Balor Lilbon Moore is a retired Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

. He was the first player drafted by the expansion Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 in the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft

1969 Major League Baseball Draft

-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The Washington Senators tabbed slugging outfielder Jeff Burroughs of Wilson High School in Long Beach, CA as the nation's number one pick...

 (22 overall).

Expos phenom

Moore tore up the Gulf Coast League

Gulf Coast League

The Gulf Coast League is a minor league baseball league which operates in Florida. It is a Rookie League, with a season running from mid-June to late August. The season is 60 games long and teams in the league are divided into three divisions, East, North and South...

 and Florida State League

Florida State League

The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...

 his first professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 season, going a combined 9-1 with a 0.41 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 at the Rookie and High A levels. After going 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA for the High A West Palm Beach Expos

West Palm Beach Expos

The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team that existed from 1969 to 1997. Located in West Palm Beach, Florida, they were affiliated with the Montreal Expos and they played their home games at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. They were one of the longest...

 to start the season, Moore made the jump all the way to the triple A Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...

. He made his major league debut on May 21 against the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

. He faced one batter, Willie Stargell

Willie Stargell

Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...

, who lined out to left field. He pitched a total of 9.2 innings in the majors, going 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA.

Moore struggled in , going 2-11 with a 6.33 ERA for triple A Winnipeg. After a year in the army, Moore went 5-3 with a 0.63 ERA for the double A Quebec Carnavals

Québec Carnavals

The Québec Carnavals were a minor league baseball team in the Eastern League. They were known as the Quebec Metros from 1976-1977.After the team moved, Québec was without a minor league baseball team until the Québec Capitales began play in the Northern League in 1999.-Year-by-year record:...

 in to earn a second promotion to Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

.

Montreal Expos

Moore was roughed up in his first four starts, going 0-3 with a 6.45 ERA. He turned his season around on July 14 with a complete game

Complete game

In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

. From there, Moore went 9-6 with a 2.94 ERA, including a 25 inning scoreless-inning streak broken on September 16 by Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 rookie Mike Schmidt

Mike Schmidt

Michael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....

's first major league home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

. For the season, the left-hander made 22 starts and struck out 161 hitters in 147.2 innings.

That winter he pitched a perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

 for San Juan in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, the first nine-inning perfect game in that league's 36-year history. Moore's record dipped to 7-16 in , mostly due to an increase in walks

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

 (109 compared to 59 the previous season). Still Moore struck out an average of 7.71 batters per nine innings, second in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

, and held batters to a .233 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, tenth in the league.

Career cut short by injuries

Moore hurt his ankle during Spring training

Spring training

In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 , and his arm shortly into the season. He went 0-3 with a 10.20 ERA in six rehab for the triple A Memphis Blues

Memphis blues

The Memphis blues is a style of blues music that was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Memphis-area musicians like Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie...

 before getting elbow surgery during the off-season.

Moore returned in , but never was the same. He was 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA for Memphis when his contract was sold to the California Angels. He earned a September call-up to the Angels in , going 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA. After just one season in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Moore's contract was sold to the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

.

Moore spent the final three seasons of his career with the Blue Jays, going 12-17 with a 4.96 ERA. He earned a four inning save for the only save of his career on April 27, against the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. He spent in the minors with the Brewers and Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 before retiring.

Career stats

Moore had a 40-58 record and 4.01 ERA in eleven minor league seasons. He went into the steel business after his baseball career ended, and currently owns Brittex Pipe Company in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

.