Tom Seaver

George Thomas " Tom" Seaver ( born November 17, 1944 in Fresno, California ) is a former American professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. His nicknames are Tom Terrific and The Franchise.

Life

Seaver was already in high school to be an excellent pitcher. His lack of size and strength, he was able to compensate for its strong control on the Pitcher's Mound. In college he played for the Fresno City College and the University of Southern California. In 1966 he signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves, who, however, was declared by the NCAA and the Baseball Commissioner William Eckert invalid. They stated that other teams that Seaver the same terms as the Braves were offering could oblige him. The New York Mets, Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies were interested in him and in a lottery, the Mets won the contract.

His first game in the National League played Tom Seaver on 13 April 1967. He won this season 16 games of the 61 that won his team throughout the season. After these achievements, he was elected Rookie of the Year in the National League. In 1968, he won 16 games and in turn, has recently acquired over 200 strikeouts. This series would last nine years.

His first big season with the Mets he had in 1969. With 25 wins, seven defeats and an ERA of 2, he led the NL in wins. On July 9, 1969 it almost a Perfect Game would have succeeded, which was prevented only in the 9th inning of Jimmy Qualls of the Chicago Cubs. He was chosen by the magazine Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, as well as by the Associated Press, won the Cy Young Award and the NL, the Mets the title in the NL East before the Cubs. In the National League Championship Series, the New York defeated the Atlanta Braves and met in the World Series to the favored Baltimore Orioles. In the first game of the series, he was against the first batsman of the series Don Buford from a home run and the Mets lost the game 1:4. In game four, he was able to record a 2-1 success for themselves in a game over 10 innings. Overall, the Mets won the series in five games.

On April 22, 1970, he got his Cy Young Trophy awarded prior to the game against the San Diego Padres. In the game he managed a record with 19 strikeouts in the last ten batsmen of the game he succeeded even after the other. His second Cy Young Award winning Seaver then 1973. He led the league in ERA and strikeouts. In the first game of the National League Championship Series he scored 13 strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds, but in the eighth and ninth inning, he had to admit homers by Pete Rose and Johnny Bench, which led to a 1-2 defeat of the Mets. In the decisive fifth game Seaver could then post the victory. In the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, he performed well, but was able to record a victory for himself and his team was defeated.

1975 was his last great season for the New York Mets. With a record of 22 wins with nine defeats, he led the NL in wins and strikeouts and won his third Cy Young Award. During the season 1976 Seaver fell out with the management of the Mets and was then transferred on 15 June 1977 for the Cincinnati Reds. Overall, he came up with 20 wins at the Mets and the Reds this season, his last, in which he reached this mark. On June 16, 1978 Tom Seaver threw a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. In the shortened by the strike season 1981 Seaver had a record of 14-2 and thus the most wins in the league. In a controversial decision he lost the Cy Young Award Fernando Valenzuela. In 1983, the Reds transferred him back to the New York Mets.

The renewed anger of fans pulled the management of the Mets after the end of the season. Since they did not expect that another team would undertake the 39 -year-olds, they let the free agent unprotected and the Chicago White Sox secured his services. Here he won 15 and 16 games in the next two seasons. On August 4, 1985, he won his 300th game at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees. After a weak start to the 1986 season he moved to end his career with the Boston Red Sox. His last game he played on September 19, 1986. Due to an ankle injury he was unable to attend the World Series against the Mets.

1992 Tom Seaver was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he worked for various broadcasters as a baseball commentator.

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