Yes, the Phillies need a pitching coach after they decided to cut nine-year pitching coach Rich Dubee loose upon the expiration of his contract.
Yes, Jamie Moyer is not doing anything baseball-related, other than selling books that someone co-wrote with him.
Yes, Jamie Moyer was a nice player for the Phillies from 2006 through 2010 when he last pitched for the Phillies, and was a big part of their 2008 World Series Championship.
No, Jamie Moyer will not be the Phillies pitching coach.
Instead of trying to figure out all the reasons why people wish for Moyer to be the Phillies pitching coach, here are a few reasons why not:
1. Moyer Has Kids. Lots of Them.
Moyer has eight – yes eight- kids that span many moons. Just a few months ago he explained to the Seattle Times that they will keep him busy:
Moyer spoke about his children: two boys in college playing baseball, two high-school age daughters, two fourth-graders and two first-graders. He also talked about his gardening.
"I've got a garden growing," he said. "I've got lettuce I'm eating now and micro-gardens. I'm excited about that. I've got some fruit trees going in. I've got a puppy. So, I'm doing some things I haven't done in a long time.
In other words, he is going to be a dad. The vigorous schedule from being a baseball player on the road has kept him from a lot. Now is the time for the puppy, the garden, and his kids' baseball and softball games.
2. Jamie Moyer Has Millions of Dollars
The salary of a major league coach is about $150,000.00. We learned that a couple years ago when Davy Lopes pretended to cry about coaches salaries when he opted to not coach for the Phillies another season. Of course, he took the same job with probably the same pay for the Los Angeles Dodgers almost immediately.
In short: Jamie Moyer does not need to work. To someone who earned $80,975,500.00 in his major league career, is it really worth it to take a coaching job for $150,000.00?
3. Jamie Moyer Has Never Expressed an Interest in Coaching
Even 20 years ago when Moyer's major league career seemed to have flamed out, the Chicago Cubs offered him a coaching job, probably as bullpen coach. But anytime someone has done a profile piece on Jamie Moyer, he never mentions coaching as a possibility. It always sounded like Moyer would stay in the game as a pitcher until the day he is not in the game anymore.
4. Jamie Moyer Has No Coaching Experience, Whatsoever
When was the last time the Phillies hired someone to their coaching staff who has never coached before, at any level? Moyer has absolutely no experience coaching; if he even coached for his son's little league team, we would not know. Showing some young pitchers how to throw pitches and how to gain control of them is much different than running a major league pitching staff.
Yes, the St. Louis Cardinals hired Mike Matheny to be the Cardinals' manager with no coaching or managerial experience whatsoever. But Matheny is able to get around that with experienced coaches at his side. The field manager tends to manage personalities now moreso than doing any actual coaching. Those jobs are for the professionals.
In some cases, an inexperienced former player was given a "bullpen coach" title, such as when Darren Daulton served as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' bullpen coach from Spring Training 2001 until August 4, 2001, when he resigned. The bullpen coach used to answer the phone and warm up pitchers, and little else. Today the position is more of a second pitching coach, as we have seen Rod Nichols fill this season. Still, Nichols had plenty of coaching experience. Maybe on another team with light expectations he could be brought aboard, but this is the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies are a major market team with a major market payroll and expectations to contend in the near future. They will not hire a coach without any coaching experience.
Yes, Jamie Moyer is a great guy who had a nice career. But he will not be coaching for the Phillies anytime soon.
