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After watching Jamie Moyer last week create a new major league record as the oldest pitcher to ever pitch a complete game shutout, fans must wonder more than ever, how the heck does he do it?
In a nutshell, it simply comes down to control, location, and smarts. Moyer has been so great for so long because he has amazing command of the strikezone and superior control. He does what every pitcher tries to do: hit your spots, mix your pitches, and move the ball in and out, up and down. He combines that with a game plan of how to approach hitters. There's not much more to it than that.
If you watch Moyer on any given night, he continually moves the ball around in the strikezone. Even though he only throws in the low 80's, he's not afraid to come in, he will occasionally throw one high out of the zone, and he continually mixes his pitches between his fastball, changeup, and some curves.
Throwing as slow as he does, Moyer has to be nearly perfect with his control. Where most pitchers can get away a pitch down the middle, Moyer can't. If he is slightly less than perfect, he gets smashed. So Moyer needs pinpoint control to have any chance whatsoever. With that control, he needs hitters to swing at balls just a smidgen off the plate and an umpire with an "untight" strikezone.
Jamie Moyer proves that if you have a good game plan, excellent control, and a willingness to come in, any pitcher can be successful in the big leagues.
And Moyer has been successful for a very, very, long time. Check out this graph that shows Moyer's ERA in his of 23 seasons prior to this one.
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