COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Colorado Rapids defender Drew Moor not only likes the nickname 'iron man', he loves it.
And in 2012, Moor earned it.
The versatile defender was the only MLS field player to play all 90 minutes of all 34 regular-season matches in 2012 (for a total of 3,060 minutes), steadying the ship for a Rapids team that was in transition under first-year head coach Oscar Pareja.
"It's certainly a cool achievement, I think," Moor said after the Rapids concluded their season with a 2-0 win over Houston last weekend. "I pride myself on playing as much as possible. In your window of playing soccer, you never know when it's going to close."
The Columbus Crew's Eddie Gaven logged 2,990 minutes this season, while San Jose defender Justin Morrow and Vancouver defender Y.P. Lee each finished with 2,970.
WATCH: Moor is Rapids' defender of the year
Moor's versatility came in handy in 2012, as he played his normal center back role, a little right back and he even had a run out at midfield early in the season. Not only was Moor versatile, but he took on the added role of wearing the armband after regular captain Pablo Mastroeni went down for the season on March 18 with post-concussion symptoms.
In all, Moor turned out to be Pareja's most reliable player in 2012 and, despite a mostly sour year in Commerce City, he was a consistent bright spot.
"I think it shows how committed he is with the club, with his teammates, and this is the result of his training habits," Pareja told MLSsoccer.com. "All that together just shows that it's a guy that we need in the field. It's for sure an achievement for him."
Moor also logged every minute of the 2010 season, joining former New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream as the only field players in the league to do so that year.
Pareja credited Moor's hard work on the training field as the biggest reason for his ability to avoid injury and stay on the field so consistently, although staying on the field is nothing new for him. The 28-year-old former FC Dallas man has now started at least 26 games in his last seven seasons, and this year, the defender provided an offensive boost out of the back as well, scoring three goals and two assists.
But Moor isn't a player who's concentrated on the stat sheet. As the team's captain for 32 of 34 games in 2012, Moor's priority is staying on the field and providing leadership out of the back, as often as he can.
"As long as I'm healthy and being selected by the coach, then I'm going to give everything on the field," Moor said. "Everything I can do to help out the team is the most important thing."
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
