George Thomas Seaver had a career with the New York Mets that was nothing short of extraordinary from his first moment in the organization to his last. This legendary career started in 1966 in the most fittingly miraculous way possible. Seaver wasn't drafted by the Mets, nor was he acquired by the Mets in a trade, but instead was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and acquired by the Mets on a rule violation. The Braves signed Seaver, on February 24th of 1966, about a month after the draft, but that signing violated an MLB rule stating that you couldn't sign a player whose high school or collegiate season was underway. Since Seaver's Junior season at the University of Southern California had already begun, Seaver's contract with the Braves was voided (in addition, the Braves were fined 500 dollars) and the rest of the league was given an opportunity to sign the young pitcher. Three teams submitted bids, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Cleveland Indians, and the New York Mets, with the winner to be chosen out of a hat. The Mets won the Seaver sweepstakes, which entirely changed the course of their franchise.
In the mid-'60s, the Mets were still a new team and hadn't really had anything go right for them yet. From their inception in 1962 to their final pre-Seaver season in 1965, the Mets had lost 109 or more games each year and had never finished anything but dead last. Despite a couple of Hall of Famers making late-career stops in Queens (like Richie Ashburn, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, and Yogi Berra) the Mets also had yet to have a single true star. Only two Mets during that time period would have more than 3 WAR in a season and no Met would have greater than 4.2. There's a strong argument to be made that in those early years the Mets were the worst franchise ever.
That all changed when Tom Seaver made his Major League debut in 1967. Seaver won his first three starts, the third of which was a 10 inning complete game, where he allowed 0 earned runs. His hot start would soon prove to be no fluke as he would finish his rookie season with a 2.76 ERA, 6 WAR, and a Rookie of the Year award. Even though the team once again ended the season last in the National League, it was clear that they had found their star and their days as cellar dwellers were numbered.
The next season in 1968, a year remembered for its pitching, Seaver avoided a sophomore slump, getting better in just about every measurable way. His improvement, which can be seen in his WHIP, ERA, WAR, Strikeouts, and Walks, was outstanding and cemented him further as one of the National Leagues' premier young pitchers. Despite this, Seaver didn't get any Cy Young votes that year, being (rightfully) overshadowed by Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA. Award or not he had a season worth noting and his 5 shutouts contributed to the 339 league-wide shutouts, which lead to the lowering of the mounds. That season would be one of only three years where he would play for the Mets and not get any award votes.
Seaver wouldn't have to wait long for his first Cy Young, earning that honor in '69, a season where he had a 2.21 ERA, 7.2 WAR, and 25 Wins. His award is far from the most important thing he did that season though, as those '69 Mets were of course what is now known as the Miracle Mets. During that season the Mets won the National League East, their first time finishing better than second to last, and won their first World Series. Seaver was the clear centerpiece of this legendary team, being the Mets overall WAR leader, and a clubhouse leader despite his young age. Even though Seaver's postseason production was iffy as a whole, he ended up coming through when he was needed, pitching a 10 inning 1 run complete-game gem in game 4 to give the Mets a 3-1 series lead.
As his Hall of Fame plaque justly states, he "transformed Mets from lovable losers into formidable foes", and he did it in only three short seasons.
He didn't stop there though, churning out dominant seasons in '70, '71, and '72, getting MVP votes each year. In 1971 he had an ERA of 1.76, which only about a dozen modern era pitchers (including Gooden and deGrom) have ever topped.
In 1973 Seaver would win his second Cy Young while spearheading another pennant run. This time Seaver REALLY put his team on his back, turning in the 11th best WAR season of any modern-era pitcher (10.6) and having more than double the WAR of the next best player on the team (Jerry Koosman: 5.2). Even though the Mets only won one of Seavers four postseason starts that year, it wasn't his fault as he had an excellent playoff ERA of 1.99 and put the offense in a position to win each game. Tom Terrific capped his spectacular season when he took the ball in game 6 of the World Series, throwing 7 innings and only allowing 2 runs. This game, in which the Mets could have won the series, ended as a 3-1 win by the Oakland Athletics, who would win game 7 and the series the next day. That would be Tom Seavers last postseason appearance for the Mets
‘74 would be an off-year for Seaver by his standards, (although he still led the league in K/9) but in '75 he bounced right back, winning his third Cy Young award, and having his fourth 20 win season. After another strong season in '76 and a solid first half in '77, Seaver wanted to renegotiate his contract, but the Mets were not willing. Instead, they shipped him off to Cincinnati for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman, and Pat Zachry. This trade, understandably, infuriated many Mets fans and has become known as the Midnight Massacre.
Seaver was very good in Cincinnati, having a sub-three ERA three times, but he never quite replicated his Mets success, and although he came close in '81, he didn't win any Cy Youngs.
Six years later in 1983, the Mets traded Lloyd McClendon, Charlie Puleo, and Jason Felice to get Seaver back, but he was past his prime at that point. The most important accomplishment from that second stint in New York was when he hit triples in back to back early-season starts, causing him to briefly be the league leader. This New York return was also short-lived, as the next season, he was a member of the White Sox.
This time the Mets didn’t trade seaver though, he was taken by the White Sox as a compensation pick. The Mets didn't list Seaver as one of their 26 protected players, as they thought nobody would take a highly paid 39-year-old pitcher, but they were wrong and Tom Terrific was gone again. Seaver considered retiring when this happened, but he ultimately decided to stick it out in Chicago. His departure from the Mets had a silver lining though, as it left a roster spot open for a pitcher, which was perfect timing for a young man named Dwight Gooden, who would get a roster spot on the Mets that same year.
Halfway through the 1986 season, Seaver changed his Sox, being traded from Chicago to Boston for Steve Lyons. These Red Sox were on a World Series collision course with the Mets, but due to a knee injury, Seaver was left off the Red Sox postseason roster. That thankfully means that the Mets never had to face Seaver in the World Series and were able to win their second ring.
The next year, in May, after a string of pitching injuries, the Mets gave Tom Seaver a call about a comeback. He pitched in three exhibition games vs Triple-A Tidewater, doing poorly in each one, fueling his decision to hang it up for good. On this day, June 22nd, 33 years ago in 1987, Tom Seaver officially retired from baseball, saying "There were no more pitches in this 42-year-old arm that were competitive. I've used them all up". It's become increasingly rare to see a great player retire of his own volition, but its something worthy of respect when you see it.
Seaver accomplished just about everything a pitcher could hope to accomplish. He won multiple Cy Youngs, he brought home a World Series and a pennant, and he even threw a No-Hitter (for the Reds). He also accomplished far more than a team could ever ask of a player, turning the Mets around and establishing them as a "pitching first" franchise, which they still are today. For all of this he was rightfully rewarded with his iconic 41 being retired, and induction into the Hall of Fame. He was the first Met player to have their number retired and he received 98.84% of the Hall of Fame vote, which was the most ever at the time.
It's hard to fully explain the greatness of somebody who Hank Aaron called the “toughest pitcher he ever faced”, and the importance of somebody who Ralph Kiner said was "The driving force behind players, always pushing the team to be better". It's possible the Mets wouldn't even exist now if they hadn't won the Seaver lottery in '66. Tom Seaver truly was “The Franchise” and there’s a good reason why the street outside Citi Field is called Seaver Way.
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