"If someone called me at four in the morning and said 'Hey, let's go out and play some catch,' I'd do it. I love this little [baseball]." — quoted in 1977
"Ninety-percent of it I spent on booze and broads. The other ten percent I just wasted." — explaining what he did with his signing bonus
"Most hitters guess. You want them to keep guessing because now it's like gambling, and you're the house." — on his pitching philosophy
Teams Tug McGraw Played For
New York Mets (1965-1974) Philadelphia Phillies (1975-1984)
Where does Tug McGraw rank among baseball greats?
Tug McGraw ranks #11 among the Top 50 all-time at RP. Rankings ⇒
Description If you ever met Tug McGraw, you wouldn't forget him. He was an original, what baseball writers liked to call a "flake." He marched to his own tune, and he spent a lot of his time having fun. He believed in fun. And he loved baseball. He was superb at keeping things in perspective. He relied on what he called his "Snowball Theory" to keep himself from getting too high or too low.
"Astronomers have estimated that in something like 50 million years, our sun will burn out and then the Earth will freeze up and drift through space like a giant frozen snowball," McGraw said. "Now, when that happens, who's going to remember if I struck out Willie Stargell with the bases loaded or he hit a homer off me?"
McGraw was flaky and he was an oddball, but he was refreshing and fun. I met him once, at a Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony the year that Phillies' broadcaster Harry Kalas received the Ford C. Frick Award. I spoke with Tug for a few minutes and he delivered one of the most bizarre, and fun, interviews I ever did. In typical Tug-fashion, when I asked him if I could shoot his picture, he replied "As long as you use a camera and not a gun." — Dan Holmes
Born Frank Edwin (Jr.) McGraw was born on August 30, 1944, in Martinez, CA.
Post-Season Appearances
1969 National League Championship Series
1973 National League Championship Series
1973 World Series
1976 National League Championship Series
1977 National League Championship Series
1978 National League Championship Series
1980 National League Championship Series
1980 World Series
1981 National League Division Playoffs
The Pitches He Threw Fastball, curveball, scroogie (screwball), change-up, slider.
