#238 Joe Moeller

To the best of my knowledge, Joe is not related to any of the other ex-major-league Moellers: Chad, Danny, Dennis, or Ron. Baseball Reference tells me that none of the five Moellers are related to one another. How do you like that?

Fun facts about Joe Moeller:

-Joe was born in Blue Island, IL and attended high school in California before signing with the Dodgers in 1960.

-He won 20 games in his first pro season with a 2.39 cumulative ERA, jumping from Class C Reno to Class A Greenville to AAA Spokane.

-Moeller became the youngest starting pitcher in L.A. Dodgers history when he made his first start at age 19 (plus two months) on April 18, 1962.

-Despite being sent down in July with a 6-5 record, a 5.25 ERA, and 58 walks and 46 strikeouts in 85.2 innings, he did have a couple bright moments. His first big league win was a complete game effort on April 23 in which he topped the Braves 5-2.

-Joe started a career-high 24 games in 1964, a season that was bookended by full seasons at AAA Spokane in 1963 and 1965. He cut down his walk total to 31 in 145.1 innings, but still had a forgettable 7-13 record and 4.21 ERA.

-His best big league season was 1966, when he went 2-4 with a 2.52 ERA while working chiefly as a reliever. He relieved Don Drysdale in the third inning of that year's World Series opener, allowing one run in two innings.

-After abbrievated stints with Los Angeles in the three preceding seasons, Moeller appeared in 31 games in 1970, starting 19 of those. He went 7-9 with a 3.92 ERA overall, but allowed just a pair of earned runs in 21.2 innings of relief (0.83 ERA) and saved four games out of the bullpen.

-Tossed his only career shutout on June 24, 1970, six-hitting the Braves in a 7-0 Dodger win.

-Joe was only 28 when he last pitched in the majors in 1971. He hung on in the minors for two more seasons before retiring. In parts of 8 major league seasons, he was 26-36 with a 4.01 ERA.

-He has been an advance scout for the Marlins since 2002.