Tom Seaver

The hero of the 1969 “Miracle Mets”

4 min readApr 11, 2019

On March 7, 2019, devastating news hit the baseball universe: Mets legend Tom Seaver had been diagnosed with dementia and was retiring from public life. Seaver, now 74 years old, is baseball royalty and considered by many as one of the best pitchers of all time.

During his 20-year career, Seaver compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, pitched 61 shutouts, and finished with a career 2.86 ERA. He spent time with four different MLB franchises, but is most recognizable in a New York Mets uniform. He was known as “The Franchise” because he was a crucial part in reviving the historically terrible Mets.

The New York Mets organization was founded in 1962. They had yet to finish above 9th place (out of 10 teams) in their division until Tom Seaver came along. Seaver debuted in 1967; during his rookie campaign, he won 16 games, pitched 18 complete games, and struck out 170 batters. He ended the year with a 2.76 ERA, was crowned the National League Rookie of the Year, and played in his first of 12 MLB All-Star games. More importantly to fans, he was a beacon of hope. Still, the Mets finished in last place in the National League, and second to last the season after.

1969 was the year that everything changed. Seaver won a league-high 25 games and his first Cy Young Award. Major League Baseball had just divided the American League and National League into East and West divisions, and the Mets won the newly formed NL East with a record of 100–62. The team advanced through the playoffs and in one of the most stunning upsets in sports history, defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games. The team was labeled the “Miracle Mets,” and “Tom Terrific” was thier most important piece.

Mets after winning the 1969 World Series

Seaver’s greatness extended for many years to come. Over the course of his career he would win three National League Cy Young Awards, come to be the Met’s all-time leader in wins, join the 3,000 strikeout club, record his 300th victory, and led the NL in strikeouts five times. To this day, Seaver is still the only pitcher to have ever struck out 10 consecutive batters.

Seaver retired in 1987 and the Mets retired his number the next season. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with the highest percentage ever of votes ever recorded at the time — 98.84%. The reasons why Seaver did not receive 100% of BBWAA vote boiled down to bad timing. Three of the five ballots that omitted Seaver were blank, protesting the Hall’s decision to make Pete Rose ineligible for consideration, one was sent by a writer failed to notice Seaver’s name because he was recovering from open-heart surgery, and the last was cast by a writer who claimed to never vote for any player in their first year of eligibility.

Tom Seaver is one of two players to represent the Mets on his Hall of Fame plaque. The other is Mike Piazza

Decades later, Seaver is still considered one of the best starting pitchers of all time. Later this season the Mets are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 team’s improbably World Series win. Around 18 former players are expected at Citi Field for the celebration. Sadly, Seaver, the lynchpin of that team, will not be attending. The celebration will pay tribute to Seaver and honor the memory of those who have passed away: Tug McGraw, Tommie Agee, Ed Charles, Donn Clendenon, and manager Gil Hodges.

On March 21, 2019, the Mets organization announced that Citi Field would be getting a permanent address change; 126th street will be renamed to Seaver Way. The team will also reveal plans in June for a statue honoring Seaver to be completed in 2020. Seaver’s impact remains strong despite all the years that have passed. Seaver may be done with public life and baseball, but he cemented his place in baseball history a long time ago and has been a baseball treasure ever since.