THE 1969 MIRACLE METS: THE IMPROBABLE STORY OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST UNDERDOG TEAM (91 page)

It was another one of those 1971-like
you-just-can’t-hit-this-man performances. Carrying the team on his
broad shoulders, he tired towards the end. McGraw, Koosman and Jon
Matlack, bless their hearts, picked it up and helped the Mets get
to the play-offs. Seaver’s exhaustion resulted in his actually
pitching a few games where he gave up a run or two. In the season
finale, he gave up . . . lock the doors . . .
four runs
in a
6-4 pennant clinching win at Wrigley Field.

Four whole runs. It was enough to blow up that
league-leading ERA all the way to 2.08. People actually were asking
what was wrong. 2.08. He also led the league in strikeouts and
complete games.

Then came the play-off opener at Cincinnati’s
Riverfront Stadium. People who were there that day, or watched on
the tube, still talk about this game. The Reds came in with all
their “bells and whistles,” the best team in baseball: Pete Rose,
Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, all carrying bats in one hand, plaques in
the other. An unstoppable offensive force for this generation,
playing at home, hitting on that fast artificial turf and the
longball-carrying Riverfront air. A pitcher’s nightmare.

There had been concern that Seaver was over-pitched
getting the Mets into the play-offs, but there was a stretch of
off-days between the last regular season game and the N.L.C.S.
Seaver was refreshed and ready to go. As soon as the game started,
it was obvious that he was at his absolute peak, totally
overpowering Cincinnati with unadulterated heat.

Seaver himself hit a double to drive in Harrelson,
putting New York ahead, 1-0 in the third. That was it. He piled up
strikeout after strikeout: Cesar Geronimo, Johnny Bench, Ken
Griffey, Pete Rose: K, K, K, K, K . . .

In the eighth, he struck out his play-off record
12
^th
hitter. Riverfront was a morgue. The sound of
players shouting, vendors hawking, the ball whizzing through the
air, smacking into the glove, was all that broke the silence. It
was literally just like what Reggie Jackson said: “Seriously. There
isn’t a person in world who hasn’t heard about Seaver. He’s so
good, blind people come out to hear him pitch.”

Seaver was putting on a clinic. Up stepped Pete
Rose. Seaver jammed him, but the great Rose managed to get out
front of it, lifting a fly over the right field fence to tie the
game, 1-1. Cincinnati fans could not believe what they had just
seen. They had a chance. Then Seaver struck out Joe Morgan for his
13
^th
K.

In the ninth, after retiring Tony Perez, Johnny
Bench stepped in. Seaver was tiring, his fast ball a millisecond
slower. Bench turned on one and slammed it over he left field fence
for a game winning home run, 2-1. It was one of the best losing
performances of all time.

“Tom Seaver is the greatest pitcher I have ever
seen,” said the man who beat him, Jack Billingham of the Reds.

If ever a play-off series was
over
, it was
this one. The powerhouse Reds arrogantly thought of themselves as
the best team in baseball, with little regard for the Mets or the
defending World Champion A’s. Either way, they were going to get
their revenge in the World Series against the A’s (who beat them in
1972) or the Orioles (who beat them in 1970). Then a really funny
thing happened. Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman picked Seaver up. To
everybody’s surprise, the series made it to a fifth and deciding
game, this time at Shea Stadium.

Even more surprising, the Mets gave Seaver
seven
runs
. The New York ace dominated Cincinnati in a 7-2 victory
and it was on to Oakland, who had beaten Jim Palmer and Baltimore.
The two teams split at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. On a
cool, breezy Tuesday evening, Seaver took the hill against Catfish
Hunter, one of his greatest contemporaries and a clutch pitcher of
the first order.

The Oakland scouts gathered the Athletics together
for a scouting report on Seaver. “They raved about Seaver,” said
Reggie Jackson, who at some point interrupted and laughingly
announced a
de facto
surrender, since the man obviously
could not be defeated.

It certainly looked that way. Seaver was
even
better
than he had been at Cincinnati, blowing the
green-and-gold-clad Athletics away; nine strikeouts through five
innings; five in a row (one short of a Series record) at one point;
and a 2-0 lead. In the sixth he struck out Jackson for his
10
^th
. The press started talking about Bob Gibson’s
record of 17 vs. Detroit in the 1978 Fall Classic. But Gene Tenace
touched him for a double, driving in Sal Bando, and the score was
2-1, Mets.

In the eighth, Bert Campaneris singled for Oakland,
then stole second. Joe Rudi’s single tied the game, 2-2. Seaver
closed the inning by striking out Tenace, his 12
^th
. In
the ninth, Berra pinch-hit for him. Oakland won it in the
12
^th
, 3-2.

In game six at Oakland, New York led three games to
two. On a hot, hazy Indian summer Saturday, Reggie “Mr. October”
Jackson, a victim of three strikeouts in New York, got hold of one
in the first, driving a double to score Bando and give the A’s a
1-0 lead. In the third, Jackson’s double scored another one. That
was it. Seaver settled down and dominated Oakland, but Catfish
Hunter out-dueled him to tie the Series. The next day, Kenny
Holtzman beat Jon Matlack and Oakland had the second of their three
straight titles.

In 1975, Seaver had another fabulous season,
leading the league with 22 wins and 243 strikeouts. His ERA was
2.38 and he won his third Cy Young award to tie Sandy Koufax for
the most. In 1976, the Mets’ lack of run support made even the 1971
and 1973 campaigns look like a feast. Seaver struck out a league
leading 235 batters, threw five shutouts, and compiled an ERA of
2.59. His record was only 14-11. Game after game, Seaver just
pitched in dominant fashion only to leave with the score 0-0, or
1-1, or God forbid he might be behind 2-1.

In 1977 he was 7-3 in June, but
in a deal that stunned the Big Apple
, t
he pitcher referred to as "The Franchise" was traded by the
Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn and Steve
Henderson. It stemmed from what had become a bitter and divisive
relationship with Mets Chairman M. Donald Grant, and was
exacerbated by a caustic article written by Dick Young.

The Reds were two-time defending World
Champions, an even better club than the one Seaver had beaten in
the 1973 Championship Series. They scored runs in bunches, and it
was universally predicted that with this kind of support – finally
– Seaver would attain his long-stated goal of 30 wins. When he shut
out Montreal in dominant manner in his first game, catcher Johnny
Bench could not praise him enough. The Hall of Fame catcher had
never caught a pitcher who remotely approached Seaver’s ability.
Then another funny thing happened. The Reds could not score for
Seaver. It was not nearly as bad as it had been in New York, but
Joe Morgan flatly stated that the team let down when he pitched;
convinced that they could almost take the day off and rely on their
new ace.

So it was that in 1977 Tom
Seaver was 21-6 with a 2.58 earned run average and seven shutouts,
yet it was
considered a
disappointment!
Had Cincinnati supported
him, he may have won 30. The great Reds somehow slumped that year
and Los Angeles won the West Division. In 1978 and 1979, the lack
of support continued. Seaver easily should have won 20 in each of
those seasons, but the club let him down.
On June 16, 1978
Seaver threw a no-hit game for Cincinnati, 4-0 over St. Louis.
In 1979, his 16-6 mark led the Reds to the West
Division title. In the play-off opener at Riverfront Stadium,
Seaver pitched his usual dominant game, but left with the score
tied, 2-2. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the
11
^th
to win, 5-2 on the
way to a series sweep and then the World Championship.

Cincinnati reliever Tom Hume took to
pitching just like Seaver. It was the way of all his mound
teammates over the years, each of whom idolized and emulated him,
almost sitting at his feet in search of his wisdom. It was just
this short of pagan worship.

In the strike-interrupted 1981 campaign,
Seaver was as powerful as he had ever been. He was 14-2, leading
the league in wins and winning percentage (.875) with a 2.55 earned
run average. He could not be hit. Somehow, Fernando Valenzuela of
Los Angeles captured the Cy Young award over Seaver. It was the
second time he had been robbed. Had he won as he deserved in both
1971 and 1981, Seaver would have had five, not to mention the MVP
award he should have received in 1969.

Seaver made a return to
New York in 1983 for one year before going to the Chicago White Sox
in 1984.
In 1985 he won his 300
^th
career game,
beating the Yankees before a “hometown” crowd at Yankee Stadium. He
had two solid seasons in Chicago: 15-11 (1984) and 16-11
(1985).

Seaver won 311 games against only 205 losses
in a career that spanned 1967 to 1986. Those extra six losses, all
of which came in his last year (1986), when he was 7-13 hanging on
with the Chicago White Sox and American League champion Boston Red
Sox, unfortunately prevented him from becoming the first-ever
pitcher to win 300 and lose fewer than 200 games. In Boston, he was
a teammate of Roger Clemens on a team, ironically, that lost to the
Mets in a star-crossed World Series. As it was, his final career
winning percentage was an incredible .603 and his ERA was an insane
2.86 for 4,783 innings.

Seaver established a Major League record by
striking out 200 or more batters in nine straight seasons
(1968-76). He finished with 3,640 career strikeouts. At one point
he was second all-time behind Walter Johnson. Steve Carlton and
Nolan Ryan passed him during his career. Later Randy Johnson,
another USC Trojan, passed Seaver. Tom finished tied with Nolan
Ryan for seventh in career shutouts (61).

In addition to his three National League Cy
Young awards Seaver was named to 12 All-Star teams. In 1992 he was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 425 out of a
possible 430 votes. That 98.84 percentage in his first year of
eligibility was and remains the highest percentage in Hall of Fame
history, a truly remarkable and telling indication of how Seaver
stands out not simply as an all-time great, but among the true
Rushmore-level icons of baseball history.

At the time of Seaver’s retirement, which
occurred during Spring Training with Boston in 1987, he was
probably the greatest pitcher of the post-World War II era. The
only pitcher who might have been better was Cleveland’s Bob Feller,
whose lifetime victory totals (266) were reduced by World War II.
His ERA of 3.25 was significantly higher and his strikeout record
of 2,581 significantly lower. Warren Spahn had more 20-win seasons
and lifetime wins, but he had been backed by great Milwaukee
offensives, led by Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. His ERA of 3.08
was higher and his 2,583 strikeouts were not comparable.

Sandy Koufax may have been the most dominant
during a relatively short period – 1962-66 – but his lifetime
records are not in the same league with Seaver. Many people
associate Bob Gibson as the dominant pitcher of their respective
eras. Gibby was better in October, but all his career records fall
well short of Seaver: 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, 56 shutouts and a
2.91 ERA. He captured two Cy Young awards and was not the Rookie of
the Year. He did pitch on two World Championship clubs.

Jim Palmer’s lifetime ERA of 2.86 was
identically incredible. His 268 career wins fell far short, as did
his 2,212 strikeouts and 53 shutouts. Juan Marichal never won the
Cy Young award, finished with 243 wins, 52 shutouts, 2,303
strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA (all bettered by Seaver). He never won
the Cy Young or Rookie of the Year awards, as Seaver did.

Gaylord Perry won 314 games with a 3.10 ERA,
3,534 strikeouts, and 53 shutouts. His .542 winning percentage was
significantly below that of Seaver’s. He did win two Cy Young
awards, no Rookie of the Year award, but never pitched in a World
Series and only one Championship Series.

Many people who do not really know baseball
were duped into believing that Nolan Ryan, who may have been the
hardest-throwing
pitcher of all time, was therefore the
best
ever. Ryan finished with 324 wins, but his .526
percentage came with 292 defeats. His ERA was 3.19. Ryan’s 61
shutouts tied Seaver’s mark, and of course he set every possible
no-hit and strikeout record, finishing with an unreal 5,714. Ryan
never led a team to the World Series; his one appearance was 2 1/3
innings in the 1969 Fall Classic. He won neither a Cy Young nor a
Rookie of the Year award.

Catfish Hunter was considered the greater
October pitcher, twice besting Seaver in head-to-head matches in
the 1973 Series. He finished with 224 wins and a 3.26 ERA, won the
1974 Cy Young award, and was a key figure on five World Champions.
He was not a strikeout artist; a great hurler, but a notch below
Seaver on the all-time pantheon.

Bert Blyleven, Don Sutton and Phil Niekro
were all wonderful contemporaries of Seaver, but nobody mentions
them in the same breath with Tom. Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and
Lee Smith were great relievers, but not considered Seaver’s
equal.

The single pitcher who may
possibly
have been as great as Tom Seaver at the same time was Steve “Lefty”
Carlton, whose records with St. Louis and Philadelphia are a plain
marvel. Coming up under Bob Gibson’s shadow, his body of work well
surpassed Gibby. It was Carlton who set the all-time record with 19
strikeouts in a single-game
loss
to the Mets in 1969,
subsequently tied by Seaver in a 1970 win over San Diego (those
records were tied by Nolan Ryan, broken by Roger Clemens).