Enrique Cerna Interviews Karen and Jamie Moyer
This is a transcript of an interview with Karen and Jamie Moyer on Conversations at KCTS 9 which aired on January 2, 2009.
Other Transcripts:
Jamie: Well, thank you Enrique, you know what, it’s a huge honor and I want to say, you know what, I lived it for all of the forty plus guys out in the Northwest and around the country. It was a great experience and something I’ll never forget, and the cool thing about it is that I was able to live this with my family.
EC: The only regret most of us have here is that you didn’t do it with the Mariners.
Jamie: Yeah, I know, there’s some regret there too. I guess if…uh…my response is that if there’s another place I could’ve done it, it would’ve been Philadelphia because I grew up in that area, so whether it be here or there, from my aspect, it’s all good.
Karen: Being there at the game, as a family, everyone’s there watching this — your experience for you. It was surreal, absolutely surreal. When we had beaten the Dodgers and realized we were going into the World Series we had a week…and when we would say, verbalize, the two words “World Series” we’d look at each other and go, really?, that’s us? And just the drama of it all, and there’s all these side stories…an amazing experience, and so cool to be a part of his dream.
EC: Your father is Digger Phelps, the former Notre Dame basketball coach, was there for about 20 years…and now is an analyst on ESPN. I understand he came to some of the games there and is…quite a superstitious guy?
Karen: He’s so superstitious he drove us all crazy, because Jamie’s not so much and I think I married the opposite. So we’d all be driving to the games and had to sit in the same seats and couldn’t talk about certain things. But you know, Jamie through the years has given us this calmness…because he has so much confidence in himself that we can sit there and really enjoy watching him pitch. There have been many times when I’ve sat there with my dad, and people are booing my husband, his son-in-law, behind us, so we just reveled in every moment of it.
EC: How about the kids? Now, you have seven kids, ages 17 to 2?
Jamie: Yes…they were all a part of it. Actually in the league championship series and the World Series my two oldest, 17 and 15 year old boys, were in uniform…for the league championship series they were in the dugout when the third out was made, and on the field. For the World Series they were up the hallway, a little tighter game, a little more meaning…I told them, wait up the hallway, when the third out is made, come out on the field. So, they were part of the celebration immediately, which was great. They lived it with us.
But, my whole family, as the celebration went on, was able to be down on the field…and, again, created a lot of life memories, a lot of pictures were taken, a lot of tears were drawn. It was very exciting and it was really cool to be able to accomplish something like that with a group of players…you know it’s not an individual thing but a group thing, and I think that’s what makes it so special.
EC: How do you keep going…forty-five.
Jamie: You know, I’ve learned a lot about my body. I’ve been very fortunate to be around some great people as far as strength and conditioning. Some good genes I think have fit into that as well. I’ve been lucky…but you know, I feel like I’ve worked hard and I feel like I’ve earned everything that I’ve gotten in baseball. Nothing has been given to me and I don’t expect it to be given to me. I expect to earn it, and I was raised that way as a child, so… you know, I keep going.
I enjoy the competitiveness. I still feel like I have the drive. I enjoy the competition and you know that at my age right now, I’ll be 46 in a couple of days, I enjoy being able to go out and compete with…20—you know, guys in their 20’s, guys in their 30’s. It’s pretty cool. It’s a pretty cool feeling to be able to be out there in my 40’s and be representing that age group - men in their forties. And I have a lot of people who say that, and I hear what they’re saying, but I really appreciate that type of response.
EC: Now, during your career, you’ve played with what, 7 teams…
Jamie: Yes…
Karen: Eight!
Jamie: Well, I’ve been in eight organizations…but seven teams in the Big Leagues.
EC: That’s the wife…eight! She knows all the statistics here!
EC: Family wise, how do you make that work? I mean, you’re very fortunate playing for the Mariners, the longest stretch…10 year stretch here, so you could have some stability. But during the other times…in fact, after playing here for 10 years and then suddenly going to Philadelphia…how do you manage that?
Karen: And that’s the glamorous part of Jamie Moyer’s career, truly, is the second half. The first half…we got married and a month later were traded to Texas. Actually had both of our first two kids in the minor leagues. And seven teams later we land here, and all that time in between, there was unemployment…sitting at home wondering what we were going to do next. Where are we going for spring training, in and out of the bullpen, believe it or not.
So, what we always did was…we committed to being together as a family, so wherever he was playing, we would be. The kids would go to school whether it was in season, spring training, and that worked for us, through eighth grade for the oldest. So, when he decided to take the trade from Seattle to Philly and then again sign with them, it took some adjusting, because we were so used to having him around.
And the one thing I never want any of us used to is not having Daddy around, or me not having my husband around. We’re very independent and can…do it all without him, and we’re used to him coming in and out of our life in those transitions, but I never want to get used to that. So it’s important for us to make extra effort now that we’re coast to coast. And I think because we’ve committed to that, we have great kids, and they appreciate and respect our decision making, whatever we decide to do.
EC: Do they understand…I mean, you’re living…not a typical life. It’s very good fortune in the life here, and watching Dad play in the World Series and having the opportunity to go to different cities and have a different kind of life.
Karen: Well, I think what helps us is that I kind of grew up in the same lifestyle - two very successful parents in the public eye. So, I’m very sensitive to that and what our own children go through. I think that having boys first was really helpful for all the moves and such - because they get it, they’re athletes. If we had girls first it might be harder. So, in our family they each kind of follow each other’s lead and…all the way down to number seven. So, if the older ones are happy then the little ones just follow suit. And Jamie’s very good about including them in it. He’s always called it “work” and I think that that’s really important.
Perspective…I doubt it. We’re in a parade waving to two million people on a float, I’m sitting there wondering what’s going through the four and five year old’s minds, and these huge smiles on the older four. And then number seven laying flat on the float with confetti falling all over her like snow. It’s kind of this out of body, surreal… and somehow we’ll put that into perspective, we’re going to spend some alone time over the holiday and really talk about it, reflect on it.
EC: Your community work here in Seattle, which still continues through the Moyer Foundation, you started that in 2000. What was the reasoning for that…the genesis behind that?
Jamie: Well, we had always been involved obviously through baseball -Karen actually grew up doing a lot of charity work with her family, being at Notre Dame and being a student at Notre Dame. But, upon getting married, we continued to try to do charity work in the community - either that we lived in or where we played, whether it be through the organization or on our own. And coming here to Seattle we had some ideas about bereavement camps, but we first thought we should try to create a foundation. So, we did.
People, I think, kind of second guessed us, why are you doing this, and we just thought, you know what, this is the right thing for us to do and we felt that we had to show people that we were legitimate and that we weren’t just there to talk about things, and kind of move forward and really not follow up on things. And we wanted people to know that we were involved in with as well, it wasn’t something that we were throwing our name to…and other people were going to run it and we wouldn’t be around. So, it evolved in 2000 and we really kind of stepped into this not knowing where it would go, and the foundation has turned into a…
EC: And the focus is really kids…and speaking of being involved, you’re very involved. In fact…to the point of…
Karen: I think they like it when I’m out of town with his job or whatever we’ve got going on. But, we’re really passionate about children, obviously having so many ourselves, and realizing that no child deserves any type of distress. And so we have a very broad mission of helping children in distress at the Moyer Foundation and it’s good to be broad, because anything can happen to a child and we want to be able to help if we can.
EC: Let’s talk about Camp Erin. This is a camp that you have set up and you’re trying really to spread it around the country in order to help kids. It’s a bereavement camp. Kids that have suffered loss…loss of a parent, loss of a sibling, a loved one of some sort…and helping them deal with that, which has got to be just the hardest thing to do. But…how’s that going?
Jamie: It’s going great. We have 18 camps right now, and they’re throughout the country. Our goal is to have one in every Major League city, and then grow it beyond that. And we feel like giving back to the cities I’ve played in or have worked in, getting other players involved, getting organizations involved, getting players’ wives involved. It’s become a great thing. You know, you see children benefit… throughout the country and, unfortunately, there’s death everywhere. And we thought, we’ve started these camps here locally, why not try to grow this? And it’s become a very positive thing, we’re moving forward with it.
We’re in a campaign right now, a very successful campaign, and it’s really kind of taking on its own legs. And we’re learning as we go, and we’re growing as we go, and it’s exciting to be able to move this throughout the country and to see how people have accepted these camps, and understand that there is a need for these camps.
EC: Tell me about the young girl…who this camp was named after.
Karen: Erin? Erin Metcalfe was a teenager that Jamie and I met through Make A Wish when Jamie was with the Mariners and we got to know her family very well. She unfortunately lost her life to cancer. Very special girl and we had talked about her…kind of her legacy after she was gone. We knew of this bereavement camp and we decided to bring it to the Northwest and name it after her.
And I’ll tell you, at every camp, I feel her presence. It’s magical. And her family works many of the camps in the Northwest…and you know the camp is so powerful because you get all of these kids that have shared the same experience together. Therefore, they’re empowered and they’re strengthened to go home and realize it’s OK to go on. You can be sad, and cherish memories, but it’s OK to go on. And statistics show that if we don’t take care of this that there are real issues later in life.
EC: In fact, some studies show that there’s an increase in depression and suicide rates in these kids that don’t address these issues. So what’s… tell me about the camp, how long it lasts, what the kids get to do.
Karen: So, they show up on Friday and they’re very nervous, and they go to their bunks. And they get their little Erin bears that are made by local people, volunteers, and these blankets, and then they go through this process of fun that they don’t even realize is helping them heal. All the way to Sunday. And so many times the parents have shared with us, “You gave me back my child.”
One of my special things at camps is this luminary scene where the kids make a little float for a candle, decorate it with their person’s…loved one’s name, and then they send them out on a raft or send them out solely, all together, and it’s always beautiful. It’s a lake scene, camp scene, full moon usually, beautiful evening…lots and lots of crying. But they’re healing. And one story that we share is one year these siblings were there and they had lost their mom…and the next morning their candles had washed back up on shore together. It was really cool.
EC: Now, how many around the country so far?
Jamie: 18. And, next year, to be 28. Yes…so we’re very excited for that expansion. And again, like I said, as we can educate people, create awareness, people get it, they see it, and it’s our pleasure to bring these to other communities. But to see other communities wrap their arms around these camps, and allow them to grow in their own community, and kind of take it on as theirs…it’s our pleasure to pass that to them.
But it’s even more gratifying to see these camps grow the way they’re growing, and to see these children heal…and their healing. And it takes a long time. And, you know, is there a certain amount of days, or months, or years? You know, I think for a lot of people it’s a lifetime. But to allow it to move in a positive direction… to have good remembrances of their lost loved ones, create friends at the camp. I think a lot of these kids go to camp feeling like, “I’m the only one going through this.” When they get to camp, they realize that every other child that’s there is dealing with the same thing.
EC: Now, as far as the foundation is concerned, it’s still here in Seattle, but now as your kids have gotten a bit older here, and I understand you have some pretty good athletes in the family here (baseball players too?), so you’re going to be living in Florida, or at least the kids started the school year in Florida…?
Karen: Well, what we found was this baseball academy, IMG, in Bradenton, Florida, and instead of boarding our children, we decided to just move in there. It goes back to that commitment we had when Jamie was playing and still playing, just staying together. So, we spend the academic year there and then we’re back here in the summers. It’s kind of the best of both worlds with the weather, I can tell you.
EC: I can understand that, especially the misery as we’re headed into the rainy season as we speak. But tell me about the kids…I mean, do you want them to become ballplayers?
Jamie: You know what, our first priority with our children is an education. We both realize, growing up in athletics, both being educated, that your education is your most important thing to have as you’re growing up. Athletics are great, but the odds of making it are very slim, so having something to fall back on is very important, and we both agree on that, we both believe in that, and we’ve kind of engrained it into our children.
Jamie: So…it’s been a great experience so far with our kids and we’re hoping this IMG experience allows them to go to college and play baseball, which is their goal. They also have that goal of playing professionally. So, in doing so, they’re doing both…and we’ll see where it goes. Knowing the reality of it - not saying that they can’t make it - but that they’re going to do it with an education with them.
EC: And are they pitchers as well?
Jamie: No, they’re both middle infielders, they’re right handed. Our next guy, our youngest son, who’s left handed, he may have that chance.
Karen: And down there there’s also the Leadbetter Golf Academy, so our five year old’s doing the golf. But you know, the cool thing about the academy too, if I could just elaborate, is the discipline and the structure of it. And so I’ve always said, no matter what their experience in sports, this is life skills. There are children from all over the world, 700 kids, from all over the world at this academy. So, that experience is going to be amazing. And I think the first and foremost thing with us is that we’re raising really good human beings… and so, for our kids to seize every opportunity ahead of them, and to realize that those less fortunate continue to live a life like that, then we’ve succeeded as parents.
EC: What do they think of the foundation and the work that’s being done? Do they understand, do they get it?
Karen: Yeah, I absolutely believe that they get it. And I always say, my job gives them a lot better example than your job, um, throwing a baseball…but, yeah, you can’t give your kid a greater gift than exposing your kid to those that are less fortunate. And what they do with it later…you know, we always tease that our number four will take over the foundation. She’s got the personality and the passion. They all have passion, and you just revel in their personality you know as a parent. But I think that their friends have caught on, their schools, and you just…it just kind of snowballs.
EC: I like that, ‘number four.’ Is that how you keep track of it…number one, number two, number three…?
Karen: Her name’s Duffy, I better say her name.
EC: But how do you manage that? I guess, if you’re going to be in Florida for part of the year, and then you know obviously you’re back in Philadelphia when the season starts up, fitting in Seattle during the summertime…but, managing the foundation?
Karen: Have you met my staff? They are amazing. And you know when we had decided this Florida thing - the triangle life - and you know, I just look at my calendar the night before to get through the day. Just to let you know, there’s never an overwhelming moment. But our staff was more than ready for us to kind of separate from me being there every day.
I’ve really taken over a lot of the national campaign. I can travel a lot through Jamie’s job and make those connections. So, it’s our staff, and our volunteers, and all the support we’ve had in this community. This wasn’t home for the Moyers. It became home because of this community, and our mission, and making it feel more like home. And so, people forget that - You’re moving? Well, this is the longest we’ve been anywhere, and we’re not moving, we love it here, and want to always have a part of this community in our lives.
EC: So is this going to be home though?
Karen: Where’s home? Tell me where home is, he’s forty-six and still playing baseball and exceeded everything we ever thought. And I think that’s what we’ve learned too. It’s doesn’t really matter where we’re sleeping or where are our suitcases, but that we’re together and we’re living life with a purpose every day.
EC: How much longer…do you see yourself playing? That’s the question.
Jamie: It’s a great question, it’s a great question, and I’ve been asked that question for the last five, six, seven, eight years.
EC: Have you surprised yourself in all of this?
Jamie: Um…I don’t know if I’ve surprised…yeah, in a way, I probably have surprised myself. But you know, the way I looked at it, why put limitations on it? The way I look at my job is, if I feel like I can go into work, and I have my health, then why not, on that side of it. On the pitching side of it, I’ve always - and I heard this as a younger player, and now I’m on the other side - I’ve always heard the hitter will tell you when you’re done. And right now, the hitters haven’t told me.
On occasion , you go through your bad spells, we all go through those. I had them in my twenties, I had them in my thirties, I’ve had them in my forties. But I hope I’m mature enough to understand when that time comes, if it’s in spring training - if it’s in the beginning of the season, middle of the season, end of the season, or the off-season - to say, you know what, I’ve had enough. And you know what, then it will be enough. And I hope I can make that call when that time comes.
But right now, you know, coming off of a World Series, I had a very healthy year, health-wise. My goal every year is to make all my starts, to pitch as many innings as possible……and you know what, it’s all been good. And to top it all off, like you said, to win a World Series at forty-six, a life-long dream, has just been…it’s pretty incredible.
EC: You look a little tired (laughing)…I mean as we speak you’re not that far off…(trailing off)
Karen: We are tired.
Jamie: Oh yeah…
EC: You’re not that far from the time that the World Series has been finished and I take it you’re going like mad.
Jamie: Yeah, we’ve been busy. And you know what, I should be tired, that’s the way I look at it…
Karen: Absolutely.
Jamie: You play a full season, it’s difficult enough. But then you throw the playoffs into it. It’s very time consuming and the games start at 8:30, 8:35 at night on the East coast, so we weren’t getting done til after midnight, and if we had to travel on top of that…I tell you, after game two in Tampa, we traveled back to Philadelphia and I put my head on the pillow at 5:00 a.m. So, you know, the hours get long. But I’m not complaining, believe me, I’m not complaining…
Karen: No. Adrenaline…
Jamie: …but you deal with it, and you make the best of it.
EC: And then to have the outcome come out as it did, that’s great. Have you thought about what you’re going to do once the game’s over?
Jamie: Obviously stay involved with the foundation, you know. It’s going to stay here. We’re going to be a part of it. It’s going to stay in Seattle. And again, growing these camps. And, who knows what else may come of the foundation. But it’s going to stay here, and we’re very proud of that, and we feel like our community should feel very proud of that, too, because we’ve done this together with our community. It’s not about Karen and I, it’s about what we’re able to do in the community. So, that’s very important.
From the baseball side of it, I really don’t now. I’m leaving all doors open. Obviously there’s a lot of fathering, and husbanding, to go on, so…I’ve missed a lot of time with my family…but we’ve had a lot of great times, too. We’ve been able to do some pretty wonderful things as husband and wife, and as a family. So, you take the good with the bad, and there’s a lot of time still ahead for us - exciting times. We have college, we have weddings, we have grandchildren. We have a lot of great things ahead of us, so…to limit myself, to say I’m going to do this or I’m not going to do that — you know, I feel like, you know what, if I just kinda keep the door open and roll with the punches, and whatever’s thrown into my lap we deal with and move forward.
EC: Well thank you for giving us your time, we really appreciate it very, very much. And good luck with your continued work with the foundation and Camp Erin and hope that makes its way across the country. And congratulations again on behalf of us forty-plus guys, well actually I’m over fifty, but thanks again Karen and Jamie Moyer.
Jamie: Thanks for having us.
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