Jamie Moyer

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

By request....

 

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball?

 

No.

 

2. Was he the best player on his team?

 

No. Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey were better in the late '90s, and Ichiro was the star of the team afterwards.

 

3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?

 

No. 1999 was the only year Moyer finished near the top of the class among American League pitchers. Moyer was consistantly good, but not quite outstanding.

 

4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?

 

Moyer compiled a 3-1 win/loss record in four postseason starts.

 

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?

 

Obviously.

 

6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

 

Not a chance.

 

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

 

No. None of Moyer's ten most comparable players are in the Hall, nor are any serious candidates.

 

8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

 

No. Moyer scores just three on the Black Ink test, and 26.0 on the HOF Standards list.

 

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

 

None apparent.

 

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?

 

Not while Blyleven is out. Otherwise, there are several other qualified candidates.

 

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

 

Moyer never received an MVP vote, and finished in the top ten of the Cy Young balloting four times. His highest Cy Young finish was fourth, in 2001.

 

12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame?

 

Moyer received election to just one All-Star game, in 2003.

 

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?

 

Not likely.

 

14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?

 

None apparent.

 

15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

 

And Beyond. Moyer won the Lou Gehrig and Roberto Clemente awards in 2003.

 

Moyer is five wins shy at this point. It would likely take at least 225 wins to make Moyer anything resembling a Hall of Fame candidate. Right now, Moyer is clearly out. Still, he was a very good pitcher.

[Guest TheDon]

Who asked you to do Jaime Moyer? I cant even think of how many pitchers I can count in the past 15 years that were better pitchers than him. Was he a good pitcher? Yes but that doesn't make him hall of fame worthy.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Who asked you to do Jaime Moyer? I cant even think of how many pitchers I can count in the past 15 years that were better pitchers than him. Was he a good pitcher? Yes but that doesn't make him hall of fame worthy.

A poster in the This Week In Baseball Thread.

[Guest Brian]

I did. I was having an argument with the old man, and he was starting to get on my nerves.

 

Al, what do you think about a guy like Drysdale in the hall?

[Vern Gagne 0]

16. Is player the son-in-law of Digger Phelps?

 

Yes. Jamie Moyer is married to the daughter of former Notre Dame Basketball coach, and current ESPN College Basketball studio analyst Richard "Digger"Phelps.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I did. I was having an argument with the old man, and he was starting to get on my nerves.

 

Al, what do you think about a guy like Drysdale in the hall?

Would it make your life easier if I argued for him or against him? I can do both.

[Guest Brian]

I really like Moyer, he's a very nice guy, his wife's a good gal, and we're practically neighbors (and his kid's a little stud on the field, my brother played all-stars with him). Say he has a 15+ win season this year, and next year, what do you think? He's doing excellent right now. My dad main argument is that you let a guy like Drysdale in, that's your standard, if he keep it up for this year and another he should be in. But I just don't see him as dominant enough, or having enough of an impact to get in.

 

Argue both ways if you like.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I really like Moyer, he's a very nice guy, his wife's a good gal, and we're practically neighbors (and his kid's a little stud on the field, my brother played all-stars with him). Say he has a 15+ win season this year, and next year, what do you think? He's doing excellent right now. My dad main argument is that you let a guy like Drysdale in, that's your standard, if he keep it up for this year and another he should be in. But I just don't see him as dominant enough, or having enough of an impact to get in.

 

Argue both ways if you like.

The problem is that we simply cannot elect everyone to the Hall of Fame who had statistics (in this case, merely a win/loss record) as good as Don Drysdale. The problem is that when you start lowering your standard to the lesser players in the Hall, you have to elect a whole range of players at that level. Milt Pappas' Hall of Fame case rests on the fact that his win/loss record is almost exactly the same as Drysdale's. But he does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Let me point out a few of the differences that set apart Drysdale from Moyer.

 

-Drysdale had big years, as opposed to more very good years. A team with a pitcher who has the big years is more likely to win pennants than a team with a pitcher who is very good for a long amount of time.

 

-Drysdale's adjusted ERA is 14 percent better.

 

-Drysdale won a Cy Young.

 

-Drysdale went to wight All-Star games, compared to one for Moyer.

 

-Drysdale led the league in strikeouts for three years. Moyer only led the league in win/loss percentage, one year.

 

If Moyer is comparable to Drysdale, that is a point in his favor. It is not the end of the argument. If I want to argue Tim Raines for the Hall, I can't merely argue that he was better than Lou Brock. I need more. Second, Moyer is not truly similar to Drysdale, except that his win/loss record COULD match Drysdale's with a couple good seasons. It is hardly a convincing argument.