Tom Seaver was born on Friday, November 17, 1944, in Fresno, California. Seaver was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 13, 1967, with the New York Mets. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Tom Seaver baseball stats page.
"I would like to be a great artist. I would quit pitching if I could paint like Monet or Rousseau. But I can't. What I can do is pitch, and I can do that very well." - Tom Seaver (The Internet Movie Database, Tom Seaver Biography, Source) [Tom Seaver Quotes]
Tom SeaverTom 'The Franchise' Seaver Autograph on a 1982 Donruss Diamond Kings (#16) |
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Tom SeaverTom Seaver Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1967 | 23 | Mets | 35 | 34 | 1 | 16 | 13 | .552 | 2.76 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 251.0 | 1,029 | 224 | 77 | 85 | 19 | 78 | 6 | 170 | 5 | 5 | 0 | - |
1968 | 24 | Mets | 36 | 35 | 1 | 16 | 12 | .571 | 2.20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 277.2 | 1,088 | 224 | 68 | 73 | 15 | 48 | 5 | 205 | 8 | 8 | 1 | - |
1969 | 25 | Mets | 36 | 35 | 1 | 25 | 7 | .781 | 2.21 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 273.1 | 1,089 | 202 | 67 | 75 | 24 | 82 | 9 | 208 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - |
1970 | 26 | Mets | 37 | 36 | 1 | 18 | 12 | .600 | 2.82 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 290.2 | 1,173 | 230 | 91 | 103 | 21 | 83 | 8 | 283 | 6 | 4 | 0 | - |
1971 | 27 | Mets | 36 | 35 | 1 | 20 | 10 | .667 | 1.76 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 286.1 | 1,103 | 210 | 56 | 61 | 18 | 61 | 2 | 289 | 5 | 4 | 1 | - |
1972 | 28 | Mets | 35 | 35 | 0 | 21 | 12 | .636 | 2.92 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 262.0 | 1,060 | 215 | 85 | 92 | 23 | 77 | 2 | 249 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
1973 | 29 | Mets | 36 | 36 | 0 | 19 | 10 | .655 | 2.08 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 290.0 | 1,147 | 219 | 67 | 74 | 23 | 64 | 5 | 251 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
1974 | 30 | Mets | 32 | 32 | 0 | 11 | 11 | .500 | 3.20 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 236.0 | 956 | 199 | 84 | 89 | 19 | 75 | 10 | 201 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
1975 | 31 | Mets | 36 | 36 | 0 | 22 | 9 | .710 | 2.38 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 280.1 | 1,115 | 217 | 74 | 81 | 11 | 88 | 6 | 243 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
1976 | 32 | Mets | 35 | 34 | 0 | 14 | 11 | .560 | 2.59 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 271.0 | 1,079 | 211 | 78 | 83 | 14 | 77 | 9 | 235 | 12 | 4 | 0 | - |
1977 | 33 | Mets | 13 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 3.00 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 96.0 | 390 | 79 | 32 | 33 | 7 | 28 | 3 | 72 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
1977 | 33 | Reds | 20 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 3 | .824 | 2.34 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 165.1 | 641 | 120 | 43 | 45 | 12 | 38 | 3 | 124 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1978 | 34 | Reds | 36 | 36 | 0 | 16 | 14 | .533 | 2.88 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 259.2 | 1,075 | 218 | 83 | 97 | 26 | 89 | 11 | 226 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
1979 | 35 | Reds | 32 | 32 | 0 | 16 | 6 | .727 | 3.14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 215.0 | 868 | 187 | 75 | 85 | 16 | 61 | 6 | 131 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1980 | 36 | Reds | 26 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 3.64 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 168.0 | 692 | 140 | 68 | 74 | 24 | 59 | 3 | 101 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
1981 | 37 | Reds | 23 | 23 | 0 | 14 | 2 | .875 | 2.54 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 166.1 | 671 | 120 | 47 | 51 | 10 | 66 | 8 | 87 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
1982 | 38 | Reds | 21 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 5.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111.1 | 501 | 136 | 68 | 75 | 14 | 44 | 4 | 62 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
1983 | 39 | Mets | 34 | 34 | 0 | 9 | 14 | .391 | 3.55 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 231.0 | 962 | 201 | 91 | 104 | 18 | 86 | 5 | 135 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
1984 | 40 | White Sox | 34 | 33 | 1 | 15 | 11 | .577 | 3.95 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 236.2 | 978 | 216 | 104 | 108 | 27 | 61 | 3 | 131 | 5 | 2 | 0 | - |
1985 | 41 | White Sox | 35 | 33 | 0 | 16 | 11 | .593 | 3.17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 238.2 | 993 | 223 | 84 | 103 | 22 | 69 | 6 | 134 | 10 | 8 | 0 | - |
1986 | 42 | White Sox | 12 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4.38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72.0 | 309 | 66 | 35 | 37 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
1986 | 42 | Red Sox | 16 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .417 | 3.80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 104.1 | 450 | 114 | 44 | 46 | 8 | 29 | 1 | 72 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
20 Years | 656 | 647 | 6 | 311 | 205 | .603 | 2.86 | 231 | 61 | 1 | 4,782.2 | 19,369 | 3,971 | 1,521 | 1,674 | 380 | 1,390 | 116 | 3,640 | 126 | 76 | 8 | 0 |
Tom SeaverTom Seaver Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1967 | 23 | Mets | 36 | 77 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .143 | .230 | .169 |
1968 | 24 | Mets | 38 | 95 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .158 | .184 | .179 |
1969 | 25 | Mets | 39 | 91 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .121 | .200 | .154 |
1970 | 26 | Mets | 42 | 95 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .179 | .257 | .242 |
1971 | 27 | Mets | 39 | 92 | 8 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .196 | .245 | .261 |
1972 | 28 | Mets | 36 | 89 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .146 | .191 | .303 |
1973 | 29 | Mets | 39 | 93 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .161 | .220 | .237 |
1974 | 30 | Mets | 32 | 71 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .099 | .200 | .099 |
1975 | 31 | Mets | 37 | 95 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .179 | .250 | .189 |
1976 | 32 | Mets | 35 | 82 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .085 | .176 | .085 |
1977 | 33 | Mets | 13 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .161 | .206 | .161 |
1977 | 33 | Reds | 20 | 55 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .218 | .246 | .400 |
1978 | 34 | Reds | 36 | 74 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .122 | .207 | .135 |
1979 | 35 | Reds | 33 | 76 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .158 | .169 | .276 |
1980 | 36 | Reds | 26 | 46 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .130 | .245 | .196 |
1981 | 37 | Reds | 23 | 55 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .297 | .273 |
1982 | 38 | Reds | 22 | 34 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .176 | .222 | .235 |
1983 | 39 | Mets | 34 | 64 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .156 | .225 | .219 |
1984 | 40 | White Sox | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1985 | 41 | White Sox | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1986 | 42 | White Sox | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1986 | 42 | Red Sox | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
20 Years | 677 | 1,315 | 99 | 202 | 28 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 86 | 108 | 0 | 485 | 121 | 4 | 4 | 22 | .154 | .219 | .210 |
Tom SeaverTom Seaver Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1967 Mets | P | 35 | 34 | 753 | 56 | 1.6 | 55 | 17 | 38 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 1.97 |
1968 Mets | P | 36 | 35 | 833 | 70 | 1.9 | 69 | 21 | 48 | 1 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 2.24 |
1969 Mets | P | 36 | 35 | 820 | 68 | 1.9 | 66 | 18 | 48 | 2 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 2.17 |
1970 Mets | P | 37 | 36 | 872 | 68 | 1.8 | 65 | 19 | 46 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .956 | 2.01 |
1971 Mets | P | 36 | 35 | 859 | 56 | 1.6 | 55 | 17 | 38 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 1.73 |
1972 Mets | P | 35 | 35 | 786 | 60 | 1.7 | 57 | 17 | 40 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 1.96 |
1973 Mets | P | 36 | 36 | 870 | 66 | 1.8 | 61 | 26 | 35 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .924 | 1.89 |
1974 Mets | P | 32 | 32 | 708 | 52 | 1.6 | 51 | 9 | 42 | 1 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 1.94 |
1975 Mets | P | 36 | 36 | 841 | 68 | 1.9 | 64 | 21 | 43 | 4 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .941 | 2.05 |
1976 Mets | P | 35 | 34 | 813 | 54 | 1.5 | 53 | 12 | 41 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 1.76 |
1977 Mets | P | 13 | 13 | 288 | 24 | 1.8 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 2.16 |
1977 Reds | P | 20 | 20 | 496 | 23 | 1.2 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.25 |
1978 Reds | P | 36 | 36 | 779 | 49 | 1.4 | 43 | 15 | 28 | 6 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .878 | 1.49 |
1979 Reds | P | 32 | 32 | 645 | 50 | 1.6 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 2.01 |
1980 Reds | P | 26 | 26 | 504 | 42 | 1.6 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.25 |
1981 Reds | P | 23 | 23 | 499 | 31 | 1.3 | 30 | 8 | 22 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 1.62 |
1982 Reds | P | 21 | 21 | 334 | 20 | 1.0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .900 | 1.46 |
1983 Mets | P | 34 | 34 | 693 | 54 | 1.6 | 50 | 22 | 28 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .926 | 1.95 |
1984 White Sox | P | 34 | 33 | 710 | 51 | 1.5 | 51 | 11 | 40 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.94 |
1985 White Sox | P | 35 | 33 | 716 | 65 | 1.9 | 63 | 20 | 43 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .969 | 2.38 |
1986 White Sox | P | 12 | 12 | 216 | 11 | 0.9 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.38 |
1986 Red Sox | P | 16 | 16 | 313 | 24 | 1.5 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.90 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 656 | 647 | 14,348 | 1,062 | 1.6 | 1,020 | 328 | 692 | 42 | 54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 1.92 | |
20 Years | 656 | 647 | 14,348 | 1,062 | 1.6 | 1,020 | 328 | 692 | 42 | 54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 1.92 |
Tom SeaverTom Seaver Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1967 Mets | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.2 | 15.4 | 2.18 | 6.10 | 2.80 |
1968 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.2 | 31.7 | 4.27 | 6.64 | 1.56 |
1969 Mets | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.7 | 15.2 | 2.54 | 6.85 | 2.70 |
1970 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 4 | n/a | 95.0 | 3.1 | 9.5 | 3.41 | 8.76 | 2.57 |
1971 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 2 | n/a | 92.0 | 3.0 | 13.1 | 4.74 | 9.08 | 1.92 |
1972 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 29.7 | 2.2 | 22.3 | 3.23 | 8.55 | 2.65 |
1973 Mets | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 93.0 | 2.7 | 18.6 | 3.92 | 7.79 | 1.99 |
1974 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 17.8 | 2.68 | 7.67 | 2.86 |
1975 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 2.76 | 7.80 | 2.83 |
1976 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.2 | 27.3 | 3.05 | 7.80 | 2.56 |
1977 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 7.8 | 2.57 | 6.75 | 2.63 |
1977 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 18.3 | 2.6 | 11.0 | 3.26 | 6.75 | 2.07 |
1978 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.4 | 18.5 | 2.54 | 7.83 | 3.08 |
1979 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 38.0 | 2.6 | 9.5 | 2.15 | 5.48 | 2.55 |
1980 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.7 | 15.3 | 1.71 | 5.41 | 3.16 |
1981 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 55.0 | 3.4 | 9.2 | 1.32 | 4.71 | 3.57 |
1982 Reds | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 1.41 | 5.01 | 3.56 |
1983 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 16.0 | 1.57 | 5.26 | 3.35 |
1984 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.15 | 4.98 | 2.32 |
1985 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.94 | 5.05 | 2.60 |
1986 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.15 | 3.88 | 3.38 |
1986 Red Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.48 | 6.21 | 2.50 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
20 Years | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 109.6 | 2.7 | 15.3 | 2.62 | 6.85 | 2.62 |
George Thomas Seaver was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the New York Mets (1967-1977, 1983), Cincinnati Reds (1977-1982), Chicago White Sox (1984-1986), and Boston Red Sox (1986). Did you know that Seaver was once the youngest (27) Major League player to reach the $100,000 salary plateau when he signed a $120,000 contract in 1972? Join Baseball Almanac as we take a closer look at The Franchise, the twirler that Bert Blyleven, Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer, and Nolan Ryan, all said was the best pitcher of their generation:
2 - Tom Seaver is one of only two pitchers in Major League history who is a member of the 300 Wins Club, the 3,000 Strikeouts Club and a career ERA less than 3.00 — the other pitcher, Hall of Famer Walter Johnson.
5 - Tom Seaver pitched twenty-seven 3-hitters, ten 2-hitters, five 1-hitters and a no-hitter. All five of his one-hitters were in a New York Mets uniform, a team that didn't have a franchise no-no until Johan Santana tossed his gem on June 1, 2012. The Mets one-hitters were on July 9, 1969 (broken up by Jim Qualls), May 15, 1970 (broken up by Mike Compton), September 26, 1971 (broken up by Vic Davalillo), July 4, 1972 (broken up by Leron Lee), and April 17, 1977 (broken up by Steve Ontiveros).
8 - Tom Seaver struck out eight hitters when he made his Major League debut on April 13, 1967, a New York Mets team record for a debut. Bill Denehy matched that total three days later, on April 16, 1967, and each pitcher held the record until July 26, 2012, when Matt Harvey made his debut and struck out 11 batters in his first game.
10 - Tom Seaver struck out ten consecutive batters on April 22, 1970, the Major League record for consecutive strikeouts in a game. After his career ended, Seaver shared his opinion of the Top Ten Baseball Events and Top Ten Pitchers ever - two legendary lists we preserved when we started Baseball Almanac in 1999.
41 - Tom Seaver had his #41 retired by the New York Mets on June 24, 1988, and he is the only player from the team to receive that honor. The Mets have retired #14, for manager Gil Hodges, #37, for manager Casey Stengel, and #42, for Jackie Robinson (who had his number retired by every Major League team).
98.84 - Tom Seaver was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on January 7, 1992, receiving the highest-ever percentage of votes with 98.84%, since broken by Ken Griffey, Jr. in 2016 (99.30%), then by Mariano Rivera in 2019 (100%). Seaver's name appeared on 425 of the 430 ballots, higher than any player in Hall of Fame History (Baseball Hall of Fame BBWAA Voting Percentages) up to that point. Three of the five ballots that had omitted Seaver were actually blank, cast by baseball writers who were protesting the Hall of Fame's decision to make Pete Rose ineligible for consideration. The fourth ballot was sent by a writer who was recovering from surgery and said he did not notice Seaver's name. The fifth and final, was actually a "no" vote, the writer later said he would not vote for any player in their first year of eligibility.
200 - Tom Seaver struck out 200+ batters in a season nine times with Mets, once with the Reds, and finished with ten - the National League record for most seasons with 200+ strikeouts in a career.
311 - Tom Seaver finished his career with 311 wins, number eighteen on the Top 1,000 All-Time Wins Leaders chart. He joined the 300 Wins Club on August 4, 1985, a 4-1 complete game, six-hitter, seven strikeout performance versus the New York Yankees (in front of 54,032 fans, many of them cheering for him in the final innings).
3,640 - Tom Seaver finished his career with 3,640 strikeouts, number six on the Top 1,000 All-Time Strikeout Leaders chart. He joined the 3,000 Strikeouts Club on April 18, 1981, courtesy of future Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez.
Tom Seaver Pitching Motion | Photo by The New York Post | Photoshop by Baseball Almanac
Tom Seaver was the first New York Mets pitcher to win a Cy Young Award (1969). The first to win it twice (1973) and three times as well (1975). He was also their first Rookie of the Year (1967), their first ERA Champion (1970, 1971 & 1973), their first Strikeout Champion (1970, 1971, 1973, 1975 & 1976) and when Mets faced off against the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series, Seaver started Game 1 - the first World Series game for the New York Mets. The Mets traded Seaver in what was referred to as "the Midnight Massacre" to the Reds on June 15, 1977, for pitcher Pat Zachry, minor league outfielder Steve Henderson, infielder Doug Flynn, and minor league outfielder Dan Norman. The following year, on June 16, 1978, Seaver threw a no-hitter:
Tom Seaver No-Hitter Ticket Stub | June 16, 1978 | Baseball Almanac Collection
Tom Seaver No-Hitter (Box Score: June 16, 1978)
Three times before in his career, Tom Seaver had gone into the ninth inning with a no-hitter, only to have to settle for a one-hitter. But it was different on Friday, June 16 when the hurler known as "Tom Terrific" faced the St. Louis Cardinals at Riverfront Stadium.
The Cards were in sixth place in the NL East and had John Denny on the mound. Seaver, in his first full season with the Cincinnati Reds, who were second in the NL West, had a 7-4 record and had won six games in a row as he took the hill before a crowd of 38,216.
The 33-year-old hurler had waited years for a no-hitter. This was to be his night. The five-time 20-game winner was in complete command all the way as he shut down the weak-hitting Cardinals without a hit.
Seaver, who had once struck out 19 batters in a game, fanned only three and walked three. Mixing a fastball and sinker, he induced the Cards to hit into 15 outs on the ground.
Seaver started with three ground outs in the first, getting Lou Brock on a bouncer to first, Garry Templeton on a roller to short, and George Hendrick on a skimmer to second.
A fourth straight ground out by Ted Simmons to short began the second. But then Seaver got into trouble. He walked Keith Hernandez, who stole second as Jerry Morales struck out, and went to third as catcher Don Werner's throw flew into center field. Another pass was issued to Ken Reitz, but Seaver escaped the game by getting Mike Phillips on a grounder to second.
Seaver retired 19 batters in a row, experiencing little difficulty the rest of the way. Several fine defensive plays came to his aid.
In the fourth, Joe Morgan ranged into the hole between first and second to flag down Hernandez' hard grounder. Hernandez drilled a line drive off Seaver's glove in the seventh. The ball caromed toward short where Dave Concepcion raced in, made a swift pickup and threw the batter out at first.
Ray Knight replaced Pete Rose at third base as the Reds made a defensive adjustment to start the eighth. Manager Sparky Anderson's move was timely as Morales hit a chopper down the line leading off the inning. Knight gloved the ball, and his throw to first just beat Morales. Reitz then grounded out to Knight and Phillips flew out to left.
Seaver began the ninth by walking pinch-hitter Jerry Mumphrey to end his string of consecutive outs. But he got Brock on a fly to George Foster in left. Templeton hit into a force-out at second on a slow bouncer to Concepcion. Hendrick ended the affair with a routine grounder to Dan Driessen at first.
The Reds had broken the game open in the fifth, getting three runs on singles by Cesar Geronimo and Werner, a two-run double by Rose, and an RBI double by Morgan. Driessen homered to right in the sixth for Cincinnati's final run.
Seaver went on to post a 16-14 record for the season. Overall he won in double figures 17 times.
Tom Seaver | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1992 (HOF)
On April 5, 1983, Tom Seaver tied Walter Johnson's Major League record of 14 Opening Day starting assignments, shutting out the Philadelphia Phillies for six innings in a 2-0 Mets win. Tom Seaver made two additional Opening Day starts with the Chicago White Sox in 1985 and 1986 for a Major League record 16 Opening Day starting assignments. His National League mark of 14 still stands to this day and has only been tied, by Steve Carlton. The Walter Johnson mark of 14 still stands to this day as well and has also only been tied, by Jack Morris.