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Jamie Moyer has become the oldest pitcher ever to record a win in Major League Baseball. Will he still pitch when he's 50 next season?

• Mercenary1177: "Congrats to Jamie Moyer... very few people actually make a living doing something that they really love... and NOBODY has done this at his age... hopefully he will not just hang around... and will know when to stop, before he gets to the point that too many athletes do these days."
• StrongIsland06: "How this guy is still pitching in the majors is beyond me. But kudos for still playing baseball at his age."
• jgreene382: "Jamie Moyer has faced 8% of all hitters in MLB history according to Olney/Elias... Anyone else having difficulty comprehending that one?"
• Heim618: "I seem to recall thinking Moyer would never last when he came up with the Cubs in 1986. Shows why I've never been a good GM in any sort of baseball. Congrats to Moyer on the record."
• TML954: "The amazing thing is he will take the ball again for his next start. I would need a month to recover from an effort like that."
• AsphaltAbuse: "I hope he gets one at 50 "



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Contrary to legend, Jamie Moyer was not a small lad watching from the crowd in Cooperstown when the first Hall of Fame class was enshrined in 1939. But thanks to longevity bordering on Methuselah territory, Moyer might yet earn his own invitation to baseball immortality.

At 47 years, 210 days old, Moyer became the oldest pitcher ever to beat the Yankees with Wednesday's win. With victory No. 265 of a career that began when he was drafted in 1984 -- four years before Stephen Strasburg was born -- he also moved into a tie with Jim McCormick for No. 38 on the all-time wins list. In the history of baseball, only nine lefty pitchers have more wins than Moyer, and that list will shrink to eight with his next win.

So how about it? Moyer's career ERA is a pedestrian 4.23, but is he building a case for Cooperstown on sheer longevity?

• Vote: Is Pedro Martinez even the most interesting pitcher in Wednesday's game?

At least if Pedro Martinez struggles in his initial starts with the Phillies, he's playing for a fan base famous for its patience and empathy. Yes, this should end well.

There was a time when SportsNation would have taken Martinez over just about any pitcher who ever lived. Asked to pick a starter for an all-time AL All-Star team earlier this season, voters picked Martinez of 2000 vintage ahead of the best of Roger Clemens, Lefty Grove, Jim Palmer and Johan Santana. Of course, there was also a time when a majority of people thought Tracy McGrady was a better leader than Kobe Bryant.

As Martinez makes his Phillies debut against the Cubs Wednesday night, he can't even earn enough popular support to merit his spot in the rotation. And considering SportsNation already thinks he's a borderline, at best, first-ballot Hall of Fame candidate, the next few weeks could make those memories of his best years fade away.

• Breathing room? 78 percent of voters expect Marlins to miss the playoffs.
• Does Martinez have more left than Moyer? SportsNation is split.
• A Mets fan can't wait for Martinez to make his first start. No, not because it will help the rest of the NL East catch up. SportsNation blogger tcab2880 says Martinez was a breath of fresh air during the era of performance-enhancing drugs and deserves this chance.

In a past life, Pedro Martinez was perhaps the most dominant pitcher to have ever played the game. He struck out double-digit batters on a regular basis. He made exceptional hitters look confused and silly. The numbers he put up (in the middle of the so-called "Steroid Era," no less) seem like statistical outliers when compared to his peers.

It's a little sad, then, to see a good outing by Pedro in Double-A praised as indicative that he "still has it." For sure, he may well indeed still be able to get major league batters out -- after all, Jamie Moyer is still doing it -- but there's also the danger of Pedro appearing as an old Willie Mays with the Mets, unable to run down fly balls and letting grounders skip through his legs. That being said, Pedro could be a force out of the bullpen, but it still could be a sad end to one of baseball's greatest pitching careers.

Unfortunately, SportsNation isn't confident that Pedro has anything left in the tank. We'll soon see if he'll be able to prove his doubters wrong.

• Before he signed, more than 75 percent of SportsNation thought Pedro would help.
• Most of SportsNation doesn't see Pedro Martinez as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
• Groups: Die Hard Phillies Fans | Philly Fans | Philly Phans For Life!!!

Ryan Howard broke a power-hitting record that withstood the worst of an era of bloated power numbers. Jamie Moyer continued a run of longevity that would put Larry King to shame. And Phillies fans just wondered when Roy Halladay would show up.

All right, so we're sure more than a few of the Philadelphia faithful savored a pair of historically significant performances against the Marlins, but talk of Halladay does seem to dominate the moment. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bill Conlin waxes rhapsodic about Toronto's neighborhoods and Sam Donnellon wonders what impact adding Pedro Martinez will have on potential Halladay trade talks.

Then again, SportsNation doesn't think much of the Phillies' chances of winning the NL without Halladay. But add the ace to the mix, and it's a very different story.

As for Thursday night, Moyer became the oldest pitcher to go seven innings and allow one or fewer hits. That gives him 255 career wins, good enough for voters to put him in the discussion for Cooperstown (although the 4.22 career ERA isn't going to help). Howard hit career home run No. 200, passing Ralph Kiner, who he didn't know much about, as the fastest to the plateau.

• Vote on the Phillies, from Howard's homers to Halladay rumors.
• 'Nation can't decide if Moyer's longevity is more impressive than Howard's pace.
• Nearly two out of three voters expect Howard to hit at least 500 HR.
• Groups: What's the latest on Halladay? Ask Jerry Crasnick at 12 p.m. ET.
• Groups: Die Hard Phillies Phans | Philly Phans For Life | Curse of William Penn