of July, I’d be at the stage where one more good bullpen session and I’d be ready to go out on a [minor-league] rehab assignment,” said Moyer, who turns 49 next month. “I’ve gone through this rehab knowing that my arm and body will stop me if they have to. So far they haven’t.”
Moyer and his family are currently living near San Diego. The area is loaded with scouts so you can bet that a number of clubs will peek in on him. He is looking for a chance to go to spring training with a club and prove he can still pitch.
“All I can do is offer a chance to come evaluate me,” Moyer said. “Some clubs will say, ‘He’s 49 years old,’ but some will say, ‘Let’s give it a shot. Let’s not make any assumptions until we see him throw.’ Evaluate on what you see instead of what you think.”
Does Moyer believe he’ll end up in a team’s camp?
“I think so,” he said. “I would think someone would allow me the opportunity to go pitch. But I want it in a serious manner, not PR. I’m coming in to be serious and pitch, like I always have. My body and the hitters will dictate what I can and can’t do.”
Moyer joined the Phillies in a trade with Seattle in Aug. 2006 and went 56-40 before injuring his elbow in July 2010. He rehabbed the elbow the remainder of the season but injured it again pitching in the Dominican Republic last fall and had surgery on Dec. 1. Moyer recently spent three weeks working out under the watchful eye of Phillies instructors and rehab trainers in Clearwater. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phils would watch Moyer throw this off-season, but the club has made no commitment to invite him to spring training.
“It was very gracious of the Phillies,” Moyer said of his time in Clearwater. “There were no expectations. I just wanted to be overseen by people who had seen me throw before. [Athletic trainer] Scott Sheridan knows me well and was kind enough to set up a six-week protocol for me to follow. I’m just finishing that up. I appreciate what the staff and organization did for me.”
Moyer became the oldest pitcher in baseball history – 47 years, 107 days -- to throw a shutout when he did it against Atlanta in May 2010. Few pitch to that age, never mind have surgery to try to keep their career alive. Moyer is 267-204 lifetime. Three-hundred wins looms on the distant horizon, but the milestone is not what drives Moyer.
“I know the number is out there,” he said. “I know people will ask about it and I respect that. But let’s be realistic, that’s 3 1/2 years away. If I think about what’s going to happen 3 1/2 years down the road, I’ll lose perspective. I’m just trying to get healthy and pitch again. I can’t look down the road. I’ve never played that way. When you do that, you have the carpet pulled out on you. I have to think about the now. I have to live in the present.”
So what keeps Moyer going?
“The passion I have for the game and the belief that I still think I have something that I can contribute to a club,” he said. “I loved the time off I had this season. I did a lot of nice things with my family. I did some work for ESPN. But I do miss it. The longer I’m away, the more I miss it.
“I’d like to pitch again. I’d like to have the opportunity to walk away from the game healthy and on my own terms, and I’m willing to earn it. Whatever you get in this game, you have to earn. I know I need to earn it.”
Jamie Moyer threw for scouts last Thursday in SD area. Reports from scouts excellent. Nearly a year removed from TJ. Turns 49 Nov. 18.
---
Link
JAMIE MOYER EYES COMEBACK IN 2012
Jamie Moyer knows there are people out there who will scoff at his comeback bid.
As always, he welcomes them.
“There will be naysayers, but they’ve been there my whole career,” the former Phillie said in a telephone conversation the other day. “I don’t let them affect me in a negative way. If anything, I turn it into a positive.”
Early in his career, critics said Moyer didn’t throw hard enough to last in the majors. He lasted 24 seasons. He was released three times before starting over in the minors at age 29. He won 233 games after that.
So, if you doubt he can make it back to the majors at age 49 after major elbow surgery … well, doubt away – Moyer will use it as fuel in his drive to pitch again in the majors.
The free-agent lefthander is nearly 11 months removed from ligament-replacement [Tommy John] surgery. He has worked his way up to 60 pitches during bullpen sessions and is about to start contacting clubs that might want to watch him throw.
“If this were the middle of July, I’d be at the stage where one more good bullpen session and I’d be ready to go out on a [minor-league] rehab assignment,” said Moyer, who turns 49 next month. “I’ve gone through this rehab knowing that my arm and body will stop me if they have to. So far they haven’t.”
Moyer and his family are currently living near San Diego. The area is loaded with scouts so you can bet that a number of clubs will peek in on him. He is looking for a chance to go to spring training with a club and prove he can still pitch.
“All I can do is offer a chance to come evaluate me,” Moyer said. “Some clubs will say, ‘He’s 49 years old,’ but some will say, ‘Let’s give it a shot. Let’s not make any assumptions until we see him throw.’ Evaluate on what you see instead of what you think.”
Does Moyer believe he’ll end up in a team’s camp?
“I think so,” he said. “I would think someone would allow me the opportunity to go pitch. But I want it in a serious manner, not PR. I’m coming in to be serious and pitch, like I always have. My body and the hitters will dictate what I can and can’t do.”
Moyer joined the Phillies in a trade with Seattle in Aug. 2006 and went 56-40 before injuring his elbow in July 2010. He rehabbed the elbow the remainder of the season but injured it again pitching in the Dominican Republic last fall and had surgery on Dec. 1. Moyer recently spent three weeks working out under the watchful eye of Phillies instructors and rehab trainers in Clearwater. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phils would watch Moyer throw this off-season, but the club has made no commitment to invite him to spring training.
“It was very gracious of the Phillies,” Moyer said of his time in Clearwater. “There were no expectations. I just wanted to be overseen by people who had seen me throw before. [Athletic trainer] Scott Sheridan knows me well and was kind enough to set up a six-week protocol for me to follow. I’m just finishing that up. I appreciate what the staff and organization did for me.”
Moyer became the oldest pitcher in baseball history – 47 years, 107 days -- to throw a shutout when he did it against Atlanta in May 2010. Few pitch to that age, never mind have surgery to try to keep their career alive. Moyer is 267-204 lifetime. Three-hundred wins looms on the distant horizon, but the milestone is not what drives Moyer.
“I know the number is out there,” he said. “I know people will ask about it and I respect that. But let’s be realistic, that’s 3 1/2 years away. If I think about what’s going to happen 3 1/2 years down the road, I’ll lose perspective. I’m just trying to get healthy and pitch again. I can’t look down the road. I’ve never played that way. When you do that, you have the carpet pulled out on you. I have to think about the now. I have to live in the present.”
So what keeps Moyer going?
“The passion I have for the game and the belief that I still think I have something that I can contribute to a club,” he said. “I loved the time off I had this season. I did a lot of nice things with my family. I did some work for ESPN. But I do miss it. The longer I’m away, the more I miss it.
“I’d like to pitch again. I’d like to have the opportunity to walk away from the game healthy and on my own terms, and I’m willing to earn it. Whatever you get in this game, you have to earn. I know I need to earn it.”
