Hall of Fame offers Moyer an internship

DENVER -- Upon earning the distinction as the oldest winning pitcher in baseball history on Tuesday night, Rockies starter Jamie Moyer admitted -- with some degree of regret -- that he is not educated on baseball history.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum would love to help Moyer. The Hall issued a press release on Thursday saying it is offering Moyer an opportunity to study in Cooperstown, N.Y., as part of the Museum's Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program, "should he ever retire."

"I kind of wish I was a baseball historian," Moyer said after beating the Padres, 5-3, at 49 years and 151 days old. "I'm not, and I'll be happy to admit that, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. Being a baseball player, we should know more about the history of the game. We need to respect the game and the people that played before you."

Moyer eclipsed an 80-year-old record held by the Brooklyn Dodgers' Jack Quinn, who beat the Cardinals on Sept. 13, 1932, at 49 years and 70 days of age.

The Hall of Fame would love to give Moyer a chance to learn about many other historic feats.

"Through our annual Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program, we are providing learning foundations and educational opportunities to future leaders in baseball research, among many other Museum and baseball disciplines," Brad Horn, the Hall's senior director for communications and education, said in the release.

"Jamie certainly has shown the dedication we look for in our program's candidates, and we believe that Jamie has the stuff necessary to make it as a Hall of Fame historian, with a little hard work and perseverance."

The Hall of Fame has asked for Moyer's cap and glove from the record-setting game for its "Today's Game" exhibit on the Museum's second floor. The Moyer display will be a highlight of the "This Year in Baseball" exhibition.

Moyer will eventually send both, but he won't part with his glove until he breaks in another.

"We are thankful to Jamie for donating these important items of baseball history to Cooperstown so that fans from every generation in which he's pitched, and for those future generations who might yet see him on the mound in years to come, can enjoy these timeless treasures in perpetuity," Horn said. "Perhaps one day, even, Jamie will be recognized as not only an important figure in the game's history on the mound, but as one of the great historians of the game."

The offer to Moyer brings to light the Hall of Fame's 15-year-old internship program. The 2012 class features 15 students, chosen from more than 500 applicants from across the country. Starting May 29, they will take what the Hall of Fame calls "a comprehensive 10-week study, ranging from library and collections management to public programming and baseball research."

The annual application deadline for Steele interns is at the end of January. For more information, go to www.baseballhall.org/intern.