Blessings on Jamie Moyer, Pitcher and Philanthropist

Blessings on Jamie Moyer, Pitcher and Philanthropist

The common thinking on Jamie Moyer is that he’s a venerable major league pitcher who, at age 46, still is outwitting major league hitters with soft pitches and guile.

Less known is the fact that he and wife Karen, the daughter of former, long-time Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps, are co-founders of The Moyer Foundation which has raised more than $16 million for children’s causes since its inception in 2000.


Facts about Jamie Moyer’s ongoing baseball career, Karen Moyer, and The Moyer Foundation include:

* Jamie was born Nov. 18, 1962, in Sellersville, Pennsylvania

* He attended St. Joseph’s University, in Philadelphia, and is the first-ever baseball player there to have his number retired

* Left-handed, he was claimed by the Chicago Cubs in the 6th round of the 1984 amateur draft

* His major league debut was June 16, 1986

* He’s played for seven major league teams: Chicago Cubs, Texas, St. Louis, Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, and Philadelphia

* As of May 15, 2009, Jamie had won 249 career games, lost 188 games, and had an accumulated 4.22 ERA

* Jamie’s best seasons were for Seattle in 2001, when he won 20 and lost 6 with an ERA of 3.42; and in 2003, when he won 21 and lost 7, with an ERA of 3.27

* His weakness always has been giving up home runs … in addition to having surrendered more home runs than any other active pitcher, he gave up the most home runs in the American League in 2004, and currently leads the 2009 National League in that category

* In 2008 Jamie won 16, lost 7, and posted a 3.71 ERA for the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies

* Jamie’s philanthropic work has earned him the National Sports Philanthropy Award, Roberto Clemente Award, Lou Gehrig Award, and the Branch Rickey Humanitarian Award

Karen Moyer is a graduate of Notre Dame University and, with Jamie, the mother of seven children. She runs a cycling studio in Seattle and runs Magnolia Baseball, a youth baseball organization.

The mission of The Moyer Foundation is to support children enduring times of emotional, physical, or financial distress by improving their quality of life.

Since 2000, The Moyer Foundation has raised more than $16 million to support more than 170 non-profit organizations that help suffering children.

Examples of organizations supported by The Moyer Foundation include:

* Non-profit organizations that help children in severe distress, with life-threatening illness, or physical limitations

* Camp Erin, a network of 28 bereavement camps in 18 states nationwide that helps grieving children ages six through 17 deal with losses of loved ones

* Camp Mariposa, a two-year-old program partnered with Youth Eastside Services that serves children suffering from addiction in their families

While Jamie Moyer may be making his mark on major league baseball, The Moyer Foundation may be touching even more lives. Future books could be written on Jamie Moyer where baseball merely is a sideline.