Random Topps Card of the Day: 1997 Topps #283 Jamie Moyer

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, January 9, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1997 Topps #283.
• Player Name, position, team: Jamie Moyer, pitcher, Seattle Mariners.
• Major League Debut: June 16, 1986.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1996 stats (Mariners): 11 G, 70.2 IP, 6-2, 36 R, 26 ER, 29 SO, 19 BB, 11 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 3.31 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cubs #4th, June 1984. Traded by the Red Sox to the Mariners 07/30/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 25. This is his ninth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Jamie led the ML's in WIN% last year - not bad for a guy who, four years earlier, had one foot in civilian life. Cut by the Cubs in '92 spring training, he was offered a job as a pitching coach in their farm system, but persevered and worked his way back through the minors."
• Commentary: A couple of quick notes about the back of the card. Topps normally shows an "Acquired" line, to show how he arrived with his "current team." The problem is that it shows that he signed as a free agent on 12/19/1992. Well, Jamie Moyer did sign with a team on that date (if you believe baseball-reference, it says it was five days earlier), but that team was the Baltimore Orioles. Funny, I didn't realize that after the Cardinals released him in 1991 that he went back to the Cubs only to be released. Notice that 1992 is missing from the stat box? That's because he spent the entire season with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers' AAA team, earning a 10-8 record to go with a 2.86 ERA and 80 strikeouts. After bouncing around from team to team, it would be with the Mariners that he would find not only success, but a home as well. In 1997, Moyer proved everybody that he still belonged in the majors. In 30 starts, Moyer earned a 17-5 record, an ERA of 3.86, struck out 113 batters, and achieved had a WHIP of 1.219. In his 11 seasons with the M's, he would earn his first All-Star gig (in 2003), finish in the top 10 voting for the AL Cy Young Award three times, start 323 of the 324 games he appeared in, achieve a cumulative record of 145-87, an ERA of 3.97, and strikeout 1239 batters. In 2006, at the age of 43, Moyer was traded to the Phillies for two minor leaguers. He would stay with the team for another 4 seasons. After a year off to recover from Tommy John surgery, he attempted a comeback with the Colorado Rockies, becoming the oldest player in MLB history to earn a win, record an RBI (2 of them on May 16), and pitch in his 50th Major League stadium. Upon finally hanging up his cleats for good, Moyer has spent time focusing on his philanthropic work. The Moyer Foundation (which you can follow on twitter @moyerfoundation), whose mission statement is, "Provide comfort, hope and healing to children affected by loss and family addiction."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 36.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2006 Topps #529. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama