TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 21: Peter Moylan #47 of the Kansas City Royals hugs manager Ned Yost #3 as he is relieved in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 21, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Former Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Peter Moylan has announced his retirement at the age of 40.

The announcement of Peter Moylan’s retirement came from David O’Brien of The Athletic. He does mention that the reliever will be pitching for a pro team in Italy with the intention of pitching for Australia in the Olympics. Moylan spent nine of his 12 years in the MLB as a member of the Atlanta Braves, and two for the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City got Moylan in 2016 and 2017, ages 37 and 38. In each of those seasons he made at least 50 appearances and posted an FIP of 4.00. In 2017, his 79 appearances led the entire league.

In his career he made 499 appearances with a 24-10 record, a 324/180 K/BB ratio, and a 3.10 ERA.

Moylan’s Journey

The Minnesota Twins first signed the Australian righty in January of 1996. He would be released by the organization in April of 1998. The Braves didn’t sign Moylan until 2006. During the years in between, he worked regular jobs, but kept pitching. This is when he adopted a sidearm delivery.

It all worked for him. He signed with the Braves on March 10, and debuted on April 12 at the age of 27. He went on to spend the next seven seasons in Atlanta before signing with the Dodgers. The Kansas City Royals were the next stop after LA.

His career included a single playoff inning back in 2010. Moylan gave up a hit and nothing else. He was never an all-star and he accumulated four saves in his career. With all of that, and his impeccable journey to the MLB, he carved out a 12 year career. He could have had 13 years if not for his Tommy John surgery in 2014.

Happy Trials, Old Friend

In O’Brien’s article, Moylan talks about the game trending younger. It is. However, it was good to see him be able to pitch in the majors, competitively, until he was 40. It is clear that his teammates will miss him and the game will as well.

I hope Moylan does get to pitch for the Australian Olympic team. He had to work harder than most to earn the career he did. His is a wonderful and inspiring story about what can happen when you don’t give up on a dream.

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Though his time was not long with the Kansas City Royals, Moylan did more than his part for the team. We wish a very happy retirement to Peter Moylan!