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Jamie Moyer: Is he a Hall of Famer?

Here are the full responses from some national baseball writers to Jamie Moyer's potential candidacy for the Hall of Fame. (HOF voting is done by the Baseball Writers Association of America.)

Here are the full responses from some national baseball writers to Jamie Moyer's potential candidacy for the Hall of Fame. (HOF voting is done by the Baseball Writers Association of America.) Numbers are through baseball's All-Star break:

"Oscar Wilde wrote just one novel during a literary career of amazing versatility. The Picture of Dorian Gray was crafted around a stunning young man about town who harbored a terrible secret: Hidden in his attic was a grotesque portrait of a man of incredible age, his face ravaged by time. That was the real Dorian Gray. As the young man stayed eternally young, the portrait continued to age. . .

"Jamie Moyer is baseball's Dorian Gray. I don't know if the 47-year-old lefthander has a portrait in his attic that takes on fresh wrinkles and other mortifications of aging each time he adds a victory to his four decade resume. His name and Hall of Fame are starting to surface in conversations about his amazing longevity. Jamie Moyer represents riding time, staying healthy and taking the ball. The New England Medical Journal should be studying him. Instead, he is studied by batsmen, scouts and sportswriters.

"I would vote for Dorian Gray as one of literature's creepiest characters. But I would not give Moyer my Hall of Fame vote, with or without an attic hiding a painting that does his aging for him. Not now. His impressive victory total reflects riding time more than the Hall of Fame imperative of dominance in his era. Even with his 9 victories at the All-Star break, Cy Old is not a pitcher you would describe as dominant. He has been Batman and Robin in just two seasons when he won 20 or more games, accomplished when he was 38 and 40 years old while with the Seattle Mariners.

"What could change my mind? The once automatic HOF number of 300 victories would probably insure my vote. It would do more than that. If I someday get to consider a ballot with Jamie's name included, it will mean I am in the home stretch of life with the Biblical four score years and ten in sight."

- Bill Conlin, Philadelphia Daily News

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"To me, he's in the conversation but not a slam dunk. I'd like to see him closer to 300 wins - 267 is highly impressive, but it's more a testament to his longevity than to his dominance. Don't get me wrong, he's had many dominating performances. But regarding the entirety of his body of work, "dominance" isn't what first comes to mind. And to be a HOFer, that word does need to come to mind. That, or some magic numbers. Like 300."

- Scott Miller, CBSSports.com

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"There is a good reason for the 5-year waiting period for eligibility, and I always wait for that period to pass before deciding if I think a player is HOF worthy. I think that is especially important to do in Moyer's case. Otherwise, it could be easy to get caught up in the idea that wow, it's phenomenal that a guy can still be winning games at his age. The waiting period will give us plenty of time to put his career in perspective - that is, if he ever retires."

- Murray Chass, New York Times (retired)

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"I've thought for a while that Moyer has an intriguing Hall of Fame case. I think Jack Morris will get in at some point, and Moyer's career numbers are remarkably similar. I think his challenge will be that he has never been a dominant pitcher - never Top 5 in ERA, one All-Star Game appearance and so on - and he doesn't have the single postseason moment the way Morris does. His career value is so spread out [unlike Morris, who always had that "most wins in the 1980s" thing going for him].

"That said, [Moyer is] one of the great old pitchers of all time. If he somehow made it to 300 victories - a longshot, but still [possible] - I think he would get into the Hall because that number is so powerful for people."

- Joe Posnanski, Sports Illustrated

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"There's always something to be said about players who are really good for a really long time. But looking at this realistically, I think Jamie is going to have to get to 300 wins, or get very close, to make the Hall of Fame.

"You need a certain level of dominance to be a Hall of Famer, and as great as Jamie has been in many ways, we're talking about a guy who has had no top-three Cy Young finishes, has never led his league in any major categories [except gopherballs] and who has only made one All-Star team.

"Now if he gets to 300 wins and is still winning as he closes in on 50, he carves out such a unique place in baseball history for himself that he may cause voters to think about him differently. But by traditional Hall of Fame standards, it would be hard to make a case for him at the moment.

"It's not an insult to any player to say he wasn't quite a Hall of Famer. So if we're even having this debate, it tells us this guy has had an amazing career. I'm just not ready to say it was a Hall of Fame career."

- Jayson Stark, ESPN.com

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"While what Jamie has done is impressive to the point of being stunning, it's hard to see him as a strong Hall of Fame candidate. The Hall of Fame is supposed to be reserved for players who were dominant in their time. Jamie has pitched for a long time, and has pitched well, but I find it hard to believe anyone would say he has been dominant. He was chosen for one All-Star Game in 24 years. How can he be placed among the best of the best?"

- Danny Knobler, CBSSports.com

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"Until Jim Kaat [who has some 20 more wins than Moyer] gets in, I can't champion Moyer's candidacy. If Kaat were in, I would feel differently."

- Rick Hummel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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"Before the last couple of seasons, I would have said that Jamie Moyer isn't a Hall of Fame pitcher. I still don't think he is, but I think he's improved his standing, and I think that, if he ever does retire [ha], voters will have to take a longer look at him, simply because of the last couple of seasons.

"I'd say Jamie Moyer is closer than he was. Jack Morris [254 wins] and Bert Blyleven [287] are deserving and not in. Tommy John has 288 wins and gets little support.

"Voters will ask: Is Jamie Moyer a dominate pitcher [a la Morris and Blyleven] or was he more of a longevity guy? That will be the question.

"In short, I'd say he's closer, but will not get in. However, who knows how we will feel when he retires in another 10 years?"

- Mel Antonen, USA Today

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"Jamie Moyer has had an amazing career, and he deserves a ton of credit for sticking around and pitching effectively until age 47. But I think it's going to be difficult for him to make the Hall of Fame. One of the main arguments against Jack Morris is that he posted a 3.90 career ERA, and Moyer's ERA is 4.23.

"He's made one career All-Star team, and if you look on Baseball-reference.com, his prime career comparables are guys like Dennis Martinez, Morris, Jerry Reuss and David Wells - the "very good but not quite Hall of Fame caliber" fraternity.

"If Moyer gets to 300 wins, I'm sure it would prompt the writers to vote for him in a different light. Personally, I would have to take a serious look at him as a candidate, but the overall record falls short for me."

- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com