Miller's camping trip
PEORIA, Ariz. -- He was 29 when, after the St. Louis Cardinals released him, the Chicago Cubs offered him a coaching job in their system.
No thanks, Jamie Moyer said.
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| Jamie Moyer recounts his roller-coaster years in baseball.(Getty Images) |
No, no, Moyer really didn't say all of that. But it all happened anyway. Talk about a fork in the road and taking the right path, huh?
"I didn't feel like that was pertinent," Moyer said of the coaching offer.
So, he's 41 now, and who knows? Maybe the fun is just beginning. The Seattle Mariners' Moyer has won 20 or more games in two of the past three seasons, he compiled the best ERA of his career last summer (3.27) and he still doesn't throw hard enough to inflict a bruise.
Meanwhile, he was named as Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award winner last season for the passion with which he plays baseball and for the energy he devotes to the Moyer Foundation, a charity he and his wife Karen started.
The foundation was to offer encouragement, comfort and support to children and families who are enduring times of distress -- particularly children, for whom the foundation started Bereavement Camps. The Moyer Foundation has raised nearly $3 million in support of more than 100 different organizations.
Does that earn him respect in the clubhouse? It sure does, although you might have a difficult time coaxing the Mariners to admit it. Some of his teammates tease Moyer by calling him "Biejo" -- "old man in Spanish," explained fellow starting pitcher Joel Pineiro. Well, Moyer and his wife -- the daughter of former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps -- do have five children, with a sixth on the way in August.
Bottom line: Good thing Moyer declined the Cubs' offer to become a coach 12 years ago. Aside from his baseball, parental and charitable accomplishments, among other things, he wouldn't have been able to answer all of these questions we lobbed his way the other morning with the end of spring training in plain sight:
Scott Miller: Satchel Paige once said, "Avoid fried foods, as they angry up the blood." Is that one of your secrets to longevity?
Jaime Moyer: "I'll eat anything.
"I look back on my career, and I've been touched by a lot of special people. I feel I've been able to listen, and maybe I didn't understand immediately, but I eventually did. Dedication is huge. Hard work and stick-to-it-iveness. I was always told I was too small, 'You can't; you can't; you can't.' My parents instilled in me to work hard and keep things simple. That's important, especially in today's world.
"Things are so high-tech, you can get caught up in the whirlwind and lose your values. Every now and then, getting a taste of humble pie is good. It's good for your character."
S.M.: You went back and got your degree (in General Studies) from Indiana University-South Bend in 1996. You were well into your baseball career by then -- why did you do it?
J.M.: "Part of it was a promise I made to my in-laws when I asked if I could marry their daughter. They asked if I was going to get my degree.
"Also, as we started having children, I started thinking about it. And as an athlete who speaks publicly, you tell people to get their education. I started thinking, 'I hope nobody asks me if I have my degree, because I don't.' Here I am preaching 'Go to college and get your education' and I don't have it myself.
"My mother-in-law is a law professor at Notre Dame, and education is a big part of what my father-in-law's coaching career stood for. I'm very thankful. That's one of the things in my career I'm most proud of -- and it may sound odd as a player -- but going back and getting my college degree. I'm sure some other players have done it, too, but more haven't, and that's a shame."
S.M.: Only four other pitchers have won 20 games after turning 40: Cy Young, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Warren Spahn and Phil Niekro. How does it feel to be included in that group after winning 21 games last summer?
J.M.: "It's pretty special company but, ultimately, my thought is that it's my job. I need to come here and perform, to contribute to my teammates. Numbers take care of themselves. Statistics take care of themselves. People can make them work any way they want to.
"My goal every year is to pitch 200 innings. I try to parlay that to the staff. If we can all pitch 200 innings, that's 1,000 innings. You look at a season, and 1,400 or 1,500 innings need to be pitched. And starters need to pitch the bulk of them. If the starters don't do that, you're not going to have a bullpen left."
S.M.: What do you think of when you think of your time with the Chicago Cubs (1986-1988)?
J.M.: "My first opportunity in the big leagues. I was very young and very green. It was very eye-opening to experience what I did there. I learned a lot. I probably didn't realize how much I was learning at the time."
S.M.: What about Texas (1989-1990)?
J.M.: "I was hurt for half of one of those years. Different league, huge learning experience. Dealing with being traded (the Cubs dealt Moyer in Dec., 1988, in the deal that sent Rafael Palmeiro to Texas). It was a huge issue, but it was there. I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about people.
"My first reaction was, 'Nobody wants me.' But then you flip that and say, 'I'm going somewhere where I'm wanted.'"
S.M.: St. Louis (1991)?
J.M.: "To me, that was exciting. I was released from the Rangers and invited to big-league camp as a non-roster invitee. I worked very hard and made the team ... and that's about where it ended. I made seven starts and was 0-5.
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| Jamie Moyer, 41, is only the fifth pitcher in history to win 20 games after the age of 40.(AP) |
"After two months, I was sent back to Louisville, and that was probably the longest season of my life. We had our first child in Louisville, so that was exciting. But it might have been the worst team I ever played on in terms of wins and losses (the '91 Redbirds finished 61-85). We had some good players -- Brian Jordan, Tim Jones, Mike Milchin. I enjoyed our pitching coach, Mark Riggins. He and some of my teammates made the situation palatable.
"They allowed me to commute from South Bend (Ind.) after our child was born -- they were very gracious. It was six hours -- I'd go home on an off-day, and if I wasn't pitching the next day, come back later. I did that four, five, six times."
S.M.: What was your coolest minor-league stop?
J.M.: "Geneva, N.Y., because it was the first one. I had two good roommates, we lived in an apartment off the side of a house ... it was just a good, memorable experience in a nice part of the country. It's by the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York. We had a good manager, a good pitching coach and a good group of guys."
S.M.: Your worst minor-league stop?
J.M.: "Louisville. It's all about winning."
S.M.: The runner-up?
J.M.: "Rochester. We witnessed a shooting. We were looking for an apartment (Jamie and Karen), and we were having lunch outdoors at a place near the correctional institute. All of a sudden, a police car comes around the corner, siren screaming. And then came another one. We saw a man running up over a berm, and a cop shot at him.
"Going from the hotel to the ballpark, they said don't ever stop your vehicle except to stop at a red light. They've moved the ballpark since then, and our second child was born in Rochester."
(The Moyers' third child was born in Baltimore, their fourth and fifth were born in Seattle and Karen is due with No. 6 in early August.)
S.M.: What do you think of when you think of your time in Baltimore (1993-1995)?
J.M.: "They guaranteed me a spot on the Triple-A staff if I didn't make the big-league team, and that's what happened (Moyer went 6-0 with a 1.67 ERA in eight starts). We had some great people on that team -- Randy Ready, Mark Parent, Rey Palacios, Damon Buford, Tommy Hinzo, Steve Searcy, Scott Coolbaugh. We got off to a great start, Arthur (Rhodes) hurt his knee in Baltimore, and I got called up. The rest is history."
(The only time Moyer would ever pitch a minor-league game after that came when he made one injury-rehabilitation start for Triple-A Tacoma in 1997).
"And, of course, I had the great fortune to play with Cal Ripken when he broke Lou Gehrig's record."
S.M.: Boston (1996)?
J.M.: (Moyer grimaces). "The city is great, but that particular team was not a good situation for me. I was the mop-up guy. I was the sixth man on a five-man staff, the seventh man in a six-man bullpen. Somehow, I salvaged seven wins before I was traded here."
S.M.: And, finally, Seattle (1996-present)?
J.M.: I've had some great opportunities in my past, and the situation here ... we've been a very good defensive ballclub for the seven years I've been here, which helps me immensely. We've scored a lot of runs, which helps any pitcher.
"As a pitcher, you've got to do your job, but with the type of pitcher I am, you've got to rely heavily on your defense and offense. This organization has done a great job of bringing in good players and good people.
"We're in the northwest, it's laid back, and I like that lifestyle. We've actually moved to Seattle now and really, really like it."
S.M.: With your kids getting older (son Dillon James is 12, Hutton Scott is 10, McCabe Joseph will be 1 in July; daughter Timoney Jennifer is 8 and Duffy Margaret Joan is 6), what is it like being able to share your career with them?
J.M.: "I enjoy it, and I think they enjoy it. I look back when they were younger, and they thought, 'Dad's going to the playground' because that's what they did. Now, I think they realize it's a little more of a work environment. They work on their hitting and pitching. The oldest will be playing Sandy Koufax League this summer, where they steal bases.
"They're very astute as far as what shoes guys wear, who's using what bats. I'll come home from a game, or we'll be in the car, and they'll ask, 'Why did you do this?' or 'Why did that happen?'....
"Last week, someone asked Dillon what his favorite sport is and he said, 'Whatever is in season.' I liked that response. To me, it showed a little naiveté, which is great. In our world today, kids are forced to choose a sport at such a young age, and I think that is totally unfair. There is so much emphasis put on winning and scholarships, it really isn't fair to the kids. So many parents are trying to live their lives vicariously through their kids. I have conversations with some parents, I say a little, and then just walk away shaking my head. It's really scary."
S.M.: St. Joseph's, where you played college baseball, retired your number in November, 1997. How big of an honor was that?
J.M.: "It kind of caught me off guard. It was a nice honor. St. Joseph's baseball is nothing to brag about, but we had a team in Division I. We had to work for everything we had, do fundraisers so we could go down south (in the spring). If anything, it taught me to appreciate things. I've been around a lot of college programs where they've been given everything. I had a great coach, and it was a great group of guys who I still keep in touch with. When we go east, I usually see a guy or two milling around the stands in Baltimore."
S.M.: You must be thrilled with St. Joseph's run in the NCAA Tournament.
J.M.: "I am. With five kids and being on the West Coast, you see highlights. They had a nice year. You hear so much about how they're not in a tough conference; how they're not playing here or there. You know what? They're in the final eight, and you can't take that away from them. When you have an undefeated season, I don't care who you're playing, you're bound to have an off night. Very memorable. It shows what hard work can do."
S.M.: What do you think when you see your father-in-law, former coach and ESPN basketball analyst Digger Phelps, on television in spring training each year?
J.M.: "I know he won't be visiting. (Laughs.)
"No, we have a great relationship. He treats me like a son. I think he respects what I do as an athlete, and I respect what he did as a coach. He really enjoys what he's doing now. I think it's great, at his age, that he can stay involved. We constantly kid him about how he works from November until the end of March and, in that time, he probably works 50 or 60 days. We get on him, and he gets on me."
S.M.: You've been involved with Garth Brooks' charities. How have you contributed to Garth's baseball career?
J.M.: "I contributed to his first RBI when he was with the Padres. It was an infield ground ball with a runner on third.
"You look at somebody as popular as he is, and what he's been able to do for kids, and it's pretty special.
"We started a foundation (The Moyer Foundation at moyerfoundation.org) ... Bereavement Camps for kids, and you know what? These people are teaching me about life. I'm taking away as much as I'm giving."
(Jamie and Karen Moyer's goal is to eventually have a Bereavement Camp for kids in every county in the state of Washington. Children who lost a loved one -- a grandparent, parent, sibling, whomever -- can go, and the counselors all are young adults who also have lost loved ones. It began when a close friend of theirs who received an organ transplant died suddenly, and it has become a labor of love for the Moyers.)
"It's going unbelievably well. It's scary how well it's going. They're weekend camps, and the first one I visited, I could have retired on the spot. I went to the ballpark the next day and sat next to Lee Elia (then one of Seattle's coaches) in the dugout and just stared over the left-field wall. I was numb."
S.M.: What are one or two baseball skills you wish you had?
J.M.: "Ah, throwing 97, 98 -- I don't want that, because some day you're going to lose it. The older I get, the happier I am that I never threw 97 or 98. So many guys get older, lose five or six miles on their fastballs and can't pitch, going from where they were to where they need to go.
"The skill I could do better is reading hitter's minds better. I guess I'd say I'd like to be a psychic.
"The other skill I'd like is to be able to repeat curveballs. I look at the curveball as a great pitch in this game. I saw Tom Seaver enough on TV with the Mets, I saw Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez. Two of them had great careers, and Sid Fernandez didn't have a bad career ...
"Guys that I've seen over the course of my career who had good curveballs seem to have been big winners. To me, that's a great pitch. A slider is a great pitch, a split-finger fastball is a great pitch, but the curveball, that's the equalizer."
S.M.: What's the coolest thing you've done because of baseball?
J.M.: "I went with an All-Star team to Japan in 1998. That was a great opportunity.
"I have a lot of fond memories. Great minor-league teammates. Seeing Nolan Ryan no-hitters. Seeing his 5,000th strikeout, Rickey Henderson, and seeing his 300th win. And Cal (Ripken), two-and-a-half years, seeing that streak come to its peak. Everything he had to deal with, I don't know how he did it.
"I would never have traveled as I have, if not for baseball. Believe it or not, I did a clinic in Yugoslavia -- when it was Yugoslavia, not Croatia."
S.M.: What's the most tired old-age joke you keep hearing?
J.M.: "I bring most of 'em on the younger guys. I'll say, 'You know, you were still in diapers when I came into the big leagues ...'"
Miller's previous camping stops: White Sox in Tucson | Royals in Surprise | Diamondbacks in Tucson | Padres in Peoria | Rangers in Surprise | A's in Phoenix | Brewers in Maryvale | Giants in Scottsdale | Cubs in Mesa | Angels in Tempe | Marlins in Jupiter | Reds in Sarasota, Indians in Winter Haven | Cardinals in Jupiter | Mets in Port St. Lucie | Dodgers in Vero Beach | Orioles in Fort Lauderdale | Expos in Viera | Braves in Kissimmee | Tigers in Lakeland | Pirates in Bradenton | Devil Rays in St. Petersburg | Blue Jays in Dunedin | Twins in Fort Myers | Red Sox in Fort Myers | Yankees in Tampa | Astros in Kissimmee | Phillies in Clearwater | Red Sox in Fort Myers
