Tagged: Jamie Moyer
Alvin Davis Honored for Community Service
Former Mariners first baseman Alvin Davis has been named the recipient of the 2015 Moose Clausen Community Service Award.
The award is bestowed each fall by the Seattle Mariners RBI Club, a group of active Mariners season ticket holders, to a member of the Mariners organization (active or retired) for significant contributions to the community.
Alvin received the award this past Saturday, November 7, at the annual RBI Club Toys for Kids fundraiser at the Bellevue Hyatt Evergreen Ballroom.
Alvin was one of those rare players who made an immediate impact. He made his Major League debut in 1984. That season, he represented the Mariners at the All-Star Game, was named Mariners MVP and American League Rookie of the Year. When he finished his eight year career with the Mariners, Alvin was the team leader in eight different offensive categories. In 1997, he became the first inductee to the Mariners Hall of Fame.
Since he retired from baseball, Alvin has stayed connected to the game as a high school coach in his hometown of Riverside, California, and working with Mariners minor leaguers. Alvin and his wife Kim are active in their church leadership and help families with biblical and financial counsel.
The RBI Community Service Award is named for Al “Moose” Clausen, who is a Seattle born and raised baseball fanatic who worked in the Mariners front office for many years.
Previous Moose Clausen Award winners include Dan Wilson, Jamie Moyer, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dave Valle and Julio Cruz.
Moyer Hall of Fame Merchandise
Jamie Moyer, the winningest pitcher in Seattle Mariners history, will become the ninth member of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony on Saturday, August 8. The ceremony will take place before the Mariners vs. Texas Rangers game at Safeco Field beginning at approximately 12:30pm. The first 20,000 fans will receive a Jamie Moyer Hall of Fame Bobblehead, courtesy of ROOT SPORTS. Tickets for the game remain available.
Fans will also have the chance to pick up a commemorative publication honoring Moyer’s induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame. The publication details Moyer’s outstanding career with great photos and information. It is available in Mariners Team Stores now for $5. Here is a sample from the publication:
A limited-edition t-shirt will also be available at the Safeco Field Team store honoring the Moyer Hall of Fame weekend (Adult sizes S-XXL, $25):
Moyer Hall of Fame Moment
Over the next week leading up to the Mariners Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Jamie Moyer we will share a statistic or career moment on Moyer on the blog. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held prior to the 1:10 pm game Saturday, August 8 vs. the Texas Rangers:
On this day in 1996 (7/30/96), the Mariners acquired LHP Jamie Moyer from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Darren Bragg. Moyer would go on to have a remarkable career in a Mariners uniform, posting the most wins in club history with a 145-87 record in 11 seasons.
Catching up with Jamie Moyer
Jamie Moyer was announced as the ninth member of the Mariners Hall of Fame earlier today. Jamie caught up with the media in a conference call this afternoon from his home near San Diego. Here are some of the comments Jamie made chatting with the media:
The Mariners Hall of Fame…
It’s a huge honor for me because it’s acknowledging my personal accomplishments, but without my teammates that I’ve been able to play with and the coaches that have been around me, the fan support that’s been around me and the Mariners organization that traded for me, this would have never happened. I personally look at this as an accomplishment by everybody that I’ve been able to be around in a Mariners uniform.
Memorable moments…
Getting into the playoffs for the first time with the Mariners. Winning 116 games was very special, as a Mariner. I really think the way we did it on the successful teams that we were on, we really did it as one unit.
Calling Seattle home for so many years…
As far as thinking about making Seattle our home, it was kind of off the field. The kids were getting a little bit older and the transition to school was becoming a little more difficult. That was part of the reason why we moved to Seattle. But the other part was the community, the way the community embraced myself as a teammate, but Karen and I as a couple and, when we created our foundation.
It just felt like home. We looked at each other and thought this is the right move for us at this point in time in our lives. It was a great home base for us. We had a lot of friends in the Mariners family, we had a lot of friends in the community, whether it was socially or through the schools where our children were going to school, so it just felt like, probably for the first time in our professional lives, it felt like a place we could call home.
Playing for the Mariners …
Getting entrenched into the Mariners organization and having success the first several years, not only individually but as a team, it was exciting for us. We had never really witnessed that in our baseball life. When we started to live it every day, it left a very good taste in our mouths on the baseball side of it and the personal side of it kind of gelled together and allowed us to move forward as a family.
The Moyer Foundation…
The baseball side is great, while it lasts. An athlete know it’s not going to go on forever. You don’t know when baseball side is going to stop. Being able to create our own foundation and move forward away from the game, even while I was playing, and do some good things in the community, became very important to Karen and I. Karen really opened my eyes to that. She’s really been the leader and I’ve kind of followed, and now that I’m out of the game as an active player, I think it’s opened my eyes and I realize that there’s more to life than just baseball. What we have created as a foundation, not only in Seattle, but across the country, has opened many doors to us to continue to help children in distress and that’s important to us
Enjoying being around his family…
We still have four children in elementary school. We’ve got a college junior who’s eligible for the draft. We’ve got a 23-year old who’s in the Dodgers organization, we’ve got a high school senior who’s going to college to play soccer next year, and we’ve got another daughter who plays college basketball. So, I’ve got a lot on my plate, but it’s good things and it’s actually exciting for me because these are things I haven’t been able to be around on a consistent basis as an active player. Being away from the game has allowed me to take a step back and opened my eyes and allowed me to reevaluate things.
On future plans to get back into baseball or broadcasting…
I really don’t have any plans at the moment. I’m recovering from an ankle surgery that I had three months ago… It’s probably going to take a year to a year-and-a-half to completely heal, but the good news is I’m able to swing a golf club… The door is wide open. I stepped back from my job as a broadcaster in Philadelphia because I felt like I needed to be home more with my family. If something were to come along in baseball, I would strongly consider it, but it would have to be the right situation and the right time and doing what I’d like to do is giving back to the game as well as giving back in community service.
On 116 wins… Could it happen again?
Anything’s possible. …I look at the 2015 Mariners, I think they potentially could do something like that. I look back to when we were able to win 116 games, we did it because we gelled together as a team. We had a great manager as a leader, and a great coaching staff. He allowed us to play, as players. He kind of kept a thumb on things when he needed to. But we gelled together as a team… Everybody contributed on that team. You can say it’s a cliché, but looking back at that team, if you go back game-by-game and you look at the summaries of the games and the box scores, and you look at that whole year, during the regular season, everybody really did contribute. It didn’t matter who you were on the roster, everybody contributed. And that’s what it took.
If the Mariners pitch the way pitched last year in 2015, I think with the offense that Jack has put together on this current roster, I really think they have a chance to do some special things, not only in 2015, but down the road. They’re fairly young, they seem pretty healthy. I’m not trying to make it sound like, ‘oh, yeah, they’re going to win 116 games,’ but I really believe from what I saw last year… looking at numbers and watching their on-field play, they have that ability to win a lot of baseball games and rejuvenate baseball in Seattle, which they started to do last year.
On the Mariners experience coming so close to the playoffs…
In 2007, in Philly, we had a pretty good year. We went to playoffs and then ran into the Colorado Rockies. The experience we gained in 2007, obviously you go back in history and look, and in 2008 we won the World Series. I think that motivated us, it left a sour taste in our mouths at the end of 2007 so that when we went into 2008, there was a lot of motivation to do better, and we were able to. And I think that’s what Mariners can build off from last year.
Whether he ever wants to pitch again…
If I wasn’t dealing with this ankle, yeah, definitely. (Moyer had ankle surgery three months ago.). I do get the itch a little bit. But I do realize, too, that I’m 52 years old and it wouldn’t be quite that easy to do that. I’ve played some catch here at home. I’ve thrown some batting practice to my boys. I realize my better days are behind me. It’s time to sit back and relive those days, the camaraderie that I had and the experiences I was able to have. If I get into any type of situation where I can help younger players, high school, college or professional players, that’s where I think I can make a contribution to the game. Building off the experiences I had, I had to do things a little differently as a player to be successful, and I wouldn’t want it any differently. But I feel like I’ve gained a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge.
Who had the biggest impact on you as a player?
Off the top of my head, when I was a young player, Rick Sutcliffe was a guy that took me under his wing. Scott Sanderson took me under his wing. Jim Sundberg, when I played with the Texas Rangers, and I spent a little time with Nolan Ryan when I played for the Rangers. Those are the four guys as far as teammates. Dick Pole was a big help to me when I was in the minor leagues and my early years in the Big Leagues, he was my pitching coach.
On Lou’s influence on his career success…
There were many times I had the opportunity to go into his office and talk to him about my performances. It was usually when I was struggling when I’d go in and talk to him. I think the first time I did it I was a little hesitant to do it. But after the first time, and sitting and really listening to what Lou had to say, I wasn’t convince when I walked out the door. But after I thought about it for a while, and then attempted to do what he had mentioned to me, he was spot on. Right there was instant credibility to me, with Lou. I really felt like Lou and I had a great relationship, manager to player. I could talk to him about anything I wanted and he could talk to me. We could be mad at each other, we could be laughing together. He had an eye for things. When we talked, he gave me his perspective from a hitting standpoint and I wasn’t looking at things that way because I wasn’t educated that way in the game. Once I was able to take in what he had to say, and then spend some time working on it in my bullpen and actually trying to do it in the game, he was spot on. I can remember the first time I did it, it was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. I went into his office because I was struggling as a pitcher in general and he looked at me and he said ‘Look, you’re not throwing your change-up enough.’ And I thought, ‘Why did I come in here? That doesn’t make sense. I throw my change-up a lot.’ Then I went back and looked at some pitching charts and I started more time playing catch and throwing my change-up in the bullpen and, I want to say within two starts, things started to turn around for me. From then on, it was like, wow, the guy does know what he’s talking about.
Jamie Moyer Joins Mariners Hall of Fame
The winningest pitcher in Seattle Mariners history has been selected as the ninth member of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame. Jamie Moyer will be formally inducted during a ceremony at Safeco Field before the Mariners vs. Texas Rangers game on Saturday, August 8. He is the second pitcher so honored by the Mariners, joining another left-hander – Randy Johnson.
During his 11 seasons with the Mariners, Moyer compiled a record of 145-87. He leads the franchise in wins and innings pitched (2,093), starts (323), and quality starts (188), and is third in strikeouts (1,239). Moyer was the Mariners Opening Day starting pitcher in 2000, 2004-2006. He also started the Inaugural Game at Safeco Field on July 15, 1999, with a called strike.
Moyer is the only Mariners pitcher to have won 20 games more than once going 20-6 in 2001 and 21-7 in 2003. He was an All-Star in 2003 and was four times named Mariners Pitcher of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America Seattle Chapter (1998, 1999, 2001-co, 2003).
Mariners President Kevin Mather said, “The Seattle Mariners are proud to welcome Jamie Moyer to our franchise’s Hall of Fame. He was an outstanding representative of the Mariners both on and off the field, and will always be an important part of our history.”
Jamie began his professional baseball career when he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 6th round of the 1984 draft. He made his Major League debut on June 16, 1986 with a win over Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies. Over a 25-year Major League career, Moyer played for the Cubs (1986-1988), Texas Rangers (1989-1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1991), Baltimore Orioles (1993-1995), Boston Red Sox (1996), Mariners (1996-2006), Phillies (2006-2010) and Colorado Rockies (2012 at the age of 49). With 269 career victories, Moyer ranks 35th in baseball history.
Moyer was acquired by the Mariners in a trade deadline deal that sent Darren Bragg to the Red Sox on July 30, 1996. He became a fixture in the Mariners rotation for a decade and his career blossomed. A durable, wily left-hander, Moyer relied on control and kept hitters off-balance by mixing off-speed and breaking pitches with a fastball that hovered in the low-80s.
Moyer has received numerous awards for his community service. In 2003, Jamie received the Roberto Clemente Award, Major League Baseball’s top award for community service. He was also recognized for his “character and integrity” with the Hutch Award (2003), Lou Gehrig Award (2003) and Branch Rickey Award (2004). In 2000, Jamie and his wife Karen established The Moyer Foundation with the mission to provide comfort, hope, and healing to children affected by loss and family addiction. The Foundation has raised millions of dollars to support hundreds of organizations providing direct services to children in need. The Foundation created Camp Erin, the largest nationwide network of free bereavement camps for children and teens including a location in every Major League Baseball city, and Camp Mariposa, a free first-of-its-kind camp serving children affected by addiction in their families.
Moyer joins the eight current members of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame: Alvin Davis, Dave Niehaus, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Lou Piniella.
The Hall of Fame was created to honor the players, staff and other individuals that greatly contributed to the history of the Mariners franchise. To be eligible for selection, a player must have been active in a Mariners uniform for at least five seasons and be retired as a player at least two years. In addition to a player’s impact on the field, other considerations for possible induction include his positive impact on the Northwest community outside of baseball and a player’s positive impact in enhancing the image of the Seattle Mariners and/or Major League Baseball.
A Big Night in Tacoma – Hultzen vs. Moyer
With Mariners top prospect Danny Hultzen going against former Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer tonight, Cheney Stadium was a hot ticket.
Rainiers PR guy Ben Spradling sent the following factoids:
- The game sold out about 20 minutes before first pitch, the second sold out game of the season for the Rainiers.
- With over 7,400 tickets sold, it’s the largest crowd this season for the Rainiers.
- In addition to the regularly credentialed media at the game, the Rainiers issued 11 additional media credentials.
- An auxiliary press box was set up to house the extra media in attendance.
Moyer, who is 49 years old, is hoping to get back to the Major Leagues after Tommy John surgery. He signed a minor league deal a few days ago with the Toronto Blue Jays. He’ll make a few starts for the Las Vegas 51s before the Blue Jays decide if they will call him up.
By the second inning of tonight’s game, Moyer had surrendered two home runs—a two run shot by newly named PCL All-Star Luis Jimenez and a solo homer by Adam Moore.
Hultzen, the #2 overall pick in last year’s draft, made his second Triple-A start tonight. In 4.0 innings he allowed 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts (90 pitches/52 for strikes).
From the Corner of Edgar & Dave 