A Few More Innings.

Jamie Moyer pitched his first inning in the majors before some of you reading this were born.  Specifically Moyer's debut was with the Chicago Cubs on June 14, 1986.  As I write this Moyer is at the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s, hoping to be called up by the Jays.  Moyer started the year with the Colorado Rockies, who let him go June 1st.  While there he became the oldest pitcher in Major League history to earn a win, and the oldest player to hit an RBI, at age 49.

So, why does he keep going?  What makes him want to keep pitching, to spend months away from his wife and family, after 26 years of the same thing?  Makes him want to so much he's willing to spend time in the  minor leagues?  But you could ask the same about many other players.  Omar Vizquel is still playing at 45.  And many players go on to work as coaches, scouts, or broadcasters after their playing careers end, continuing a similar lifestyle.  It seems like an interesting area of research, finding out what it is that keeps them at it, and what effect it has on the lives of their families.

It would also be interesting to know what leads so many of the sons of these players to follow in their footsteps, having seen from the other side what such a career will be like.  This includes Moyer's son Dillon, who was drafted in 2010 by the Minnesota Twins, and currently plays baseball at the University of California Irvine.  Somehow I doubt he'll have as long of a career as his father if he makes it to the bigs.