Summary
Joseph Douglas Moeller Jr. (born February 15, 1943) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962 to 1971.
| Joe Moeller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: February 15, 1943 Blue Island, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1962, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1971, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 26–36 |
| Earned run average | 4.01 |
| Strikeouts | 307 |
| Teams | |
Early life edit
Moeller was born in Blue Island, Illinois to Joseph Douglas Sr. and Lois (née Reymeyer), the second of three children. In 1951, the family moved to Manhattan Beach, California where he attended Mira Costa High School and became known for baseball and basketball. As an All-Conference pitcher, he complied 0.44 earned run average and attracted attention from a half-dozen major league scouts.[1]
Shortly after his high school graduation, the Dodgers signed Moeller and his brother Gary to a hefty bonus of $100,000. Joe received around $75,000 of the bonus.[2]
Career edit
Moeller is the youngest starting pitcher in Dodgers history at 19 years, 2 months of age.
Moeller's Dodger teammates resented his sizeable bonus. In particular, Duke Snider, the Dodgers' star centerfielder from their days in Brooklyn, was openly resentful of Moeller's bonus; in his prime, Snider had not made more than $44,000 a season, and he felt young unproven players with large bonuses did not belong in the Majors. In 1962, at Snider's saying, the team voted Moeller only half the playoff cut despite Moeller having played the full season and contributed to the team's run. Snider would later apologize to Moeller for his behavior towards him.[3]
He pitched two innings in the 1966 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.[4]
Personal life edit
In 1961, Moeller married his high sweetheart Elizabeth "Lee" Burroughs. They had four children together but divorced 14 years later. He remarried in 2003, to Trudy Breneman.
His son Gary played baseball at Cal State Fullerton and achieved professional success in Sweden and New Zealand.
References edit
- ^ "Joe Moeller (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
Joseph Douglas Moeller Jr. was born on February 15, 1943, the second of three children of Joseph Moeller, Sr. and Lois (Reymeyer) Moeller, in Blue Island, Illinois... In 1951 the family moved to Los Angeles County... Moeller enjoyed continued success in both American Legion and prep school play at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California, where he was also an accomplished basketball player.
- ^ "Joe Moeller (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
On June 22, 1960, shortly after his high school graduation, Moeller's father negotiated directly with Los Angeles Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley for a $100,000 bonus to sign both Joe and his brother Gary. Joe received the lion's share of the hefty bonus.
- ^ Leahy, Michael (2016). The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers. HarperCollins. pp. 186–188. ISBN 978-0062360564.
- ^ "Joe Moeller Career Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Joe Moeller at the SABR Baseball Biography Project