Just Tell Me I Can't (29 page)

As the previous pages show, it's been a long, long journey. There are many people to thank and acknowledge, but I want to start first with a nonperson—the game of baseball itself. It is my oldest companion, and it has both driven me mad and made me deliriously happy. The game has such an imposing history that I'm constantly humbled to have had a minor role in it.

Of course, baseball is made up of people, and there are so many responsible for my education in it. First and foremost is my father, Jim Moyer, who not only gave me the game, but also the work ethic needed to succeed in it. And my mother, Joan, who when she committed to keeping scrapbooks of all my clippings, never dreamed it would be a lifelong endeavor.

I've had countless teachers and mentors through the years; space prohibits me from naming everyone. But a few bear repeating: Lou Piniella, Dick Pole, Pat Gillick, Johnny Oates, Roland Hemond, Gordon Goldsberry, Billy Blitzer, George Bennett, Mike Cooper, Bryan Price. Clearly, I learned the game from some of its all-time greats. Outside the game, a young man named Gregory Chaya taught me more than he'll ever know about courage and positive thinking. Jim Bronner has been much more than an agent. He's also a trusted friend who I know always has my back. And of course, Harvey Dorfman taught me lessons about life I'll forever carry throughout mine.

I can't put into words what Harvey meant to me; hopefully, this book will show it. He was my savior, my friend, and my teacher. Baseball is littered with Harvey's intellectual offspring. We're a tight-knit band, a group of players who will always share a special bond.

I especially want to thank Harvey's widow, Anita, for her blessing of this project. Over two decades ago, a scared, losing thirty-year-old pitcher showed up on her doorstep and she kindly took him in for a weekend of introspection. Two decades later, I continue to be moved and inspired by her hospitality and kindness.

I also want to thank my teammates through the years. When a team is going right, teammates make one another better, and I was lucky enough to play with countless athletes who pushed me to higher heights. I can't name them all, but people like Jay Buhner, Chase Utley, Cal Ripken, and Rick Sutcliffe all know the effect they had on me.

Fans see the finished product of our games on the field, but they don't see the work that goes into it or the behind-the-scenes people who prepare athletes for peak performance. I've had an all-star cast around me for decades, including Peter Shmock, Yousef Ghandour, and Liba Placek, as well as great doctors like Lewis Yocum, David Altchek, and Mike Ciccotti.

My wife, Karen, and our eight wonderful children have not only put up with my baseball journey (I've lost count of how many moves we've made), they've encouraged it. They'll never fully know just how much strength they've given me through the years. I'm incredibly grateful and lucky to have them.

Rick Wolff at Grand Central Publishing, who understood this project from the beginning, shares my affinity for and allegiance to Harvey Dorfman. Agent David Black made our concerns his, like all great agents do. And writer Larry Platt challenged me to think outside the box for this project and created the type of book-writing experience I had hoped for. Through it all, we created a mutual respect and friendship.

Finally, this book is for any young kid who first picks up a baseball and wonders if it might be fun to toss this thing around a little. The pure joy of that sense of discovery and experimentation is something to hang on to. You're in for a heckuva ride.

“The guy who has a book in him is Jamie Moyer. How the hell does he do it?” Those words from agent David Black in the summer of 2010 gave birth to this project. As always, I'm indebted to David for his vision and judgment, not to mention his friendship and—when necessary—his Harvey Dorfman–like fits of tough love.

Rick Wolff at Grand Central Publishing instantly saw how Moyer's story was really the story of the mysterious mental game of baseball, and—a disciple himself of Dorfman—he was instrumental in constructing a narrative that captured Harvey's singular influence. Throughout, Rick's enthusiasm and encouragement never wavered. I'm deeply thankful for his passion and support.

Speaking of Harvey, I regret that I never met the man. But I'm indebted to him for his wisdom and I hope his portrayal in these pages does him justice.

Mike Tollin is a talented filmmaker, terrific friend, and tortured Philadelphia sports fan. It was Mike who first introduced me to the Moyers and whose advice throughout the writing of this book has always been dead-on. No matter how busy Mike's Hollywood mogul life becomes, he always has time to bemoan the state of Philly sports teams—a constant reminder of what really matters in life.

Then there's my literary posse: Ben Wallace read early versions of this manuscript and offered insightful feedback. And in addition to contributing some typically astute reactions to early drafts, Andy Putz, one of the best young editors in America, expertly pushed me to focus on the human drama of the Moyer story above all else. My designer friends Tim Baldwin and John Goryl of B & G Design Group weighed in with some typically brilliant suggestions on the styling of the cover. And my very dear friend Zach Bissinger always kept my spirits high with his unique brand of comic relief.

Hannah Keyser is a dedicated, hardworking assistant who researched, fact-checked, and transcribed more audiotape than any one person should be subjected to. She also has a bright future as a writer in her own right. And Mike and John Vagnoni's Ambrosia Key West was the perfect place to pen many of these pages. I don't hold their affiliation with
my
Harvey Dorfman—wild man Pat Croce—against them.

At Grand Central, a tip of the cap goes to Meredith Haggerty, Bob Castillo, Jimmy Franco, and the rest of their remarkable publishing team.

I owe a special amount of gratitude to my parents and to my wife, Bet Mizgala, who never tired of hearing my tales of life among the Moyers. (And who is rooting for Duffy Moyer to one day beat me in Ping-Pong. Not gonna happen.)

Finally, when this venture started, I told Karen and Jamie Moyer that I didn't just want to conduct a few interviews, transcribe notes, and write a book. I wanted to embed myself in their lives, to walk in Moyer's cleats, if you will, and come up with the most intimate account possible of what pitching is and what it takes to do it so well for so long. They let me into their life to the point that I often felt like the ninth Moyer offspring. Their level of trust extended to the page, where their only edits consisted of factual corrections.

I can't thank them enough for their kindness, their trust, and their friendship.

JAMIE MOYER
is thirty-fourth on Major League Baseball's all-time win list with a record of 269–209 compiled over four decades for eight teams, including the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. He is the oldest pitcher in history to have won a game, which came in April 2012 for the Colorado Rockies. Off the field, Moyer is the president of the Moyer Foundation, where, along with his wife, Karen, he has raised over $22 million to serve the needs of children in distress. Among his many honors, Moyer has been the recipient of baseball's Roberto Clemente Award, for exemplifying sportsmanship, community involvement, and dedication, and the Branch Rickey Award, for exemplary community service. He lives with Karen and their eight children in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

LARRY PLATT
is the former editor of the
Philadelphia Daily News
and
Philadelphia Magazine
and the author of
Only the Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson
and
New Jack Jocks: Rebels, Race, and the American Athlete
. He is a columnist for the
Philadelphia Inquirer
and his writing has appeared in
GQ
,
New York
, the
New York Times Magazine
, and
Men's Journal
, among other publications. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife, Bet.

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For more about this book and author, visit Bookish.com.

Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
July 2010: Introduction
November 1991: Chapter One
September 2011: Chapter Two
Souderton, Pennsylvania, 1972: Chapter Three
June 1992: Chapter Four
November 2011: Chapter Five
June 1993: Chapter Six
December 2011: Chapter Seven
June 1997: Chapter Eight
March 2012: Chapter Nine
October 2008: Chapter Ten
April 2012: Chapter Eleven
June 2012: Chapter Twelve
November 2012: Epilogue
Photos
Appendix
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Newsletters
Copyright