NEW YORK — Tom Seaver transformed a franchise and captivated a city, setting enduring standards as he whipped his powerful right arm overhead for the Miracle Mets and dirtied his right knee atop major league mounds for two decades.
A consummate pro and pitching icon, he finished fulfilled after a career remembered with awe long after his final strikeout.
“It is the last beautiful flower in the perfect bouquet,” Seaver said on the afternoon he was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Seaver, the galvanizing force who steered the New York Mets from National League laughingstock to a stunning World Series title in 1969, has died. He was 75.
The Hall said Wednesday night that Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. Seaver spent his final years in Calistoga, California.
Seaver’s family announced in March 2019 he had been diagnosed with dementia and had retired from public life. He continued working at Seaver Vineyards, founded by the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and his wife, Nancy, in 2002 on 116 acres at Diamond Mountain in Northern California.
Seaver was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 1991, and it reoccurred in 2012 and led to Bell’s Palsy and memory loss, the Daily News of New York reported in 2013.
“He will always be the heart and soul of the Mets, the standard which all Mets aspire to,” Mike Piazza, a former Mets catcher and Hall of Famer, tweeted when Seaver’s dementia diagnosis was announced.
Said ex-Mets closer and captain John Franco: “As a kid, you always wanted to be Tom Seaver.”
Nicknamed Tom Terrific and The Franchise, the revered Seaver was a five-time 20-game winner and the 1967 NL Rookie of the Year. He went 311-205 with a 2.86 ERA, 3,640 strikeouts and 61 shutouts during an illustrious career that lasted from 1967-86. He became a constant on magazine covers and a media presence, calling post-season games on NBC and ABC even while still an active player.
“He was simply the greatest Mets player of all-time and among the best to ever play the game,” Mets owner Fred Wilpon and son Jeff, the team’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
Seaver was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992 when he appeared on 425 of 430 ballots for a then-record 98.84%.
“Tom was a gentleman who represented the best of our national pastime,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He was synonymous with the New York Mets and their unforgettable 1969 season.”
“After their improbable World Series championship, Tom became a household name to baseball fans — a responsibility he carried out with distinction throughout his life,” he said.
Seaver’s plaque in Cooperstown lauds him as a “power pitcher who helped change the New York Mets from lovable losers into formidable foes.”
He changed not only their place in the standings, but the team’s stature in people’s minds.
“Tom Seaver hated to lose,” said Jerry Grote, his longtime Mets catcher. “In May of 1969, we had a celebration in the locker room when we reached .500 for the first time. Tom said, `We want more than .500, we want a championship.”’
Seaver pitched for the Mets from 1967-77, when he was traded to Cincinnati after a public spat with chairman M. Donald Grant over Seaver’s desire for a new contract. It was a clash that infuriated baseball fans in New York.
“My biggest disappointment? Leaving the Mets the first time and the difficulties I had with the same people that led up to it,” Seaver told The Associated Press ahead of his Hall induction in 1992. “But I look back at it in a positive way now. It gave me the opportunity to work in different areas of the country.”
He threw his only no-hitter for the Reds in June 1978 against St. Louis and was traded back to New York after the 1982 season. But Mets general manager Frank Cashen blundered by leaving Seaver off his list of 26 protected players, and in January 1984 he was claimed by the Chicago White Sox as free agent compensation for losing pitcher Dennis Lamp to Toronto.
While pitching for the White Sox, Seaver got his 300th win at Yankee Stadium and did it in style with a six-hitter in a 4-1 victory. He finished his career with the 1986 Boston Red Sox team that lost to the Mets in the World Series.
“Tom Seaver was one of the best and most inspirational pitchers to play the game,” Reds Chief Executive Officer Bob Castellini said in a statement. “We are grateful that Tom’s Hall of Fame career included time with the Reds. We are proud to count his name among the greats in the Reds Hall of Fame. He will be missed.”
Supremely confident — and not necessarily modest about his extraordinary acumen on the mound — Seaver was a 12-time All-Star who led the major leagues with a 25-7 record in 1969 and a 1.76 ERA in 1971. A classic power pitcher with a drop-and-drive delivery that often dirtied the right knee of his uniform pants, he won Cy Young Awards with New York in 1969, 1973 and 1975. The club retired his No. 41 in 1988, the first Mets player given the honour.
“From a team standpoint, winning the ’69 world championship is something I’ll remember most,” Seaver said in 1992. “From an individual standpoint, my 300th win brought me the most joy.”
Seaver limited his public appearances in recent years. He did not attend the Baseball Writers’ Association of America dinner in 2019, where members of the 1969 Mets were honoured on the 50th anniversary of what still ranks among baseball’s most unexpected championships.
Five months later, as part of a celebration of that team, the Mets announced plans for a statue of Seaver outside Citi Field, and the ballpark’s address was officially changed to 41 Seaver Way in a nod to his uniform number.
Seaver did not attend those ceremonies, either, but daughter Sarah Seaver did and said her parents were honoured.
“This is so very appropriate because he made the New York Mets the team that it is,” said Ron Swoboda, the right fielder whose sprawling catch helped Seaver pitch the Mets to a 10-inning win in Game 4 of the ’69 Series against Baltimore. “He gave them credibility.”
Seaver’s death was announced, in fact, hours after the Mets beat the Orioles in an interleague game.
“Just a class act. Just a gentleman in the way he handled himself, and really the way he handled his whole career,” said Miami manager Don Mattingly, a former New York Yankees captain. “We just left New York, and every time you walk in a door there, it’s like Tom Seaver Hall, with different pictures.”
When the Mets closed their previous home, Shea Stadium, on the final day of the 2008 regular season, Seaver put the finishing touches on the nostalgic ceremonies with a last pitch to Piazza, and the two walked off together waving goodbye to fans.
“He was a star. A shining star,” Mets teammate Ed Kranepool said. “No one can replace Tom Seaver.”
Seaver is survived by Nancy, daughters Sarah and Anne, and grandsons Thomas, William, Henry and Tobin.
George Thomas Seaver was born in Fresno, California, on Nov. 17, 1944, a son of Charles Seaver, a top amateur golfer who won both his matches for the U.S. over Britain at the 1932 Walker Cup.
Tom Seaver was a star at the University of Southern California and was drafted by Atlanta in 1966. He signed with the Braves for $51,500 only for Commissioner William Eckert to void the deal. The Trojans already had played exhibition games that year, and baseball rules at the time prohibited a club from signing a college player whose season had started. Any team willing to match the Braves’ signing bonus could enter a lottery, and Eckert picked the Mets out of a hat that also included Cleveland and Philadelphia.
Among baseball’s worst teams from their expansion season in 1962, the Mets lost more than 100 games in five of their first six seasons and had never won more than 73 in any of their first seven years. With cherished Brooklyn Dodgers star Gil Hodges as their manager, a young corps of pitchers led by Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and a still-wild Nolan Ryan, and an offence that included Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee, the Mets overtook the Chicago Cubs to win the NL East with a 100-62 record in 1969.
They swept Hank Aaron and the Atlanta Braves in the first NL Championship Series to reach the World Series against heavily favoured Baltimore, which had gone 109-53. Seaver lost the opener 4-1 in a matchup with Mike Cuellar, then pitched a 10-inning six-hitter to win Game 4, and the Mets won the title the following afternoon.
“He is the man of New York City. He put the Mets on the map,” said Franco, who grew up in Brooklyn. “There will never be another pitcher like him.”
Seaver was an All-Star in each of his first seven seasons. Aaron introduced himself to Seaver at the pitcher’s first All-Star Game in 1967.
“Kid, I know who you are, and before your career is over, I guarantee you everyone in this stadium will, too,” Aaron said.
For Seaver, that All-Star appearance made him feel like he belonged.
“I may have been paid before, but that’s when I really became a professional,” he said.
Perhaps Seaver’s most memorable performance on the mound came at Shea Stadium on July 9, 1969, when he retired his first 25 batters against the Chicago Cubs to get within two outs of a perfect game. Pinch-hitter Jimmy Qualls looped a single to left-centre in the ninth inning before Seaver retired Willie Smith on a foulout and Don Kessinger on a flyout.
“I had every hitter doing what I wanted,” Seaver recalled in 1992. “Afterward, my wife was in tears and I remember saying to her: `Hey, I pitched a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. What more could I ask for?”’
CALGARY – Rookie Samuel Honzek continued his scoring tear on Monday with a brilliant short-handed effort as the Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime.
The 19-year-old Slovak, who was the Flames’ first-round pick, 16th overall in 2023, sits alone atop the NHL’s pre-season scoring leaders with seven points (including two goals) in five games.
Brayden Pachal, Blake Coleman, and Nazem Kadri — with the game-winner on a slick setup from Andrei Kuzmenko — also scored for Calgary (5-0-1), which has yet to lose in regulation.
Eeli Tolvanen, Ville Ottavainen and Shane Wright replied for Seattle (1-3-1).
In his first full game after playing two periods in each of his first two starts, Dan Vladar — coming off off-season hip surgery — made 30 saves for the win.
At the other end, Joey Daccord made 23 stops for the Kraken.
Tied 2-2 after the first period, Seattle had multiple chances to take the lead early in the second when Calgary took four penalties in the first six minutes.
But not only did the Flames kill off the extended power play time for the visitors that included a pair of two-man advantages, Honzek ignited the home crowd with his highlight-reel goal at 6:33.
Sprung on a 1-on-1 by Yegor Sharangovich’s breakout pass, Honzek skated down the right wing through the neutral zone and into the Seattle end where he used his 6-foot-4 frame to power his way around defenceman Vince Dunn, then as he cut across the front of the net, he neatly eluded Daccord’s poke check before tucking the puck in while falling to the ice.
Honzek, who turns 20 on Nov. 12, played last season with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants where injuries limited him to just 33 games in which he had 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists).
After taking the lead, the penalty barrage in the second continued for the home side with Blake Coleman’s penalty with seven seconds left — Calgary’s sixth minor of the period — finally costing them with Wright scoring 39 seconds into the third to tie it 3-3.
Seattle opened the scoring 3:18 into the game when Rasmus Andersson’s turnover was grabbed by Chandler Stephenson, who promptly sent a backhand pass into the slot that was buried by Tolvanen.
After Calgary surged in front on goals less than four minutes apart by Pachal and Coleman, the visitors tied it with 15 seconds remaining in the period when Ottavainen’s long slapshot eluded Vladar.
BARRIE BATTLING
Picking up a pair of assists for the Flames with secondary helpers on both first period goals was defenceman Tyson Barrie, who is in Flames’ camp on a professional tryout. The 33-year-old has three assists in three games. Barrie has played 809 career NHL games and should he sign with Calgary, would join his fifth NHL organization. He played last season for Nashville.
UP NEXT
Kraken: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
Flames: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.
EDMONTON – It may have been a victory, but the Edmonton Oilers feel they are still very much a work in progress.
Leon Draisaitl scored the shootout winner on a slapshot as the Oilers won their second straight pre-season game, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Monday.
Corey Perry and Ben Gleason also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 3-3 in NHL exhibition action.
“We just wanted to get our battle level up a little bit,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who registered a pair of assists on the night. “I think everybody has another level that they can get to. Hopefully we will get there this week.
“We haven’t played much with our group. To get some rhythm and some camaraderie, all that stuff is important.”
A lot of the focus was on getting the first look of the new potentially powerhouse second line of Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.
“They are just getting used to each other right now,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “They had some good chances, probably not as many as you would expect in a game like tonight. But it was a good first step.”
Arshdeep Bains and Nate Smith replied for the Canucks (2-2-1), who have lost three in a row.
“It’s not about the win or loss, the group really did a great job,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, whose team dressed the less experienced lineup. “I’m really proud of the way they played. I just like the way that they stuck with it. That is a good hockey club over there, and I think we did a nice job.”
There was no scoring in a rather relaxed first period, with Edmonton putting eight shots on Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen and Vancouver responding with seven on Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner.
Vancouver broke the deadlock six minutes into the second period on the power play as Kiefer Sherwood made a nice pass from the side of the net out to Bains, who unleashed a bullet before Skinner could get across.
Edmonton almost responded a few minutes later as Perry was sent in alone, but he was unable to deke his way past Lankinen.
The Canucks led 16-15 on the shot clock through 40 minutes.
The Oilers tied the game four minutes into the third period as Perry swept out in front of the net and made a nice move and got the puck behind Lankinen this time.
Edmonton surged ahead on the power play midway through the third as McDavid sent it back to Gleason who sent a hard wrist shot into the net with Arvidsson providing a screen in front.
However, Vancouver answered back just 19 seconds later as Smith deftly redirected a Kirill Kudryavtsev shot through Skinner’s legs, eventually sending the game to extra time.
Vancouver had a wide-open net to shoot for late in overtime, but Draisaitl lifted Daniel Sprong’s stick at the last second.
NOTES
It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Oilers defeated the Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series in May … Edmonton released veteran forward Mike Hoffman from a PTO on Monday, and the Canucks did likewise with PTO invite Sammy Blais … The Oilers are down to 36 players (five injured) in camp and are hoping to trim to 27 players before the team’s final two pre-season games. Defenceman Darnell Nurse is expected to be back for one of the two final tilts, and backup goalie Calvin Pickard is expected to return to the ice in a few days after taking a hit to the head on Saturday against Seattle … Vancouver star forward J.T. Miller has skated all camp, but has yet to suit up for a game, while defenceman Quinn Hughes has played just one.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Host the Oilers on Friday.
Oilers: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have hired former All-Star catcher Buster Posey as president of baseball operations and fired Farhan Zaidi.
Team chairman Greg Johnson made the announcement Monday after the Giants finished 80-82 in manager Bob Melvin’s first season — with one more victory than in 2023. San Francisco hasn’t reached the playoffs since winning the NL West in 2021.
The 37-year-old Posey joined the club’s ownership group in September 2022, less than a year after his retirement in November 2021.
“As we look ahead, I’m excited to share that Buster Posey will now take on a greater role as the new president of baseball operations,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit. Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to do this job, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.”
Posey was a seven-time All-Star with a career .302 batting average. The 2012 NL MVP was selected fifth overall by San Francisco in the 2008 amateur draft out of Florida State.
His former manager, Bruce Bochy, now guiding the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers, is confident Posey will succeed.
“I’m excited for Buster. He has such a great feel for the game,” Bochy said via text message. “He did a great job leading on the field, so sure he will excel in this leadership role.”
Posey and wife Kristen moved their family back to the East Bay suburb of Lafayette last year after a stint living in their native Georgia immediately following his retirement. He called it a career after the Giants’ franchise-record 107-win season in 2021. Posey opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Zaidi was hired away from the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in November 2018.
“We appreciate Farhan’s commitment to the organization and his passion for making an impact in our community during his six years with the Giants,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, the results have not been what we had hoped, and while that responsibility is shared by all of us, we have decided that a change is necessary.”
Johnson, Posey and Melvin were set to address the media on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
It was unclear which candidates from underrepresented groups were considered by the Giants, as required by Major League Baseball.
“We are also fully committed to following the Selig Rule and ensuring diversity in our hiring for any of our open positions,” Johnson said.
