I Heart Peter Moylan

We've all heard Pete Moylan's amazing story by now. He grew up in Australia, turned down a full scholarship to Georgia Southern to join the Twins organization, played a couple of minor-league seasons, got cut and moved back to Australia. Got married, started a family, played club ball while working as a pharmaceutical salesman. Somewhere in there he had a couple of back surgeries and changed his delivery from overhand to sidearm, adding 10 mph to his fastball.

He was invited to join the Australian national team for the World Baseball Classic, where the Braves snapped him up. And now, at age 28, he's the most reliable arm in the Braves 'pen.

He's also pretty dang hot.

I don't really know what it is...I've been mocked for my Moylan love a good bit. Look, I know he's a little cross-eyed, with arms that sometimes look too skinny for his torso and a bit of a belly. But he's got mad skillz, and the accent is quite delish. And from all the accounts I've heard/read, everyone loves him and he's hilarious. His pitches have amazing movement.

The tattoos, though? I still don't have a solid opinion. I'm kind of fascinated by them, but I can't imagine I'd ever have one and I don't really understand why people get them. I mean, those are needles. Injecting permanent ink designs into your skin. Is that barbed-wire band going to look cool when you're 90 and in a nursing home? Probably not. ;)

So let's take a look at the dorsal side of his right forearm for a second. (The proximal side appears to have his older daughter's name down the length. Awww, sweet.) This picture is from Spring Training (thanks to Jenny at Velcro Vernacular for the picture):

When this was the only picture I had seen, I was wondering the significance of the A-shaped thing. (His wife's name is Tracey and both his daughters have "M"-names, so no significant "A"s in his immediate family.) Then I saw him on the field during batting practice a few months later, and it looked like there was a good bit more than we see in this picture. Boy, was there! The following picture was taken in July. Can you see the fill-in beginning?

When I went to a game in August, it looked like he was close to a full-sleeve by that point. From the forearm down, I was right -- here's a picture from an interview with Joe Simpson in Cincinnati exactly a month after the picture above:

I wonder what his wife thinks about it, honestly. He hasn't her (in person) since before Spring Training, and will meet his new baby for the first time on Sunday when Tracey and the girls come to the States to spend the rest of the season with him.

Sorry for the tangent, there. The tattoos weren't supposed to be the point to this post, but they really do fascinate me!

Thanks to Pete, I don't get a sick feeling every time Bobby pulls his starter. I may have even "squeee"d a little when he started warming up in the St. Louis bullpen last month when Jenna and I went up there, but I'm sure I could keep my cool if I ever met him.

...As long as he doesn't start talking. ;)

PS -- Found this funny little blip from an article on Macon.com today:

After posing for pictures - not pitchers - with Bush, the group watched the president take off in his helicopter for a weekend at Camp David. Then they left for RFK Stadium, where curious teammates peppered them with questions.

Reliever Peter Moylan, who lives in Australia, said to Francoeur, "Am I a citizen now?"

"Yeah," Francoeur said. "He said you're a citizen."

Moylan: "All right!"