RIP HOF pitcher Tom Seaver

[Carnac]

The Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19.

"We are heartbroken to share that our beloved husband and father has passed away," his wife, Nancy, and daughters Sarah and Anne said. "We send our love out to his fans, as we mourn his loss with you."

Tom Seaver, Hall of Fame pitcher and Mets legend, dies at 75

Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher who led the Mets to a World Series title in 1969 and won three Cy Young Awards, died Monday at age 75.

www.espn.com

 

[bluedevil]

1 of only 2 pitchers(Walter Johnson) in baseball history to win 300 games, strike out 3000 batters and have a career era of under 3.00. My favorite player of any player of any sport...

 

[oldude]

Great pitcher and genuinely nice guy. I was aware that he suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, the same as Robin Williams, but until I just read the news release, I did not know he was also afflicted with Covid-19.

Just yesterday I was on the website for Tom Seaver’s winery to see if I could purchase a case of his Cabernet. There is still a waiting list of up to a year.

 

[and one]

Tom Terrific. What a pitcher! It seemed he never had a bad outing. As a Mets fan I suffered so many years of bad teams, then along came guys like Gooden, Strawberry and Seaver. Tom was the best of the bunch. I'm sorry to see him go at such a relatively young age.

 

[oldude]

Tom Terrific. What a pitcher! It seemed he never had a bad outing. As a Mets fan I suffered so many years of bad teams, then along came guys like Gooden, Strawberry and Seaver. Tom was the best of the bunch. I'm sorry to see him go at such a relatively young age.

Gooden and Strawberry were both a generation younger than Seaver who was 75 years old. Seaver’s contemporaries on the 1969 Miracle Mets included, Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, Ed Kranepool, Don Clendenon, Jerry Koosman and a young Nolan Ryan to name a few.

 

[UConnCat]

My all-time favorite baseball player. I grew up a Mets fan watching WOR Channel 9. I am heartbroken by this news.

The Franchise.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Condolences to Tom's family, the Mets family, and UConnCat. I always liked him and enjoyed watching his consistently superlative performances (until I became a Phillies fan).

 

[and one]

Gooden and Strawberry were both a generation younger than Seaver who was 75 years old. Seaver’s contemporaries on the 1969 Miracle Mets included, Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, Ed Kranepool, Don Clendenon, Jerry Koosman and a young Nolan Ryan to name a few.

True enough, but until Tom there were no stars. Koos was a pretty darn good pitcher, Agee good but past his prime, Cleon Jones was just a great guy that gave his all and one of my favorites, and Ed Kranepool, the fan favorite with modest skills who could on occasion hit the ball a long way. We didn't see Ryan as the super pitcher he became, but with his fastball and tendency to throw the ball in unexpected places, batters feared him not because he was so hard to hit as in later years but because they feared being hit. Even as a dumb kid I just knew it was a huge mistake to let him go.

 

[oldude]

True enough, but until Tom there were no stars. Koos was a pretty darn good pitcher, Agee good but past his prime, Cleon Jones was just a great guy that gave his all and one of my favorites, and Ed Kranepool, the fan favorite with modest skills who could on occasion hit the ball a long way. We didn't see Ryan as the super pitcher he became, but with his fastball and tendency to throw the ball in unexpected places, batters feared him not because he was so hard to hit as in later years but because they feared being hit. Even as a dumb kid I just knew it was a huge mistake to let him go.

There were a lot of incredibly average ball players on that 69 team including Charles, Harrelson, Weiss, Shamsky & Svoboda. That’s what made it a Miracle when they won the World Series. There was also one really good relief pitcher on that team by the name of Tug McGraw, who holds the unique distinction of being the last active player in baseball to have played for Casey Stengel.

 

[bramos]

I first met Tom Seaver in the summer of 1964. He came to Alaska to play for the Fairbanks Alaska Goldpanners. and try for a scholly from USC Trojans. He did not fail to impress a very loaded team. RIP

Account Suspended

 

[Bigboote]

Geez, that’s awful news. I was never a Mets fan, and hated the White Sox, but Seaver was such a talent and a genuinely decent human being, I counted myself a fan.

 

[and one]

There were a lot of incredibly average ball players on that 69 team including Charles, Harrelson, Weiss, Shamsky & Svoboda. That’s what made it a Miracle when they won the World Series. There was also one really good relief pitcher on that team by the name of Tug McGraw, who holds the unique distinction of being the last active player in baseball to have played for Casey Stengel.

Tug was the best of the lot you named and sired a famous C&W singer, Tim. Bud Harrelson was one of the better players on the team and dove around a lot - a dirty uniform guy, which is a compliment.

Before the miracle team there were no good old days, however the roster in the first couple of years was packed with future Hall of Famers - Duke, Gil, Willie and Richie Ashburn. My grandfather took me to a couple of games in their first year and we had the pleasure of seeing Duke hit a homer in a losing cause.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Wow - the memories you all raise up. I was never a Mets' fan (Yankees) but my grandmother was - she had been a Dodger fan and when the Mets arrived . . . Still, I wasn't raised to dislike other "home town" teams (Giants/Jets, Knicks/Nets, Rangers / Islanders / Devils) so I did see some of the Mets games on TV as a youth, and rooted for them in the World Series. Seaver was, indeed, my favorite, although I liked many of the players on those teams, actually.

 

[bantamlaker]

Loved Tom and the Miracle Mets. On October 16,1969 some friends and I cut out of school and headed to Shea Stadium to see Jerry Koosman win game 5 to clinch the World Series after Tom had put the Mets up 3-1 the previous day. I still have my ticket and piece of Shea Stadium turf as a reminder of that fine day when the Mets were on top of the world. Thanks for the memories Tom!

 

[JordyG]

RIP to my beloved Franchise. That '69 team didn't have much at the plate. But on the mound? If Gary Gentry hadn't blown out his arm and Nolan Ryan would have stayed that starting staff would have been one of the best in BB history. Gary was the hardest thrower on the staff, and was the quickest to the plate before Nolan Ryan showed up. Tom Seaver was always a gentleman and in my mind he will always be Mr. Met.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Tom Seaver. 61 career shutouts. Contemplate that for a moment. Just a helluva pitcher.

 

[ochoopsfan]

A scouting report on Tom Seaver from 1965, while pitching for USC. Check out who signed the scouting report.

 

[connie]

Truly, one of the greats, in any sport. I followed his career religiously (at least until traded to the Reds), and even thereafter. From 69-74, he was a threat to pitch a no-hitter damn near every outing. Can't count the number of 1-0, 2-1, 2-0, etc. losses. His 1971 season was especially impressive (and didn't even win the Cy Young, though arguably and deservedly went to Fergie Jenkins, who had the misfortune of pitching half his games at Wrigley).

Remember reading his book, "The Perfect Game: Tom Seaver and the Mets" (1970), which by reference introduced me to "The Glory of their Times" by Lawrence Ritter (absolutely essential reading for every baseball fan).

His maturity, intelligence and leadership as a player and pitcher, even at a young age, were among his greatest virtues.

To those who admired, respected and loved him, I highly recommend reading his book from 1970, and also Art Shamsky's "After The Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the '69 Mets", which tells of the great season of 1969 and the reunion with Seaver, Koos, Harrelson, Swoboda and Shamsky nearly half a century later. For that matter, throw in Swoboda's "Here's The Catch".

What a giant. What a gentleman. What a loss.

The Franchise. Rest in Peace.

 

[connie]

True enough, but until Tom there were no stars. Koos was a pretty darn good pitcher, Agee good but past his prime, Cleon Jones was just a great guy that gave his all and one of my favorites, and Ed Kranepool, the fan favorite with modest skills who could on occasion hit the ball a long way. We didn't see Ryan as the super pitcher he became, but with his fastball and tendency to throw the ball in unexpected places, batters feared him not because he was so hard to hit as in later years but because they feared being hit. Even as a dumb kid I just knew it was a huge mistake to let him go.

And don't forget Jerry Grote, one of the best defensive catchers of his era. A tough SOB.

 

[connie]

There were a lot of incredibly average ball players on that 69 team including Charles, Harrelson, Weiss, Shamsky & Svoboda. That’s what made it a Miracle when they won the World Series. There was also one really good relief pitcher on that team by the name of Tug McGraw, who holds the unique distinction of being the last active player in baseball to have played for Casey Stengel.

You bet. In the home stretch, NLCS and WS, everyone contributed something. Pitcher Jim McAndrew threw back to back shutouts in August, giving up only 1 run in nearly 30 consecutive innings pitched at one point. Boswell and Shamsky tore it up in the NLCS, Rod Taylor saved WS Game 2; JC Martin put down the bunt that won Game 4; Rod Gaspar score the winning run of that game; Al Weiss hit .455 in the WS; Ed Charles hit a HR in the pennant clincher and played solid D (including a great short hop and dart to first to seal the Game 2 WS win); Ryan put out the fire in WS Game 3; Grote's double in the 10th inning of Game 4 put the winning run on second. And on and on and on. Every player on that 1969 team played a role. It was the epitome of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[veryolddog]

Very sad. A great pitcher, a fine man, a great example for all players. Those were very nice days.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Truly, one of the greats, in any sport. I followed his career religiously (at least until traded to the Reds), and even thereafter. From 69-74, he was a threat to pitch a no-hitter damn near every outing. Can't count the number of 1-0, 2-1, 2-0, etc. losses. His 1971 season was especially impressive (and didn't even win the Cy Young, though arguably and deservedly went to Fergie Jenkins, who had the misfortune of pitching half his games at Wrigley).

Seaver was 20-10 in 1971 with a 1.76 ERA and led the league in strikeouts. Jenkins was 24-13 with an ERA over a run higher. Even as a kid I knew that Seaver should have won the Cy Young that year.

 

[Steelerone]

The greatest pitcher in Met's history and one of the greatest in the history of the game. And living proof that you could be the very best at what you do and still stay humble. Whenever I watched my Pirates play and he was listed as the scheduled starter the day got a little darker. Probably mirroring the thoughts of the fans of any other team he pitched against. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

 

[UConnCat]

From Mike Vaccaro's column in the NY Post:

And he laughed when I asked him if it ever got too much: the adulation, the adoration, the constant stream of grown-up kids (like me) who wanted him to know how much he meant to them. Seaver thought about that for a second.

“To me,” he said, “the greatest thing anyone can ever call you is a hero, for whatever their reason. And I don’t think it’s a hardship making sure you don’t disappoint them.”

Mets legend Tom Seaver was truest definition of a hero

This one’s personal. This one’s different. You get one first-ever hero in your life, and you hope it’s a good one. You hope that hero is the equivalent of your devotion, the equal of the admiration…

nypost.com

 

[chrissaran]

Tug was the best of the lot you named and sired a famous C&W singer, Tim. Bud Harrelson was one of the better players on the team and dove around a lot - a dirty uniform guy, which is a compliment.

Before the miracle team there were no good old days, however the roster in the first couple of years was packed with future Hall of Famers - Duke, Gil, Willie and Richie Ashburn. My grandfather took me to a couple of games in their first year and we had the pleasure of seeing Duke hit a homer in a losing cause.

If you're talking about Willie Mays, he didn't join the Mets until 1972.

 

[UConnCat]

To those who admired, respected and loved him, I highly recommend reading his book from 1970, and also Art Shamsky's "After The Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the '69 Mets", which tells of the great season of 1969 and the reunion with Koos, Harrelson, Swoboda and Shamsky nearly half a century later. For that matter, throw in Swoboda's "Here's The Catch".

Working on his own book, Swoboda telephoned Seaver one day. It was around the time the teammates visited Tom on Diamond Mountain. Swoboda wasn't sure if it was just before or just after the get-together.

"Remember when Hodges came out to visit you on the mound in the ninth inning in the World Series?" Swoboda said to Seaver. "What did he say to you?"

Seaver could not remember the meeting.

"Remember that almost perfect game you had against the Cubs?" Swoboda asked.

Again, Seaver had no memory of it.

"Tom just didn't remember," Swoboda said. "He couldn't put any of those little pieces together. He couldn't find them. They were gone.

"It rattled me, if only because those memories are such treasures to me. The thought that something could sneak in and steal them from him and that now they are gone, just gone, is tragic beyond words."

Tom Seaver and the Enduring Hope of the 1969 Mets

No one was more important to the improbable '69 Mets title team than Tom Seaver, artist on the mound and an American ideal off it.

www.si.com

 

[and one]

I spent the entire 1969 season in Vietnam, mostly at Tan Son Nhut AFB. I followed the Mets season via the military newspaper and the Internation edition of the NY Herald Tribune when I could lay hands on it. The Armed Forces Network radio station broadcast the WS and I carried a little transistor radio around to hear the games. I couldn't take the radio out to the flight line (I was in aircraft maintenance) and if a game was on I'd work really fast to get back to the shop and game.

 

[connie]

Loved Tom and the Miracle Mets. On October 16,1969 some friends and I cut out of school and headed to Shea Stadium to see Jerry Koosman win game 5 to clinch the World Series after Tom had put the Mets up 3-1 the previous day. I still have my ticket and piece of Shea Stadium turf as a reminder of that fine day when the Mets were on top of the world. Thanks for the memories Tom!
View attachment 58362

This is really, REALLY cool!

 

[bluedevil]

In 1969 the Mets played a doubleheader one day and won both games 1 to 0. The starting pitcher in each game drove in the only run. That will Never happen again. 1969 was the most magical year in baseball history and Tom Seaver was the head magician....Don't tell anyone but my password for everyone of my devices is some form of his name....

 

[bluedevil]

Damn..I just got hacked...