Baseball Legend Passes

Anybody that has ever followed the game of baseball has, at one time or another, heard the name Tom Seaver. He holds most of the pitching records for a starter in Mets history, including complete games, innings pitched, ERA and strikeouts. He was the greatest pitcher that the team has ever had. On Thursday, Sever passed away at the age of 75 from complications related to Dementia.

Sever came into the league in 1967 and had a bit of a rough start to his career with the Mets, but by 1969 he had started to cement himself as the face of this team. By the time all was said and done, he was, and still, is the best player to ever wear the Blue and Orange. He had also spent time with the Reds and White Sox, but everybody who ever things of Tom Seaver will always see him as a member of the New York Mets.

Seaver finished his career with a record of 311-205, a 2.86 ERA, and 3,640 strikeouts. In addition to his three Cy Youngs, Seaver was a 12-time All-Star, led the league in wins three times, strikeouts five times and ERA three times, and was a five-time 20-game winner. Seaver had 9 straight 200 straight seasons, which is the longest streak in MLB history. He is 1 of only 8 pitchers with 3,500 K's and 300 wins and is the only player in MLB history to strike out 10 straight batters. When he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, at that time, it was the highest percentage of votes ever received by a player, that's how dominating he was.

Seaver was the show for the Mets, it was a major event every time he got on the mound. Whenever he pitched at home, Shea was always jam packed. He helped put the Mets on the map and made them a legitimate threat in not only the National League but in all of baseball. He gave them an identity. He was the most dominating pitcher of his time. Sure the Mets have had two guys since then that have come close, or at least drawn comparison to, since Seaver stopped pitching for the team. Those two guys, at least in my mind, are Doc Gooden and Jacob deGrom. But they aren't Tom Seaver, nor will they ever be. Both guys had and are having great careers, but not like what Tom did.

He gave the Mets an identity and gave the Mets fans a reason to come out and see this team. Thanks for the memories for Mets fans Tom, you will be dearly missed