Jamie Moyer, starting pitcher

Is he coming back one more time?

I don’t know, in large part because I don’t really know why he came back in 2012. Was it because he wanted to prove that he was fully healthy? Does he love playing baseball and doesn’t know what to do otherwise? Does he need the money? Was he generating publicity for his child-help foundation?

To the best of my knowledge, he hasn’t formally announced his retirement.

Should he be a major-league pitcher?

Probably not. Moyer has clearly established that he can no longer be an effective, regular member of a major-league starting rotation. He has established that, given enough rest, preparation, and motivation, he’s capable of giving a team one good start. I don’t see how a major-league team can use a pitcher who can be used so infrequently.

What will be his legacy?

Moyer was an outstanding maj0r-league pitcher, but the pitcher he reminds me most of is Frank Tanana, who began his career as a flame-throwing strikeout artist and morphed after arm injuries into a control, finesse pitcher. Tanana didn’t get a vote when he appeared on the 1999 Hall of Fame ballot. Moyer’ll do better than that, but he won’t get into the Hall of Fame. He’s likely to be remembered more for his backstory than for his pitching.