Philadelphia Phillies righthander Jamie Moyer is never expected to go the distance when he starts a game. In fact, the Phillies just hope that he can give them five or six good innings without putting the team in a seven-run hole.
So on Friday night when Moyer shut down the Atlanta Braves by limiting them to two hits and no runs through nine, we knew it was something special. In fact, at 47 years and 170 days, Moyer became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in MLB history.
“I had fun,” Moyer said. “I probably had forgotten what that’s like. It hasn’t happened a whole lot in my career.”
The previous record holder was Phil Niekro, who shutout the Blue Jays while with the New York Yankees in 1985 at 46 years and 188 days.
But that’s not the only record Moyer set Friday night. He’s now the only pitcher in MLB history to throw a complete game shutout in four different decades (his first was in 1986). Wow.
Good job, Jamie. We’re all pretty hard on you (and let’s be honest, rightfully so) but last night was impressive.
Isn’t Moyer a lefthander, not a righthander?