Red Sox: What if Jamie Moyer never got traded to Seattle in 1996?
Boston Red Sox pitcher Jamie Moyer was traded at the trade deadline in 1996 for Darren Bragg. Was it the right move?
The Boston Red Sox signed free agent Jamie Moyer to a one-year deal prior to the 1996 season. He had just come off a three year stint in Baltimore where he saw his ERA balloon annually from 3.43 in 1993, to 4.77 in 1994, and finally to 5.21 in 1995. He took a slight pay cut to come to Boston in hopes of resurrecting his career in a new town.
The Red Sox took a chance on the aging lefty for one-year worth $825,000, including a $225,000 signing bonus. Moyer was getting just a little more than half what he got the previous year as an Oriole. Very worth it for the Sox.
As a member of the Red Sox, Moyer recorded a 7-1 record with a 4.50 ERA. While the ERA number wasn’t exactly pretty, he still managed to get a very good record. This wasn’t a flame thrower, adding in the fact that he was 33 wasn’t scaring anyone either. Moyer had given up 14 home runs in 90 innings of work while also managing just 50 strike outs. Teams typically buy into the hype of pitchers with good records. With a 7-1 record in 10 starts, the Seattle Mariners bought into that hype sending Darren Bragg to the Red Sox.
We’ll explore what each player was able to do for their team following the trade. The Mariners and Red Sox made a few trades in the late 90’s and both were very memorable. The first was the famous Moyer for Bragg trade. So again who made out? The team trading for the aging pitcher or the team trading for the youngster in the outfield.
Darren Bragg in Boston & post-Boston
When Bragg was traded to Boston, the Sox were excited to get a young outfielder who did well in Seattle. In 69 games, he hit .272 with 7 home runs, 25 RBI and 8 steals. Not the best sample size but certainly not the worst. Remember the Mariners were getting a 33-year old Jamie Moyer. Bragg ended up with a .252/3/22/6 in Boston in just 58 games. His 1996 line in total was .261/10/47/14 in 127 games. He also added 74 runs that year.
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In 1997, Bragg posted a .257/9/57/10 line and followed that up with a .279/8/57/5 slash in 1998. He stayed consistent in both his second and third seasons in Boston. Overall, the numbers were still very underwhelming.
Bragg appeared to peak in his mid 20’s as his numbers went downhill after that. He had a .264/20/136/21 career slash. The outfielder played a total of 340 games in Boston. In his last season as a member of the Sox, he lost his starting job platooning in the outfield with both Darren Lewis and Damon Buford. At least DB can brag about joining the 20/20 club with one team. See what I did there?
Bragg became a journeyman playing for a total of seven teams after his stint in Boston. After Boston, Bragg joined the Cardinals in 1999, the Rockies in 2000, the Mets and the Yankees in 2001, the Braves 2002-2003, and the Padres and Reds in 2004. His career numbers after his time in Boston? A .245/16/84/18 line in 447 games spanning six seasons for seven teams in total. Yes, seven. How did Moyer do in comparison post trade?
Jamie Moyer in Seattle
Moyer went on to post a 6-2 record in Seattle while also posting a 3.31 ERA and got another 29 strike outs in 70 2/3’s innings after the deadline. Moyer’s totals in 1996 weren’t bad overall, a 13-3 record, a 3.98 ERA with 79 K’s in 160 2/3’s innings. Moyer went on to record 13 wins or more in the next seven seasons in Seattle. The lefty seemed to be like a fine wine, getting better with time. Three of Moyer’s best years numbers looked as so:
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1997
Record: 17-5
ERA: 3.85
Innings: 188 2/3
Strike outs: 113
2001
Record: 20-6
ERA: 3.43
Innings: 209 2/3
Strike outs: 119
**4th in Cy Young Voting
2003
Record: 21-7
ERA: 3.27
Innings: 215.0
Strike outs: 129
** 5th in Cy Young Voting
There’s no question that Jamie Moyer was one of the late bloomers in baseball. No other explanation for someone who got better in his 30’s and played well into his late 40’s. Moyer’s numbers in Seattle were nothing short of remarkable posting two seasons of 20 or more wins and also had 13 wins or more in eight of nine seasons before being traded mid-season in 2006.
Career numbers in Seattle:
1996 – 2006
Record: 145-87
ERA: 3.97
Innings: 2,093
Strike outs: 1,239
Moyer finished his career in Seattle with some pretty impressive numbers finishing 2nd in both wins and innings pitched only to Felix Hernandez and 3rd in strike outs behind Hernandez and Randy Johnson. Lefty also finished in the top 6 for the Cy Young Award three times.
Post-Seattle
Post-Seattle? Moyer went on to win 58 games as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, tallying 475 strike outs. From 1996 on, Moyer won 10 or more games in 13 of 14 straight seasons and almost made it 14 out of 15 seasons missing 10 by one win in 2010 at the age of 46. Quite a difference when considering both players and the careers they had after getting traded at the 1996 deadline.
Seattle ran circles around Boston in the now famous 1996 trade
Just the image how valuable Jamie Moyer was to the M’s. Moyer spent 11 seasons in Seattle. Bragg? Well he went 2+ seasons in Boston, never even close living up to the deal that sent Moyer to Seattle.
Moyer was a part of some of the most dominant Mariner squads in team history. Teaming up with Mariner legends Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and pitching greats including the Big Unit in the 90’s and King Felix in the early 2000’s.
Jamie Moyer will never be remembered for a blazing arm with blazing speed. Moyer will be always be remembered for his longevity as a starting pitcher, his durability, and more importantly as a Mariner’s Legend.
Darren Bragg on the other hand? Well he’ll be remembered as the guy that went to Boston for one of the best in Mariners club history. If only the Red Sox could make a trade with the Mariners to get a better return. Hmm…foreshadowing perhaps?
Next: Red Sox: What if the Sox re-signed Pedro Martinez after 2004?
Stay tuned for the next “What If” article coming out in a few weeks.