The Oldest Pitching Match-up . . . EVAR!

In last week's Gwynn Thoughts I discussed Tony Gwynn. Yes, yes, but there was more!

The game in which he was immortalized with an eternal statue featured a pitching match-up between old timers David Wells and Jaime Moyer. They combined for a whopping 88 years and 307 days which is older than most of the trees in southern California.* This particular match-up between Wells and Moyer in 2007, in terms of collective ages, was the second oldest in baseball history.

*I cannot verify this.

The record was set 20 years earlier when two future Hall of Famers locked horns . . .

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The Pitchers: Hall of Famers Phil Niekro and Don Sutton

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A blistering paced 2:40 minute game.

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Both old guys featured in the decision. Niekro worked 7.1 innings for the win and Sutton threw 8 in the loss.

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Sutton gave up two HRs: one to Corey Snyder in the 5th inning and another to Brook Jacoby in the 8th. In late "1980s terms" Corey Snyder had the GWRBI.

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Ah, the 1980s. A simple time when kids collecting baseball cards held hope that the former Olympian would allow them to retire rich one day.

During that 1987 season Snyder would hit 33 HRs but strikeout almost 5 times as much he walked (31:166), compiling a not-so-stellar .273 OBP. It was 1987 . . . we didn't look at OBP.

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Sutton's battery mate was fellow Hall of Famer Bob Boone, pride of Crawford High School and father of former Padre Brett Boone. The AJM Mother-in-law went to HS with Bob Boone. I think she described him as arrogant. Not sure. Anyway, Boone was 39 when this game was played. Oldest battery mates? I'm going to go with . . . probably?

The Real Question

How could an AL game featuring designated hitters and the oldest sumbitchtes to ever play the game fly by in 2 hours and 40 minutes?

A fast paced AL ballgame featuring designated hitters becomes feasible when 10 of 18 starters have OPSs below .700 and of those 10, 7 are below .655.

The Angles' Bryan Downing was the one statistical beast featured in this battle between the California/Anaheim/ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Cleveland Indians. His 950 OPS far surpassed what anyone else was doing on these teams during the early months of the 1987 season.

At this stage of his career, Downing was already 37 and had been in the league for 14 years. The 1987 season was the only one in which Bryan Downing ever led the league in an offensive category when he walked 106 times. His OPS would finish at .886 after hitting 29 HRs and 29 doubles.

The Moral Of Our Incomplete Little Story

American League games can finish within a reasonable time frame if the right combination of flotsam are trotted out onto the field. For both teams.

Cory Snyder failed we children of the 80s. Forced to work, we lament the day we envisioned golden retirements, provided through cardboard commodities.

Decrepit, soft-tossing pitchers are capable of accruing many wins over their careers. It's easier said than done.

Brian Downing was pretty f*&#ing cool . . .

Well, he was cool in the 80s.

Gwynn Thoughts: The statue, the brick

On Thursday I wrote of a few initial memories that arose from the ashes of my mind after hearing of Tony Gwynn's pending cancer surgery. I meant to continue with my Gwynn thoughts on Friday but life found a way to interrupt my little plans. This was from the 2007 season . . .

I knew this girl. She was not a baseball fan. But it was tickets to a ball game she had received for some demonstration of excellence. She knew I was a baseball fan however and quickly approached me to make the sale.

Sheepishly, I replied to her sales pitch, "Awww . . . I don't know. Those seats are pretty expensive." 

She reduced the price and I guiltily scooped them up. This particular game was to be played off in the future. July 21st to be exact. Against the Phillies. Excited that the seats were right behind the visitors' dugout I filed away the tickets and didn't give the game another thought . . .

As the date came-up on me over the summer I realized it would be the game in which Tony Gywnn would be immortalized with a statue at the Park in the Park. 

Earlier that year as a Valentine's Day gift for Mrs. AJM I had purchased a brick inscribed with our daughter's name to be placed around the base of the statue. Perfectly, I had purchased tickets to the game in which Tony Gwynn would be recognized for his career accomplishments. One week later he would head to Cooperstown to be enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

The seats were three rows behind the visitor's dugout, the best seats I ever had to a game. And that is my most vivid memory* -- being close to the Phillies players as Ted Leitner served as Master of Ceremonies. Each player -- Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and the rest of the Phillies -- stood at the top of the dugout with stares fixed on Gwynn. I may have spent more time watching them pay their respects to Gwynn than watching Gwynn receive a career summation from Leitner. I didn't feel too bad about it though -- I have a brick.

*This game was absolutely brutal. The Phillies stomped the Padres into the ground. The fossil known as Jamie Moyer, baffled the Padres into submission and Ryan Howard destroyed whoever was pitching for the home nine.

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Research tells me that the match-up between Jaime Moyer and David Wells (both 44 years old) combined to be the second oldest pitching match-up in the history of the game:

On Saturday, the second-oldest match-up will take place at PETCO Park between the San Diego Padres' David Wells and the Philadelphia Phillies' Jamie Moyer.
The 44-year-olds will have a combined age of 88 years, 307 days when they take the mound, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

They didn't think to mention who was #1 so I went and found it for you (us). Here it is: The oldest pitching match-up occurred in 1987 when Don Sutton and Phil Niekro got after it at 90 years and 135 days. Interestingly enough, in 2007 the mark for the oldest lefty match-up was set four different times:

April 12th: Jamie Moyer versus Tom Glavine
April 24th: David Wells versus Randy Johnson
May 9th: Jaime Moyer versus Randy Johnson
July 21st: David Wells versus Jamie Moyer.

What a fun year for old people.

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To be specific regarding Ryan Howard. He hit two HRs, one of which landed in the upper deck in left center field, and finished with 5 RBI. Just so I can describe the destruction with a degree of precision, ya know.

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Milton Bradley fell a double short of the cycle. It was his 10th game as a Padre.

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Khalil Green left three runners on base and Kevin Kouzmanoff struck out twice. I. Am. Shocked!

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Thank you, Mr. Padre.

Gwynn Thoughts: The 5.5 Hole In 2001

Questions of mortality often rekindle the fondest memories . So many memories . . .

Towards the end of the 2001 season I attended a Padres game with the future Mrs. AJM, my best friend, and his future Ex-Mrs. The future Ex-Mrs. of my best friend was the future Mrs. AJM's best friend. We introduced them. It's all very convoluted but it's neither here nor there. This is about Tony Gwynn and the 5.5 hole . . .



As we sat in Jack Murphy Stadium in the upper reaches of Left Field we had a perfect view of the infield and the locale that Tony Gwynn made so famous. On this particular evening, no doubt in celebration of Gwynn's career arriving at its conclusion, the infield dirt between third base and shortstop was emblazoned with a giant 5.5. Etched into the dirt, these numbers served as a reminder to every Padres fan the manner in which Gwynn plied his trade each night in Mission Valley and across the country.

Of course my guests weren't really aware of this fact. The girls were casual fans and my buddy had recently moved to San Diego from Arizona via New York. They didn't understand the significance of the numbers so I explained the numeration to all. I felt smart.

In front of our seats sat another couple. I overheard a young guy and girl reference the 5.5 hole and question it's meaning so I politely explained it to them. The guy looked at me and said, "That's not what it means!"

I assured him of my certainty but he wasn't having it. I sat back in my seat and delivered a mental assault for the ages. I don't recall who the Padres played or the outcome, only the homage to Tony Gwynn, the friends that accompanied me, and my brief conversation with the most ignorant man in San Diego.

Slashed into the 5.5 hole . . . whaddya think?

Gwynn Thoughts: Hard Work In The RF

Questions of mortality often rekindle the fondest memories . . .

My bedroom walls were wallpapered with posters of sports heroes. Music and movie posters as decor came much later, as I developed a level of sophistication that can only arrive upon entering college. But as a youth it was sports posters. Walter Payton, Don Mattingly, and Tony Gwynn.

One of the other thoughts that raced through my mind the other day was a poster of Tony Gwynn called Hard Work In The RF. I'm pretty sure that was it. It may have been a give-away at a game but regardless of its origins I think it celebrated Tony Gwynn's 1987 Gold Glove. It showcased the RF wall of a dimly lit Jack Murphy Stadium. There on the warning track stood a pinstriped Gwynn looking down at the ball in his glove. The poster was awesome. Alas, I cannot find an image of it anywhere.

So my good buddy Rob (mentioned in the previous post) also had this poster but with a slight difference -- it was autographed and personalized with a metallic silver Sharpie pen. 


Rob was Tony Gwynn's neighbor and for a Christmas present his parents had walked over to Tony's house and had him sign it. I coveted that poster and made no allusions otherwise. Rob said he would try to get my poster autographed too but the day never came. In hindsight I would have done well to have just knocked on Tony's door myself -- who can refuse a kid*?

*This strategy worked with Ed Whitson. Ed answered the door fully clothed and with nary a hint of craziness in his eyes he gladly obliged my brother and I.

Absent an image of that epic poster here's another one I had on my wall:

I think this spring I'll round up a poster and sharpie and head over to an Aztec game, pretend I'm a kid again.

Gwynn Thoughts: The 1989 Batting Race

After hearing that Tony Gwynn was going for another round of cancer surgery in his cheek my mind started spinning, registering my fondest moments of Tony Gwynn over the years. Fortunately, after 14 hours, the surgery sounds like it was a success. 

As I pondered Gwynn's mortality this was one of my thoughts . . .

In 1989 I was still a new edition to Padre fandom. I didn't hate LA or the San Francisco quite yet and it was evidenced by my excitement to see Will Clark and the Giants visit San Diego on the last weekend of the season. The Padres had just been mathematically eliminated but the batting title was not yet decided. The race featured Will Clark and a guy who was fast becoming one of my favorite players: Tony Gwynn.

I attended the Saturday game on September 30th. It was Flan Appreciation Night. While even a novice like myself appreciated the way Tim Flannery played San Diego was there to see Gwynn and Clark. Gwynn entered the Saturday evening contest in front of 47, 787 fans hitting .331 after going 1 for 5 on Friday evening. Will Clark went 2 for 4 in that Giants win on September 29th and stood at .334 entering Saturday's contest.

In a game that featured Mark "Mudcat" Grant* on the hill for the Padres and the hefty Rick Reuschel throwing for the Giants both Gwynn and Clark went to work.

*Mud entered the game in the 5th inning. He worked a long five innings of relief to get the win and move his record to 8-2. As Mud would say, "That's Some Kinda Nice."



When the dust settled the Padres had won 11-5, chasing 17 game winner Rick Reuschel after 4 innings. Will Clark's 1 for 4 left him remaining static (.334) but Tony Gwynn had made his move. Gwynn's 3 for 4 night had raised his average to .333.

I had attended this game with my best friend, Rob. As the game turned into a laugher and the crowd began to dissipate we stealthily maneuvered to field level seats behind home plate. We both witnessed the last ABs of Gwynn and Clark as close as anyone possibly could that night.

The next afternoon (October 1st, 1989) would see Gwynn bang out another 3 hits in a 3-0 Padres win. Gwynn's effort was too much for Will Clark who could only manage another 1 for 4 dropping his average to .333. After a 3 for 4 game on consecutive days Tony Gwynn's average stood complete at .336 good enough for his 4th batting title.

I left Flan Appreciation night with a pin and an indelible memory of Tony Gwynn's determination and craftsmanship at the plate.