Jamie Moyer returned to meaningful baseball on Monday when he joined the Philadelphia Phillies, and he didn’t hide his enthusiasm over what that means at this stage of his career.
“I’ve been given an opportunity to go to a club that’s in a pennant race, and that’s what this is all about,” Moyer said during a conference call with reporters on Monday, two days after the Seattle Mariners traded him to the Phillies. “I’m very excited about it.”
Moyer, 43, will start tonight’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field as the Phillies compete for a National League wild-card playoff spot. They went into Monday’s play 2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds in that race.
“I’m excited to be with a club that’s not far out with about 40 games to go,” Moyer said. “Hopefully we can do some damage.”
The Mariners and Phillies pulled off the trade Saturday night after Moyer, who’d played for the M’s since the 1996 season and could veto any deal, gave his approval. He turned down a trade to the Astros last year.
The difference, he said, was having an option in his contract to return to the Phillies next year.
“It was the willingness of the Phillies to be able to look to the future,” Moyer said. “Houston last year wasn’t willing to do anything. They were somewhat non-committal. I want to play, and having the opportunity to play here next year, that excites me.”
That’s not, however, a commitment by Moyer to play again next year.
“I’m looking at this season and this season only,” he said. “If I determine at the end of this season that I’m done, then I’m done. If I feel like I can continue with a winning ballclub, I’ll come back.”
He wouldn’t rule out a return to the Mariners in 2007, although it’s clear that Moyer doesn’t want to repeat another losing season.
“That was hard,” he said. “I played eight years where as an organization we won, but these last two years have been very, very hard. It didn’t seem like we would get out of that funk.”
As for what has gone wrong with the Mariners, Moyer didn’t – or wouldn’t – say.
“I don’t have an hour to tell you,” he said. “They’re fairly young. They have some guys who are learning. That’s OK if you’re in a rebuilding situation, which is somewhat what they are. You can learn how to play but the biggest thing is you have to learn how to win. We did that at times, but we didn’t do that consistently.”
Still, leaving the Mariners was difficult, and that was obvious during the conference call Monday when Moyer became choked up and struggled to get his words out.
“Seattle has been a great place. I’m very sad in leaving Seattle,” said Moyer, who came to the Mariners on July 30, 1996, in a trade with the Red Sox. In 10 seasons he became the club’s all-time leader with 145 victories.
“I’ve got a lot of great memories and moments in Seattle and it’s not like I’m leaving there forever,” he said. “I’m leaving there to play here the remainder this season, and I’ll take next season as it comes. Ten years ago, I was at a crossroads in my career. I walked in the door and was handed the ball by Lou Piniella and he said, ‘Go pitch.’ We won a lot of baseball games there. The experiences I had in Seattle, I will never forget. Seattle is going to be home forever. It means a lot to my wife, my children and myself. We’re rooted in that community. But sometimes you’ve got to move on, and this is one of those times when I have to move on and grasp this opportunity.”
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