Left Handed Pitchers Big Milestones

With all the excitement about San Francisco Giants start Randy Johnson and his 299^th win, many have neglected to notice Jamie Moyer's steady climb to 250 wins. Moyer has always been quite a modest pitcher and never really asked for any attention. The 46 year old only allowed three hits and one run against the Washington Nationals and now is one of just 43 pitchers with 250 wins.

Moyer is by far one of the oldest pitchers to stay in the league and may still have another year or two left in. It will be very, very unlikely that he will reach the 300 win plateau unless he can somehow manage to pitch for another 3 or 4 years. No one on the Phillies is looking that far ahead and everyone including Moyer is just enjoying the moment. However the celebration will not last long as Moyer will definitely be overshadowed when Randy Johnson locks down his 300^th. He will try to do it on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals as it may be a rough week for the Nationals.

Moyer ranks third among active pitchers as Tom Glavine, on the DL, has 305 wins and of course Randy Johnson has 299. No other pitcher is close behind Moyer with Andy Pettite the closet at 220 wins. Johnson could very well be the last modern era pitcher to get to 300 wins and Moyer could even be the last lefty to get to 250. Long, consistent careers simply do not surface as much lately.

This was Jamie Moyer's sixth attempt at the win plateau as he had really struggled in his last six games, but he finally strung it together and turned in a quality performance. Of course as his usual self Moyer said he was happier to put a win next to the Phillies name, not his. Over his 23 year career Moyer has been the epitome of classy and has really been a role model for a lot of young fans. He has what more major league players need and carries with him a modesty and appreciation for the game that not many players do these days.

Moyer is now just the 11^th left hander pitcher to reach the 250 win mark and is just three wins behind Carl Hubbell, so he may be able to move into 10^th spot this year. Leading the way, by a long margin is lefty Warren Spahn who compiled 363 wins in his 23 year career. Rounding out the top five is Steve Carlton, Eddie Plank, Tom Glavine and Lefty Grove. It should not be long before Johnson moves into the top 5 and may even surpass Tom Glavine if Glavine cannot get healthy this season.

It is an exciting season for veteran left handed pitchers and should be quite an exciting week for milestones. All the best to Randy Johnson on Wednesday night and let's hope that he can lock down the victory quickly, so the pressure does not get to him over the course of six games the way it got to Moyer.