RIP Tom Seaver

[68JET11]

7 hours ago, Sarge4Tide said:

That is a priceless picture....

[68JET11]

7 hours ago, JiF said:

Ugh.  So sad.

And I just posted this picture of me and him in the Mets thread...

RIP to a legend 

 

Dude, that's wonderful... Growing up as a kid and being able to have that kind of experience is priceless as well. Not many words can describe it.

[TuscanyTile2]

8 hours ago, JiF said:

Ugh.  So sad.

And I just posted this picture of me and him in the Mets thread...

RIP to a legend 

 

Great pic!  What’s the backstory behind it though?

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

To the Wilpons : the fact that Tom Seaver's statue has not been constructed before his passing is all you need to know about the current Mets management . They make me sick to my stomach .

RIP   George Thomas Seaver 

[rangerous]

10 hours ago, ryu79 said:

Sad to hear. One of the Mets all time greats.

maybe the only met al time great.

[TuscanyTile2]

16 minutes ago, rangerous said:

maybe the only met al time great.

Not a maybe.  He definitely is.  The face of the franchise.  And of course the Wilpons didn't properly honor him while he was alive and healthy.  Hopefully the final embarrassing chapter in their ownership.

EDIT: I re-read what you wrote and I think I misunderstood the first time.  I thought you were saying that maybe he's the greatest Met of all time.  That's what I was responding to as "He definitely is".  But after re-reading your post, I think you're asking "is he the Mets' only all-time great ever?"  

[rangerous]

the mets had some really good pitching in those days.  as a matter of fact the mets always seem to find really good pitchers but the rest of the team is substandard.  seaver was a really good pitcher.  he had that issue when he wanted to get paid and went to the angels but the mets were always pretty cheap.  it would've been great if he was able to do better in the 86 series for the sox.

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

1 minute ago, rangerous said:

but the mets were always pretty cheap.

And that continues .

[Biggs]

6 hours ago, Wonderboy said:

There was only one Tom Seaver. Never will baseball see the likes of someone like Seaver.  I have been a diehard Mets fan since 1965.  They were beyond terrible. I mean embarrassingly bad. But then out of the blue, in 1967 emerged this kid. Sturdy, consistent, accurate, constrained, focused, talented beyond any Met fan has ever witnessed.  The franchise was totally transformed.  Immediately, the Mets had entered a new dimension. They were no longer the joke of MLB, even if it was just once every 5 days. I was 12 in ‘69 when the Mets shocked the universe. Seaver was like the Pope. The city was electric. It was on fire. Never had NYC felt such insane emotion and love for a sports team.  Seaver was their captain and the underdog Mets gave hope to the hopeless and made the impossible, possible. ‘69 was unreal, surreal then miraculously magical. I remember attending many games in ‘69. Shea literally shook and bounced. Even more powerful than the Jets win in ‘69, was the Mets WS win and it was led by one of baseball’s greatest of all time, George Thomas Seaver. Hearing he lost his battle with dementia leaves me broken hearted. I will always associate my childhood and love of baseball with Seaver. It’s like I just lost a family member.  He will be missed and never forgotten.  ?
 

What a spot on post.  I was introduced to the Mets in 1965 by my uncle who was a die hard Brooklyn Dodger fan.  14 in 69.  I got a job with Harry M. Stevens selling peanuts in the upper deck of Shea during the WS.  Saw all 3 games tossing peanuts to the crowd.  

That was an era with Koufax, Gibson, Marichal and Palmer.  All of them mentally tough as nails with great mechanics and overwhelming command.  Seaver was as good as any of them.  At the time Seaver was voted into the HOF he had the highest percentage total of votes of anyone before him.  425 of 430 votes.  The only pitcher to go in with a higher percentage was Rivera who went in  2019 with a perfect 425 of 425.  If Rivera pitched in Tom Seavers era, he would have rarely got a chance to finish.  Seaver didn't need anyone to finish for him.   He had 171 complete games and pitched into extra innings 19 times.  When Seaver pitched the games rarely went over an hour and 55 minutes.  The batters knew better than to screw around between pitches.  

[TuscanyTile2]

Tom Seaver was in the Boston dugout for the final out of the 1986 World Series, btw.

 

[Jethead]

I was at Shea the day the Mets took the lead in September for the 1st time in 1969. It was a twi-night doubleheader versus the Expos The fans were so excited that the stands were shaking. It was a magical time and Seaver was the King. RIP Tom Terrific. 

[CTJetsFan]

RIP

He (and Joe Namath) were my favorite pro athletes as a very young boy. My reasons for being a Mets & Jets fan.

Now, some might think I wouldn't think as fondly of them now for that reason due to the years of suffering......but I still do.

[Jet Nut]

26 minutes ago, rangerous said:

the mets had some really good pitching in those days.  as a matter of fact the mets always seem to find really good pitchers but the rest of the team is substandard.  seaver was a really good pitcher.  he had that issue when he wanted to get paid and went to the angels but the mets were always pretty cheap.  it would've been great if he was able to do better in the 86 series for the sox.

It was the Reds, he never played for the Angles.  
He didn’t play in the 86 series, he was out with a bad knee

[munchmemory]

As a Yankee fan, always hated Tom Seaver.  Why did a player of his incredible talent have to be on the Mets?  Not many channels back then, so we all watched every game no matter if it was AL or NL.  And watching Seaver work his mastery game after game was both maddening and awe-inducing..  Still can't believe those dopes traded their best player ever.  As well as one who ever put on a pro uniform.

RIP to a baseball immortal.  Very few, if any, ever achieved his level of proficiency and mastery.   Sad day for all true baseball fans.    Coondolences to his family , friends, and fans.

[rangerous]

28 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

It was the Reds, he never played for the Angles.  
He didn’t play in the 86 series, he was out with a bad knee

i stand corrected.  i'm probably thinking of fred lynn.

[Rangers9]

As a long time Mets fan he was my all time favorite Mets player and like the Wilpon's said in their statement the greatest Mets player of all time. I watched part of SNY coverage last night when they contacted many of his ex teammates and they talked about him. 

[peebag]

He's the reason I'm a Mets fan.

 

RIP Tom Terrific

[section314]

Like Howie Rose said last night, “ my childhood is officially over.”

[Wonderboy]

4 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Tom Seaver was in the Boston dugout for the final out of the 1986 World Series, btw.

 

You know he was rooting for the Mets to win  deep down inside. 

[Charlie Brown]

13 hours ago, JiF said:

Ugh.  So sad.

And I just posted this picture of me and him in the Mets thread...

RIP to a legend 

 

And you haven't changed one bit!!   

Thanks for the pic!

[Wonderboy]

1 hour ago, peebag said:

He's the reason I'm a Mets fan.

 

RIP Tom Terrific

Was a baseball fan early on and saw countless Yankee games through Con Edison’s bleacher program for ghetto kids. Saw Mickey, Maris, Tom Tresh etc. But the Yankees tradition did nothing for me. It wasn’t until I saw this ole dude yapping that hooked me by the time I was 8: Metsie Metsie Metsie. Have never looked back. 
 

 

[TuscanyTile2]

44 minutes ago, Wonderboy said:

You know he was rooting for the Mets to win  deep down inside. 

Not according to this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/19/sports/the-world-series-86-sports-of-the-times-seaver-s-twist-of-fate.html

 

[Wonderboy]

1 hour ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Not according to this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/19/sports/the-world-series-86-sports-of-the-times-seaver-s-twist-of-fate.html

 

Ehhh he would’ve come to his senses

[Lith]

What a great way to pay tribute to Seaver.  Mets got this one right.

RIP, Tom.

[southparkcpa]

17 hours ago, Sarge4Tide said:

What a great photo.  Choked up.  ❤️

[southparkcpa]

I’m a Yankee fan.  But is it fair to say Tom is the greatest NY pitcher ever????   I think it is.  Ford, Rivera etc.   But Seaver was amazing.   

[The Crimson King]

On 9/3/2020 at 5:03 AM, JoeWillieWhiteShoesHOF said:

Why did they renege?  Well first and foremost it would have cost them money haha, but any other reasons?

Wilpon was A Dodger fan growing up and  always wanted to own them. When he had a chance to demolish our stadium, he built a modern Ebbetts Field as a tribute to "National Legue baseball". i.e the Dodgers, hence the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Compare pictures of Ebbetts and CitiField, there is an obvious resemblance both inside and out. Not a hint of orange or blue anywhere. The only deviation from Ebbetts is the Pepsi/Coca Cola Porch which Jeffie the Moron suggested based on Tiger Stadium from when he was a kid visiting his grandparents 

Mets fans complained like heck when this travesty opened so they hung pictures of Mets players from the lamposts lining the walk and painted the ugly staircases walls Mets colors, then went, "See, it's a Mets Stadium"

They did name a gate after Seaver which is nice but one that Joe Lunchbox cannot go through because it is only for higher end tickets

Not that anyone is still bitter over this

 

[The Crimson King]

On 9/3/2020 at 8:19 AM, rangerous said:

maybe the only met al time great.

Let's not forget WIlbur Huckle now

[rangerous]

2 minutes ago, The Crimson King said:

Let's not forget WIlbur Huckle now

wasn't marvelous marv thornberry on the mets?  the mets have had more than their fair share of never will be's and has beens.

[Scott Dierking]

Just now, rangerous said:

wasn't marvelous marv thornberry on the mets?  the mets have had more than their fair share of never will be's and has beens.

Dr Strangeglove. 

[The Crimson King]

17 hours ago, southparkcpa said:

I’m a Yankee fan.  But is it fair to say Tom is the greatest NY pitcher ever????   I think it is.  Ford, Rivera etc.   But Seaver was amazing.   

(sigh) typical bass player ... 

(EDIT: OOPS ! Typical guitar player ! Jumped the gun and didn't see that you actually agreed that he is. 1,000 apologies. I'll turn down my amp now and even let you play a solo)

WAR for Pitchers:

Seaver 106.0 (7th all time)

Ford 53.6 (86th all time)

Rivera 56.3 (79th all time)

CY Young Awards for best picther of the year:

Seaver 3 (and was robbed of 2 more)

Ford 1

Rivera 0

Will concede Rivera as greatest closer of the modern era but they are not as valuable as a starter that closes himself

So Seaver vs Ford

Wins/SO/ERA/WHIP 

Seaver 311/3640/2.86/1.121

Ford 236/1956/2.75/1.215

 

Seaver pitched with little support, Ford pitched with, well the 50's-60's Yankees

 

 

[The Crimson King]

17 minutes ago, Scott Dierking said:

Dr Strangeglove. 

That was Dick Stuart

[The Crimson King]

19 minutes ago, rangerous said:

wasn't marvelous marv thornberry on the mets?  the mets have had more than their fair share of never will be's and has beens.

He was also on the Yankees and in fact had more plate appearances with them as he did the Mets

 

 

[section314]

Two pretty cool tributes to Tom that I read/heard yesterday. The first was from Jim Palmer, who closed with "baseball has lost the greatest pitcher of my era."  Wow!! The next was a tweet from Vin Scully, who said "Seaver was the best righty I ever saw." Double Wow!!!! It's been two days and I am still getting tears. Think this is going to be a very long mourning period for us all.

[The Crimson King]

OK. last post on this thread and apologies for over sensitivity and pedanticism (that a word?)

My best friend and I became a Seaver fan for a simple reason. They traded Ron Hunt.

From '63 to '66, Hunt was all the Mets had that was not a punchline. He was not an all-time great but he was the only legitimate all-star (barely) that that ever had. As a kid, you needed to have a favorite player. No idea why, but we all did. 

'66 was a great year. For the first time, they didn't finish last and didn't lose 100. Hunt hit a lofty .288 and was once again an all-star after a lost year due to Phil Gagliano. Could 8th or 7th place even be possible?

 After the season, the unthinkable happened, Hunt was traded! How could that happen? For a gimpy over the hill player too. We were devastated. My parents reaction was shut up and do your homework. Well, the over the hill player hit .300 (and played for another decade or so), was traded for Tommie Agee and Hunt never did much other than get hit by pitches, so that actually worked out.

So we needed a new favorite player. Kranepool, Selma and Swoboda were around for a while already, so they couldn’t do. It needed to be a home grown fresh guy. That Derrell Harrelson shortstop looked promising but yeesh, he only weighed 105lbs. How would he ever last? There was a kid in A ball named Nolan Ryan who struck out 1.5 batters per game, but it would take too long for him to get here. Bill Denehy looked good with an ERA under 2 at AA. It required long and hard discussion. We settled on the guy from the AAA Jacksonville club.  He only had a .500 record and an ERA over 3 but he finished second in the league in strikeouts behind Tom Phoebus (now if they only had prospects like him!) so after much debate, this Seaver kid won out.

It was a school day in April that he made his debut after looking really good in spring training.  We jumped off the school bus and ran to the TV without changing out of our school clothes. All through junior high and high school we ran home on school days, missed family events on weekends and when old enough took the LIRR and 7 train to see him. In college, when everyone participated in a strike to protest the war, I snuck off alone to take 2 hours of subway to see him shutout the Cubs at Shea. It was a dedication that was well rewarded in entertainment.

You hear a lot about the Qualls game but there was one game he got even closer to that no hitter. It was 1975, late in the year in Chicago when only the most fanatic were still following the club. He got to 2 outs in the ninth when Joe Wallis check swung a ball out of the strike zone for a bloop hit.   

I have three favorite Seaver games. First was the 10 straight strikeout game that Koosman mentioned on last night’s broadcast. He just blew away the entire Padres lineup (and Al Ferrara twice) on fastballs. Most dominant I ever saw him. Second was the 1975 game he set the record for 200 straight strikeout seasons at a very loud sold out Shea. In the third, he wasn’t even a Met. It was the 1977 return to Shea game where he beat Koosman and were both on Kiner’s Korner after the game. Almost as emotional as yesterday.

Between Wednesday night and this morning I have had more texts and emails on one thing that I ever received. I heard from people I haven’t heard from in decades, many of which have no interest in sports. This is because I always used him as a superlative. The Tom Seaver of cars, the Tom Seaver of overdrive pedals, there was even a Tom Seaver of girls in Jr. High.

So thank you for indulging me here on the Tom Seaver of sports message boards. Howie Rose said it perfectly. This is the end of our childhood.

Thank you Commissioner Eckert