Peter Moylan

From BR Bullpen

Peter Michael Moylan
(Sledge)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Peter Moylan is a pitcher whose major league career was principally with the Atlanta Braves. His major league debut came nine years after his last appearance in Organized Baseball, which had been in rookie league.

Moylan was signed by the Minnesota Twins in 1996 and spent two seasons in the Gulf Coast League before being released. He was 1-1 with a 4.08 ERA for the 1996 GCL Twins and 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA in 1997. Returning to Australia, he worked as a pharmaceutical salesman while playing first base for a local club team, the Blackburn Orioles of Victoria Baseball Division 1. He had back operations in 2001 and 2003. In 2003 he was a pitcher (1-0, 3.00 in 4 games) and first baseman for Taipei Gida of the Taiwan Major League. He appeared in the 2003 and 2006 Claxton Shield competitions as an infielder. Moylan began pitching for the Orioles in late 2005.

Moylan was a surprising addition to the 2006 World Baseball Classic roster of the Australian national team, based on his success in the 2006 Claxton Shield. He had added 10 miles per hour to his fastball, thanks to a new sidearm motion he had incorporated following his back injuries.

He pitched in 1 2/3 innings against Venezuela striking out Marco Scutaro, Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, and Ramon Hernandez while walking 5. It would make him one of the WBC's success stories. He had a 5.40 ERA and no decisions.

Due to this performance, he was signed by the Braves and started the season with the AAA Richmond Braves. He was called up on April 10th to replace Joey Devine. He debuted two days later, relieving Lance Cormier in the 8th inning of a 7-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He retired Ryan Howard on a fly to CF Andruw Jones, allowed a double to David Bell, got Mike Lieberthal on a pop fly and struck out pinch-hitter David Dellucci. He returned to the minors. He was 1-7 with a save and a 6.35 ERA for Richmond in 2006, but had a 4.80 ERA in 15 games in 4 stints with the major league Braves.

In 2007, Moylan pitched two hitless innings for Richmond while dazzling in Atlanta. He was 5-3 with a save and a 1.80 ERA in 80 outings for the Braves, allowing only 65 hits in 90 innings of work. He had only 19 unintentional walks. He tied Cla Meredith for 7th in the National League in appearances. He had the lowest ERA of any Braves pitcher to make 20 or more appearances.

Moylan was 0-1 with a save and a 1.59 ERA for the Braves in 2008 but missed most of the season due to Tommy John surgery. In 2009, Peter set a MLB record by pitching 87 games without allowing a home run; Chad Bradford had held the mark at 74. He was 6-2 with a 2.84 ERA. Only Pedro Feliciano (88) pitched more games in the majors that year.

Moylan stretched his homerless game run to 123 before allowing a homer on June 9, 2010, in odd fashion. Gerardo Parra hit a shot to right-center; when outfielders Nate McLouth and Jason Heyward collided, it became an inside-the-park homer. He went 6-2, 2.97 in 85 games, striking out 52 against 37 walks in 63 2/3 innings. In 2011, however, he made only 13 appearances, going 2-1, 3.24, 7 in April, and another 6 in September, separated by injury issues and a few appearances in AAA. 2012 was a year marked by rehabilitation from shoulder surgery as he pitched 21 times for four different minor league teams while building back his strength. His record was only 1-1, 6.35, but the Braves were mainly interested in seeing whether he could find his velocity again. Satisfied with that side of things, he was called up when rosters expanded on September 1st and made his first big league appearance in 11 months that day, pitching a perfect inning in a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 1-0 with a save and a 1.80 ERA for the Braves that year.

He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and split 2013 between the Dodgers (1-0, 6.46) and the Albuquerque Isotopes (4-1, 4 Sv, 2.74). He missed 2014 due to Tommy John surgery. Returning to Atlanta, he split the summer of 2015 between the major league Braves (1-0, 3.48 in 22 G, under 11 IP) and the AAA Gwinnett Braves (2-0, 6 Sv, 3.14 in 27 G). He signed with the Kansas City Royals for 2016. He went 2-0, 3.43 in 50 games.

The veteran was with Australia for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, held in 2016, his first national team appearance in ten years. He saved Steve Kent's opening win over the Philippines national team. In the finale, he relieved Travis Blackley with a 4-3 deficit against South Africa, two outs and a man on third in the top of the 6th. He fanned Shannon Ekermans and tossed a shutout 7th while Australia pulled ahead with a 6-4 lead by the time Ryan Searle relieved him; Moylan got the win, making him the only pitcher in that qualifier to get both a win and a save. He and Searle were the only Australian hurlers to pitch multiple games as they won a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

In 2017, he led the American League with 79 appearances but did not have any decisions - win, loss or save. He pitched 59 1// innings, allowing just 40 hits and 25 walks, and striking out 46, with an ERA of 3.49.

Moylan was born in Attadale, Western Australia, a suburb of the state capital, Perth. Some sites list a different suburb, Lesmurdie, but Peter himself has confirmed Attadale to be his birthplace.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • AL Games Pitched Leader (2017)

Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

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