The legendary Satchel Paige, victim of the "color barrier", couldn't pitch in the Major Leagues until he was 42...
On his 42nd birthday, with the "color barrier" broken, Satch became a Major League rookie.
60 years later, another "old" phenom is making his rookie debut, this one at 45...in a World Series.
He's no Satchel Paige.
But, he's quite a man...and a damn good pitcher.
This World Series rookie is Jamie Moyer. Although he has pitched in the big leagues very well for over 20 years, Moyer has never pitched in a World Series game..until tonight.
Soon to be 46, Moyer is the starting Phillies pitcher tongiht when the Rays go up against the Phils in Game 3. The Rays will start Matt Garza who pitched the Rays into the World Series by beating the Red Sox in Game 7 of the playoffs.
Two good articles on Jamie Moyer, the baseball pitcher, are here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3661922&sportCat=mlb
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2008/10/25/moyer_a_pitcher_for_the_ages/
Those sum it up. Moyer could get rocked tonight like he did against the Dodgers recently in the playoffs, but he could also hurl a gem in his rookie game in the World Series!
Either way, I'm happy for the guy. He's a remarkable man and it's flat remarkable that he went 16-7 for the Phils this year with a decent ERA at his age.
I got to remembering that Jamie married the daughter of Digger Phelps, the famous Notre Dame basketball coach and sports commentator and so I went digging into his published personal life and found that the grand old man of baseball players today is also a part of a beautiful family of benefactors to children.
Moyer married Karen and together they founded the Moyer Foundation in Seattle.
This article defines, for me, the quality of this man and his family:
It contains a letter Jamie wrote to his Seattle fans upon leaving Seattle for the Phillies:
http://www.moyerfoundation.org/about/karen-jamie.aspx
I'm a Rays' fan, Jamie Moyer....so I can't wish that you win tonight's game.
In fact, I hope the young Rays feast on your 45-year-old stuff and win going away.
But, there's no loser in tonight's game....when it comes to you, Jamie Moyer.
Just the fact that you are there and love the game and are the man that you are is a WIN in my book.
Just like when ol' Satch finally made it to the major leagues...
--Steve Pipkin-Savage Kennebunkport, ME 25 October 2008, 5:15 a.m. ET