50 Fun Facts About Tom Seaver

Which nickname, shared with a 1950s cartoon boy hero, did fans and writers give pitcher Tom Seaver?

Tom Terrific stuck so firmly to Seaver that quarterback Tom Brady was refused a trademark on the phrase in 2019, to avoid confusion with the pitcher.

Three writers left Tom Seaver off 1992 Hall of Fame ballots to protest the ban on which player?

Pete Rose had been ruled ineligible for the ballot a year earlier, so three writers sent in blank ballots. Seaver drew a then-record 98.84% of the vote anyway.

How did the New York Mets win the right to sign Tom Seaver after his first pro contract was voided?

A lottery drawing among three clubs willing to match the voided offer sent Seaver to New York. The Phillies and Indians were the teams that lost out.

In which state did Tom Seaver pitch summer ball for the Goldpanners to earn a college scholarship?

Alaska was his audition: unsure he deserved a scholarship, his future college sent him to Fairbanks, where he won a national tournament game with a grand slam.

What rare feat did Tom Seaver pull off on May 9, 1984, with help from a suspended 25-inning game?

Two wins in one day came from a quirk: he pitched the final inning of a game held over from the night before, then started and won the regularly scheduled game.

Which 109-win team did Tom Seaver and the 'Miracle Mets' upset in the 1969 World Series?

The Baltimore Orioles lost in five games. Seaver dropped the opener, then won Game 4 by pitching all ten innings of a 2–1 victory.

Which branch of the U.S. military did Tom Seaver join in 1962, before he ever pitched in college?

The Marine Corps Reserve came between high school and college for Seaver, who stayed a part-time reservist until 1970, the year after he won a World Series.

In which ballpark did Tom Seaver win his 300th game in 1985, as a 40-year-old visiting pitcher?

Yankee Stadium saw the milestone: across town from the ballpark where he made his name, Seaver pitched a complete game to win 4–1.

What did Tom Seaver start on his estate in Calistoga, California, in 2002, after his pitching days?

A vineyard became his second career: Seaver Family Vineyards produced its first vintage in 2005, and its two cabernets were named Nancy's Fancy and GTS.

Which nickname did Tom Seaver earn as the star who turned the lowly New York Mets into champions?

The Franchise fit: the Mets had never finished higher than next-to-last before Seaver arrived in 1967, and they won the World Series in his third season.

To which team, the reigning World Series champions, did the Mets trade Tom Seaver in June 1977?

The Cincinnati Reds gave up four players for him, and Seaver went 14–3 for his new club over the rest of that season to finish with 21 wins.

Against which team did Tom Seaver throw the only no-hitter of his career, in June 1978?

The St. Louis Cardinals were blanked 4–0 that night. Seaver had thrown five one-hitters as a Met without ever finishing a no-hitter.

Which National League award did Tom Seaver win in 1967 after going 16–13 for a last-place team?

Rookie of the Year honors followed a debut season of 18 complete games and a 2.76 ERA, plus a save in the 15th inning of that summer's All-Star Game.

Which boyhood idol told Tom Seaver at the 1967 All-Star Game that everyone would soon know him?

Hank Aaron was the favorite player of the young Seaver, a Milwaukee fan. When the nervous newcomer introduced himself to ask for an autograph, the slugger said he already knew who he was.

Which former Mets teammate of Tom Seaver, traded away in 1971, later matched his 61 career shutouts?

Nolan Ryan went to the Angels with three other players for Jim Fregosi, a deal often cited as one of the worst in Mets history.

Which ballpark's address became 41 Seaver Way in 2019, honoring the number Tom Seaver wore?

Citi Field stands on what used to be 126th Street; the city renamed it Seaver Way, and the Mets unveiled a statue of the pitcher outside the park in 2022.

Which young 1986 teammate credited Tom Seaver with helping turn him from a thrower into a pitcher?

Roger Clemens won both the Cy Young and MVP awards that season, while the 41-year-old Seaver made the final 16 starts of his career in the same rotation.

Which future Mets captain became the 3,000th strikeout victim of Tom Seaver's career in 1981?

Keith Hernandez was traded to the Mets two years later, in time to play half a season behind Seaver before the pitcher left for the American League.

Who is the only pitcher besides Tom Seaver with 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00?

Walter Johnson, the Washington Senators great who retired in 1927, is his only company in that club. Seaver finished with 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA.

Tom Seaver set a major-league record by making 16 career starts on which occasion?

Opening Day found Seaver on the mound 16 times between 1968 and 1986, for three different clubs, breaking a record of 14 that had stood since the 1920s.

Which Cubs ace beat out Tom Seaver for the 1971 Cy Young Award despite Seaver's 1.76 ERA?

Ferguson Jenkins won 24 games that year and became the first Canadian to take the award. Seaver led the league in both ERA and strikeouts yet finished second.

Which 20-year-old sensation narrowly beat Tom Seaver for the 1981 National League Cy Young Award?

Fernando Valenzuela rode a craze known as Fernandomania to the award in his first season as a starter, while Seaver's 14–2 record in a strike-shortened year left him a close second.

Which Giants slugger edged Tom Seaver for the 1969 NL MVP award after hitting 45 home runs?

Willie McCovey was so feared that pitchers intentionally walked him a then-record 45 times that year. Seaver, a 25-game winner, finished as the runner-up.

Which Mets catcher received the ceremonial final pitch at Shea Stadium from Tom Seaver in 2008?

Mike Piazza and Seaver then walked out through the center-field exit together, and they reunited in 2009 for the first pitch at the Mets' new home.

Whose Hall of Fame voting record, set on the first ballot in 1936, did Tom Seaver break in 1992?

Ty Cobb had been named on 222 of 226 ballots, the most of anyone in that inaugural class, Babe Ruth included. His 98.2% share stood for 56 years.

Which slugger broke Tom Seaver's Hall of Fame voting record in 2016 with 99.32% of the vote?

Ken Griffey Jr. was named on 437 of 440 ballots, ending a mark that had been Seaver's for 24 years. Three voters left him off, two fewer than had omitted Seaver.

Tom Seaver's 41 was the first number the Mets retired for a player; which manager's 37 preceded it?

Casey Stengel, the Mets' original manager, had his 37 retired in 1965. Seaver's number followed in 1988, at a ceremony held in his honor.

Which legendary play-by-play announcer was Tom Seaver's partner on NBC baseball telecasts in 1989?

Vin Scully got Seaver as his analyst after Joe Garagiola left NBC, and the pair called that year's All-Star Game and National League Championship Series.

Which five-time World Series champion reportedly said blind fans came just to hear Tom Seaver pitch?

Reggie Jackson is credited with a second tribute too: after Seaver lost a World Series game without his best stuff, the slugger said he had pitched with his heart.

Which team beat Tom Seaver and the Mets in seven games in the 1973 World Series?

The Oakland Athletics took their second straight title. Seaver started Games 3 and 6 and the Mets lost both, the second with the championship one win away.

In which Central Valley city was Tom Seaver born, later pitching for its namesake high school?

Fresno High's Seaver was short on size and strength, so he learned pinpoint control instead; he was also an All-City basketball player.

For which university did Tom Seaver go 10–2 as a sophomore in 1965 under coach Rod Dedeaux?

USC made him prove himself in a summer league before offering a scholarship, and the pros noticed fast: he was drafted after that one sophomore season.

Which team signed Tom Seaver in 1966, only to have the commissioner void the contract?

The Atlanta Braves' deal broke a rule: his college team had already played two exhibition games that year, though Seaver had not appeared in either.

Which team drafted Tom Seaver in 1965 but balked when he asked for $70,000 to sign?

The Los Angeles Dodgers took him in the tenth round and offered just $2,000, so Seaver stayed in college and the club passed on a future 311-game winner.

Which Cubs outfielder's ninth-inning single ended Tom Seaver's bid for a perfect game in July 1969?

Jim Qualls played only 63 games in the majors, but his one-out single to left field is what more than 50,000 fans at Shea Stadium remembered from that night.

Which team saw Tom Seaver strike out its final ten batters in a row in April 1970?

The San Diego Padres went down ten straight to end the game, a streak no pitcher matched until 2021. Seaver finished with 19 strikeouts in a 2–1 win.

Whose record of 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game did Tom Seaver tie in April 1970?

Steve Carlton had struck out 19 Mets seven months earlier and lost the game anyway, 4–3. Seaver won his by a score of 2–1.

Which jeweled prize for the top professional athlete of the year did Tom Seaver win for 1969?

The Hickok Belt was alligator skin with a solid gold buckle and a four-carat diamond. Seaver won it the same winter Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year.

What is the name for Tom Seaver's overhand delivery, which drew its power from his legs and trunk?

Drop and drive meant sinking almost to the ground on his back leg, letting his lower body do the work across 20 big-league seasons.

What name did New York sportswriters give the June 1977 night when the Mets traded Tom Seaver?

The Midnight Massacre covered two trades made at the June 15 deadline. Seaver's came the same day a newspaper column about his wife ended his contract talks.

Which nickname did an emptying Shea Stadium pick up after the Mets traded Tom Seaver away?

Grant's Tomb was a dig at chairman M. Donald Grant, who had refused to rework Seaver's contract. The Mets then finished last three years running.

Which Daily News columnist's story about Tom Seaver's wife drove the pitcher to demand a trade?

Dick Young wrote that Seaver's wife envied a former teammate's bigger paycheck. Seaver, who had just agreed to a new deal in principle, asked out at once.

Which team claimed Tom Seaver in 1984 after the Mets left him off a protected list?

The Chicago White Sox took him in a free-agent compensation draft; the Mets had assumed nobody would want a high-salaried 39-year-old starter.

What kept Tom Seaver off the mound when his last team met the Mets in the 1986 World Series?

A knee injury sidelined the 41-year-old, but the Shea Stadium crowd gave him one of the loudest ovations of the night during the introductions before Game 1.

Which manager, a former Brooklyn first baseman, led Tom Seaver and the Mets to the 1969 title?

Gil Hodges took over before the 1968 season, when the Mets had never had a winning year, and steered them to a championship in his second summer.

Which mustachioed relief ace was elected to the Hall of Fame alongside Tom Seaver in 1992?

Rollie Fingers was only the second reliever voted in, after Hoyt Wilhelm. He and Seaver were the two players the baseball writers elected that year.

Which home-run-hitting outfielder did the Mets trade away on the same night as Tom Seaver in 1977?

Dave Kingman had hit 37 home runs for the Mets the year before. After the trade he bounced around so much that he played for four teams that season.

Which Mets right fielder's diving catch helped Tom Seaver win Game 4 of the 1969 World Series?

Ron Swoboda, not known for his fielding, dove to snare a sinking liner in the ninth inning. The tying run scored, but the rally died and Seaver won in the tenth.

Which future Hall of Fame manager was Tom Seaver's skipper when he won his 300th game in 1985?

Tony La Russa was only six weeks older than his 40-year-old pitcher. He went on to win three World Series as a manager, all with other clubs.

Which commissioner, a retired Air Force general, voided Tom Seaver's first pro contract in 1966?

William Eckert relented after Seaver's father threatened to sue, ruling that any club willing to match the voided offer could have a chance at the pitcher.