Jamie Moyer to be added to M’s Hall of Fame

SEATTLE – Left-hander Jamie Moyer, a seemingly ageless wonder who pitched 25 big-league seasons, is the newest member of the Mariners’ Hall of Fame.

The club announced plans Tuesday to make Moyer the ninth inductee to their shrine in an Aug. 8 ceremony prior to a game against Texas at Safeco Field.

In doing so, the Mariners will add a pitcher who spent 11 seasons with the organization and remains their career leader with 145 victories, 323 starts and 2,093 innings.

“It’s a huge honor for me,” Moyer said, “because it’s acknowledging my personal accomplishments. But without my teammates and the coaches I’ve been around and the fan support…this would have never happened.”

Moyer played for the Mariners from 1996-2006 and is the only pitcher in franchise history to win 20 or more games in more than one season – going 20-6 in 2001 and 21-7 in 2003.

While he never overpowered opponents, Moyer was selected four times as the Mariners’ pitcher of the year in balloting by the Seattle Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

“I had to do things a little differently as a player to be successful,” he admitted, “and I wouldn’t want it any differently. But I feel like I’ve gained a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge.

“As an active player, I had to take a step back to reevaluate and re-find myself during the course of my career and try to move forward at the same time. I felt I was able to do that.”

Moyer joins eight previous Hall inductees: Alvin Davis (1997), Dave Niehaus (2000), Jay Buhner (2004), Edgar Martinez (2007), Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson (2012), Ken Griffey Jr. (2013) and Lou Piniella (2014).

“The Seattle Mariners are proud to welcome Jamie Moyer to our franchise’s Hall of Fame,” club president Kevin Mather said. “He was an outstanding representative of the Mariners, both on and off the field, and will always be an important part of our history.”

Inductees are determined by the Mariners’ Board of Directors among players or employees who spent at least five years with the organization. Uniformed personnel must have been inactive for at least two years.

Moyer, now 52, is currently recovering from ankle surgery but acknowledges he still gets the itch at times to return to the mound.

Moyer was a sixth-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1984 and reached the majors in 1986. The Mariners acquired him from Boston in a July 30, 1996 trade for outfielder Darren Bragg.

Moyer was 145-87 with a 3.97 ERA in his 11 seasons with the club.