The Phillies pitcher who most deserves to pitch in the All-Star game in Anaheim might not have Halladay scrawled across his back.
The Doc will likely make Charlie Manuel's Mid-Summer Classic roster thanks to his minuscule 2.42 ERA despite his 9-7 record.
But there’s another starting pitcher for the Phillies that is putting up better numbers than Halladay in some important categories.
Yep, the too-good-to-be-true, age-doesn’t-matter, give-up-as-many-homers-as-you-want legend of Jamie Moyer continues.
The 47-year-old lefty has anchored the Phillies starting rotation with each junk ball-filled trip to the hill.
Sure, Moyer’s ERA is nearly two runs higher than Halladay’s, but his 1.05 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) is good for fifth best among Major League starters. If it weren’t for Moyer’s propensity to dish up that long-ball -- he’s allowed the most in major league history -- then maybe his ERA would be lower.
Despite allowing 15 long balls Moyer has managed to go 9-6 through 15 starts entering Friday. And his two complete games trail only eight other starters.
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Also opponents are also batting a paltry .230 against him, better than guys like Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Johan Santana and even Halladay.
Don’t forget that Manuel gets to choose his pitchers for the All-Star game because the Phillies won the NL Pennant last year. So he might be willing to stick with his guy and give the oldest player in baseball an honor than might actually be well deserved.
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