"The Kernels did what they had to do," Moore sad from his home outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. "I was pitching like garbage. I thought my playing days were over."
"I was pretty sure no one was stupid enough to take a chance on me," said Moore. "My curve wouldn't cut and my change-up was more apt to land in the seats than flutter by the hitter's bat for a strike."
Luckily for Moore, stupidity flows in abundance for Sacramento's GM Shoeless. The enigmatic GM promptly wrote a $3m check for the downtrodden hurler and brought him to the Mad Popes.
"We liked the make-up of the kid, and some of our ... scouts had had their eyes on him for some time," said Shoeless. "Plus, we saw him as a BBA starter. Something he hadn't done in any meaningful way since AA ball."
The gamble paid off in leaps and bounds for Sacramento. In his three and a half seasons with the club, Moore started 111 games, going 53-16 and posting an ERA of just 3.06. His play on the field led to three more Pacific pennants for the team.
But with his $3m/year contract ending at the end of this season, and Moore's agent standing firm for a four year deal worth $13m per season, the Mad Popes declined to extend Moore, who had become a fixture of the pitching staff.
"Baseball is business. Mark knows that as well as anyone," said Shoeless. "We sent him down for a physical with our ... medical staff after the season, and they insisted we allow him to test out free agency. We wish him nothing but the best."
Moore will most certainly be the cream of a shallow crop of free agents going into the offseason, likely proving his decision to not accept anything less than his $13m asking price from Sacramento a good one.
"Any player will tell you," Moore said as he looked over the dusty horizon from his view through his large picture window. "there's playing for Sacramento and there's playing for everyone else. I'll be forever grateful for receiving the chance to play for the Popes."
