The End Of An Era? – The Colorado Rockies Release Jamie Moyer

It seems like it was just last week that Rockies fans and the baseball community in general was buzzing about Jamie Moyer, 49, becoming the oldest pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB) to win a game. That buzz was short lived as the Colorado Rockies have officially released Moyer.

Moyer finished his run with the Rockies 2-5 with a 5.70 ERA over 10 starts. When the 2012 season started, Moyer was actually one of the Rockies' most consistent pitchers. Despite losing his first two games, I felt that Moyer pitched well enough to secure a victory both times. He was plagued by poor fielding (the Rockies committed five errors in these two games) and even poorer hitting (only five runs produced).

However, as the season wore on, Moyer started to become less effective. Manager Jim Tracy noted that his variety of pitches were starting to look very similar to each other. For a 49-year-old who started the season throwing a fastball at 82 mph, dropping velocity as the season went on made him less and less effective. Opponents batted .328 against him in his 10 starts, and Moyer rarely made it past the fifth inning because opposing batters were figuring him out after seeing him once. It would be one thing if Moyer pitched well into the sixth or seventh and was pulled because he simply couldn't handle a high pitch count. What was actually happening was Moyer was allowing so many runs by the fifth (usually) that Tracy had no choice but to pull him.

Moyer might possibly make the roster of another major league club that has a need for a fifth starter, but potential suitors should look hard at Moyer's abilities (or inabilities) at this point. It's also quite possible that Moyer's lengthy career could finally be at an end. Breaking into the league in 1986, Moyer has accumulated 269 victories over his 25-year career.