Another notable number came up after Tuesday’s game, when the sports-information company STATS LLC pointed out that the Rockies had listed Moyer’s age incorrectly, and that he was, in fact, a day older than the team had reported. You can’t talk about old pitchers and age discrepancies, however, without paying tribute to the undisputed king of both categories: Leroy “Satchel” Paige, the Negro Leagues ace and baseball folk hero. Moyer’s win on Tuesday was impressive, but Paige has him beat on one score, at least, by a decade. On September 25, 1965, Paige pitched three credible innings of baseball for the Kansas City Athletics against the Red Sox at the decidedly incredible reported age of fifty-nine—making him the oldest player to ever appear in a major-league game. He faced ten batters, recorded a strikeout, gave up just one hit (a double to Carl Yastrzemski), and was replaced at the start of the fourth inning, leaving the field to an ovation from the nine thousand or so fans in the stands who’d come to watch the A’s finish out a losing season.
Everything about Satchel Paige is awesome. Every day that goes by without a biopic getting made is an opportunity lost. Check out Larry Tye’s biography of the man if you haven’t yet.
I’d cast Dave Chappelle in the movie myself, but it’s probably worth noting that I’d cast Dave Chappelle in pretty much everything. Via Alex Belth.
