October 1, 2007: The Colorado Rockies' Disputed Holliday

October 1, 2007: A Playoff for the National League Wild Card Playoff berth is held at Coors Field in Denver. The Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres had both finished with a record of 89-73, 1 game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Western Division. Since only 1 Wild Card berth was available per League, they would have to play each other for it.

The Rockies had won 13 of their last 14 scheduled games just to get that far, for a shot at only their 2nd Playoff berth ever, after the 1995 NL Wild Card. The Padres had won the NL West the 2 preceding seasons.

Jake Peavy, having won the Triple Crown of Pitching, started for the Padres, and lasted into the 7th inning, bolstered by a 5-run 3rd inning that included a home run by Adrián González. Rockies starter Josh Fogg got knocked out in the 5th inning, but the Rockies still only trailed, 5-4, thanks to home runs by Yorvit Torrealba and Todd Helton.

The Rockies scored runs in the 5th and the 6th to take a 6-5 lead, but the Padres tied it in the 8th. The game went to extra innings. Brian Giles led off the top of the 13th inning with a walk, and Scott Hairston looked like the hero of the game, hitting a home run off Jorge Julio to give the Padres an 8-6 lead. Ramón Ortiz came in to pitch for the Rockies, and he got out of the inning with no further damage.

Counting the postseason, Hall-of-Fame reliever Trevor Hoffman appeared in 914 games for the San Diego Padres. This one, along with Game 3 of the 1998 World Series, when he gave up a game-winning home run to Scott Brosius, is one he'd like to have back. He gave up a double to Kazuo Matsui, an RBI double to Troy Tulowitzki, and an RBI triple to Matt Holliday.

Helton was intentionally walked to set up the double play. But Jamey Carroll hit a fly ball to right field. Giles caught it, and threw home, to try to get Holliday, who had tagged up at 3rd. Home plate umpire Tim McClelland ruled him safe, and the Rockies had won, 9-8.

The Padres lost their minds, sure that catcher Michael Barrett had tagged Holliday. This play is one of the reasons that instant replay review was instituted in Major League Baseball, but it wasn't in use yet. The replay showed that Padre catcher Michael Barrett had dropped the ball. Holliday was safe.

Needing a Playoff for the Playoffs, the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres in the bottom of the 13th inning, 9-8. Jamey Carroll hits a sacrifice fly, and Matt Holliday scores on a disputed play at the plate.

The Rockies closed the regular season (and this game counts as such, as it's officially not a postseason game) winning 14 of their last 15. They swept the Philadelphia Phillies 3 straight in the NL Division Series, and the Diamondbacks 4 straight in the NL Championship Series. They had won 21 of their last 22, a late-season run unmatched in the history of Major League Baseball.

Which made it all the more stunning when the Boston Red Sox swept them in 4 straight in the World Series. They won the Wild Card again in 2009, but didn't make the Playoffs again until 2017. The Padres didn't make the Playoffs again until 2020, and this play still burns their fans up. 

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October 1, 2007 was a Monday. There was 1 other score: On ESPN Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots, in the middle of their almost-unbeaten season, beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-13 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

May 16, 2012: MLB's Oldest Winning Pitcher -- and Oldest Player With an RBI

May 16, 2012: The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-1 at Coors Field in Denver. Jamie Moyer starts for the Rockies, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. In the bottom of the 4th inning, he hit a ground ball up the middle for a single, and 2 runs scored.

Moyer was 49 years, 5 months and 28 days old. This made him the oldest pitcher ever to win a game in Major League Baseball, and the oldest batter ever to record a run batted in.

He was born on November 18, 1962 in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Souderton, 34 miles northwest of Veterans Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Phillies while he was growing up. He made his major league debut on June 16, 1986, pitching for the Chicago Cubs from 1986 to 1988, the Texas Rangers in 1989 and 1990, the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991, in the minor leagues in 1992, with the Baltimore Orioles from 1993 to 1995, with the Boston Red Sox in 1996, with the Seattle Mariners from 1996 to 2006, with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2006 to 2010, missed the 2011 season with Tommy John surgery, and returned to pitch with the Rockies in 2012.

He made his last appearance on May 27, 11 days after this milestone. I really thought he would keep pitching until his age matched his uniform number, 50. He would have had to have pitched at least 1 game in 2013.

He retired with a record of 269-209, a 4.25 ERA, and 2,441 strikeouts. He also has the dubious distinction of giving up more home runs than any other pitcher: 522, surpassing another Phillies pitcher, Robin Roberts, with 505. (As you might guess, the pitcher who gave up the most hits is Cy Young, with 7,092. In the post-1920 Lively Ball Era, it's Phil Niekro, with 5,044.)

Moyer was an American League All-Star in 2003. He reached the postseason with the Mariners in 1997, 2000 and 2001; and with the Phillies in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Moyer claims to have been at both of the Phillies' World Series win parades: In 1980, as a student at Souderton High School and a spectator; and in 2008, as a player on the team.

Someone determined that, at the time he retired, Moyer had pitched to 8.9 percent of all batters who had ever appeared in a major league game between 1871 and 2012 -- nearly 1 out of every 11. He debuted in 1986, when Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson and Tom Seaver were still active, and last pitched in 2012, when the Rookies of the Year were Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

To put it another way: He made his debut in 1986, with the Chicago Cubs, when their home park, Wrigley Field, didn't yet have lights; and made his farewell in 2012, when the Miami Marlins' LoanDepot Park opened.

In 1992, he pitched to Eric Young Sr. In his record-breaking win of 2012, Eric Young Jr. pinch-hit for him.

He pitched for the Texas Rangers, who played their 1st game when he was 9 years old; the Seattle Mariners, who played their 1st game when he was a freshman in high school; and the Colorado Rockies, who played their 1st game when he already had 34 major league wins under his belt.

Perhaps the freakiest Jamie Moyer Fact of them all: There have been only 2 players named Moyer in major league history. The other was Ed Moyer, who was not related, but was also a pitcher, and appeared in 3 games for the Washington Senators in 1910. He died on November 18, 1962 -- the very day that Jamie Moyer was born.

UPDATE: Here's another one. In 2024, DJ LeMahieu appeared in 68 games for the New York Yankees, at the age of 34. Nolan Ryan debuted in 1966, 58 years earlier, and had pitched against Willie Mays, Ernie Banks and Roger Maris. Both Ryan and LeMahieu were major league teammates of Jamie Moyer.

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May 16, 2012 was a Wednesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Kyle Drabek, son of former Yankee pitcher Doug Drabek, outpitched Hiroki Kuroda. Derek Jeter did not play. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Citi Field.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-7 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Adam Jones won it with a home run in the top of the 15th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-1 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

Football was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-91 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia., And the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 77-5 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and I rather enjoyed it: The New Jersey Devils beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 3-2 at Madison Square Garden. David Clarkson scored the winning goal, 2:31 into the 3rd period.