Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Tom Terrific's Birthday

My favorite athlete of all time, Tom Seaver, turned 66 today.  I remember as a kid recalculating his E.R.A.after every start.  (Here's a post with all the numbers).  I was lucky to be at Shea on April 22, 1970, when he tied what was then a record of 19 strikeouts in a game and set a record for striking out the last 10 in a row.  I was absolutely devastated on June 15, 1977, when he was traded to Cincinnati for Pat Zachry, Steve Henderson, Doug Flynn and Dan Norman.  I  attended his return to NY as a Red, when he faced another of my favorite pitchers, Jerry Koosman.  Along with the rest of the crowd, I was cheering for Seaver, who beat the Mets that day.  The Mets and I eventually made up, but I continued to root for Seaver for the rest of his great career.  3 Cy Young Awards, 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts and a 2.86 E.R.A.  In 1992, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and has the only plaque with a New York Mets cap.  He now owns a winery in Calistoga, California.  I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure the wine is terrific.

5 comments :

Stephen said...

Try not to get jealous but I've enjoyed a bottle of Nancy's Fancy, a gift from Dr. Jeff. Delicious!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14771153@N04/3170951421

Lovechilde said...

Awesome!

Stephen said...

Seaver: Throws right, bats right, vints right.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Seaver was traded to the Reds in 1977. He is to the Mets what Catfish Hunter was to the A's. A right handed hall of famer who brought his team into the limelight of the post season and brought joy and jubilation to millions of fans.

Lovechilde said...

Yes, he was traded in 1977 -- the "Midnight Massacre," as it was called. Thanks for the correction.

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