Putting Jamie Moyer's age in perspective

By David Selig

Jamie Moyer Larry Bird Patti LaBelle Philadelphia Phillies Steve Carlton Elvis Presley

You’ll hear plenty of jokes and quips about Jamie Moyer’s age in the coming days, after the Orioles agreed to a minor-league deal with the 49-year-old lefty yesterday.

To get you started, here are a few nuggets to consider about the oldest pitcher to ever win a game in the big leagues.

** Moyer was born during the John F. Kennedy administration (Nov. 18, 1962). The high school seniors the Orioles drafted this week were born while Bill Clinton was in office. That’s seven presidents later.

** Moyer was called up to the Orioles for the first time on May 30, 1993 – almost two months before Ryan Ripken was born.

** When Moyer made his major league debut for the Cubs on June 16, 1986 (against Steve Carlton and the Phillies), Patti LaBelle’s “On My Own” topped the Billboard chart and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” had just come out in theaters.

** When Moyer was born, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by The Four Seasons was the top song in the country, followed closely by Elvis Presley’s “Return to Sender.”

** Moyer, as pointed out in a column by USA Today’s Mike Lopresti earlier this year, is older than eight major league managers. He’s only three years younger than the states of Alaska and Hawaii. And the month he made his debut, Larry Bird was the MVP of the NBA Finals, and Jack Nicklaus was the reigning Masters champion.

Got another good Jamie Moyer age factoid? Send it to me @DaveSelig on twitter and we might include it here.