The 1967 National League Rookie of the Year, Tom Seaver became the best player in New York Mets' history, and he was the lone superstar on the miracle 1969 World Series championship team. Driving his arm forward with his powerful leg thrust, Seaver led the league in strikeouts five times and won three Cy Young Awards on his way to more than 300 wins and 3,600 K's.
Quotes About Tom Seaver
"Seaver's getting old. You don't take anything away from him because he's a helluva pitcher and he was great in the past, but past years are past history." — Houston pitcher J.R. Richard, after the Astros defeated Seaver on April 16, 1978. Seaver would post a 2.88 ERA in 1978, while Richard would finish at 3.11
Teams Tom Seaver Played For
New York Mets (1967-1977) Cincinnati Reds (1977-1982) New York Mets (1983) Chicago White Sox (1984-1986) Boston Red Sox (1986)
Tom Seaver in Minor League Baseball
In 1966 the Atlanta Braves lost their claim to Seaver and he was made a free agent. Any team willing to match Atlanta's $40,000 offer could get in on the Seaver war. After three teams: Cleveland, Philadelphia, and the Mets, matched the offer, the commissioner's office drew a team out of a hat. The Mets were the lucky winners of this odd lottery.
Where does Tom Seaver rank among baseball greats?
Tom Seaver ranks #2 among the Top 50 all-time at SP. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1971 He had a lot of great seasons. In 1971 he had an ERA of 1.76 (half the league average), struck out 289 batters in 286 innings, won 20 games, and threw four shutouts. He pitched 21 complete games and allowed just 210 hits. He finished 2nd to Fergie Jenkins in Cy Young voting. It was a case of the voters giving the award to the pitcher with more (24) wins.
Factoids In 1972, Tom Seaver (a career .154 hitter) produced seven extra-base hits, including three home runs, yet he had just four RBI.
Milestones On April 18, 1981, Seaver fanned Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals for strikeout #3,000 in his career. Seaver became the fifth pitcher to reach that milestone... On August 4, 1985, Seaver notched his 300th victory, beating the Yankees 4-1, at Yankee Stadium. On the same day, Rod Carew collected his 3,000th career hit.
Struck by The Strike Seaver had a great season for the Reds in 1981, but unfortunately the player's strike stung both he and his team. Seaver went 14-2 with a 2.54 ERA, leading the league in wins. But he finished three points behind Fernando Valenzuela in NL CY Young balloting. The Reds fared even worse: posting the best won-loss mark in baseball but failing to make the post-season due to the split-season format.
Where He Played Seaver appeared in only nine games as a reliever, and started 647.
Born George Thomas Seaver was born on November 17, 1944, in Fresno, CA.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: NYN
Major League Debut April 13, 1967 ... Seaver debuted on April 13, 1967, at Shea Stadium against the Pirates in the second game of the season. He defeated the Bucs, 3-2.
No-Hitter
6/16/1978: For CIN (N) vs. STL (N), 4-0 at CIN. 9 innings pitched.
Post-Season Appearances
1969 National League Championship Series
1969 World Series
1973 National League Championship Series
1973 World Series
1979 National League Championship Series
Awards and Honors
1967 NL Rookie of the Year
1969 NL Cy Young
1973 NL Cy Young
1975 NL Cy Young
Feats On April 22, 1970, Seaver struck out 19 in a win over the San Diego Padres, including a record 10 in a row to end the game, to tie the then-ML record for a nine-inning game. The record was shared by Steve Carlton... Threw no-hitter for the Reds on June 10, 1978... From 1968 to 1976, Seaver fanned at least 200 batters each season. He was the first pitcher to have 10 200-K seasons. Former teammate Nolan Ryan broke that mark, reaching 200 K's 15 times. In 2001 Roger Clemens recorded his 11th 200-K campaign.
Milestones
April 18, 1981: 3000th strikeout... Keith Hernandez
August 4, 1985: 300th Win...
Transactions Signed as a non-drafted free agent by New York Mets (April 3, 1966); Traded by New York Mets to Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman (June 15, 1977); Traded by Cincinnati Reds to New York Mets in exchange for Charlie Puleo, Lloyd McClendon and Jason Felice (December 16, 1982); Selected by Chicago White Sox from New York Mets in the player compensation pool draft (January 20, 1984); Traded by Chicago White Sox to Boston Red Sox in exchange for Steve Lyons (June 29, 1986); Granted free agency (November 12, 1986).
