I believe those teenagers were a young Bill Simmons and his friend Gus. Great Grantland story of a 42 year old Seaver in 1987 - Do I Have Anything Left?I seem to recall reading a great story about him -- I can't recall if it was on here or elsewhere -- about him playing catch with a teenager at someone's house in the suburbs. Seemed like a great guy. And truly a great pitcher.
Edit: fuck dick young and m. donald grant.
So I think I posted this story once on SoSH, but as a kid I attended Willie Mays' Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown back in 1979. Before the ceremony I jockeyed for position in the front of the standing area right behind the roped off seating area for invited guests. There were several Met fans standing around me. So when the ceremony started, Dick Young as BBWAA president went up to the podium to introduce Willie. Being an impudent wise ass, I started yelling "BRING BACK TOM SEAVER!!! TRADE DICK YOUNG TO CINCINNATI!" several times at the top of my lungs. This prompted the Met fans to start chanting "Bring back Sea-vuh!!!" Willie was sitting on one side of the dais and started laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. On the other side, Bowie Kuhn was turning beet red; in hindsight I'm surprised he didn't have me tossed. Went the chant finally died down, Dick Young started his intro with "Ladies, gentlemen, and Tom Seaver fans..."Dick Young should burn in hell
Mine too. Stopped rooting for the Mets when he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a Reds uniform. Got to see his first start at Fenway after the Sox picked him up in 1986.Ugh. My first baseball hero.
Carlton was an altogether strange person, and even his chief apologist McCarver had some difficulty defending him. This article suggests that some crazy comments made after retirement were reflective of his overall personality, and not a one-off. In today's "paranoid personality disorder is the new normal" world, he'd fit right in.RIP Tom. He and Steve Carlton were the "elder statesmen" of pitchers when I was just getting old enough to follow baseball. From interviews and historical baseball shows, never mind his short stint on the Red Sox, I always perceived Seaver to be a mensch and Carlton to be a real dick. But not sure if that was rooted in reality.
Man, BS really was good in his prime. I miss that.I believe those teenagers were a young Bill Simmons and his friend Gus. Great Grantland story of a 42 year old Seaver in 1987 - Do I Have Anything Left?
Well said, thanks for that.My recollection with Seaver is that he could be difficult with the press. He was bright and polished and he didn't suffer their foolishness well, which some branded as arrogance (see above comments on Dick Young). He "presented" so well mostly, that it kind of didn't affect his reputation. The city of New York adored him - Jeter is the other player who received similar sainthood in NY - but Seaver was more authentic and less of an act, and I want to say that was a thing that was appreciated about him. He was also really, really good.
Yes they wrote a book on the '69 season and went to visit him.Two of his '69 teammates shamsky and harrelson (also suffering from dementia) took a trip to CA to see him, much like the pesky/dimaggio trip to see Ted.
It's documented somewhere.
And Fergie Jenkins!He was Tom Terrific b4 Brady was!
So cool we got to see Seaver and Marichal in Sox uniforms before they retired
Never knew about that 1983 draft. And I guess the Wilpons have sucked for longer than I realized.I think most everyone knows how Dick Young basically ran Seaver out of town when he left the Mets the first time, but his second departure was truly bizarre. After he pitched well in 1983 (despite a 9-15 record) the Mets left him unprotected in the free agent compensation pool, and the White Sox got to draft him because they lost Dennis Lamp to the Blue Jays -- how convoluted was baseball's system at that time?
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/21/sports/white-sox-take-seaver-mets-are-stunned.html
The Mets were so close in 1984 and 1985 while Seaver was pitching well with the White Sox. If they had still had him, they might have won their division one of both of those years. Heck, maybe they would have won in 1985, partied themselves out that offseason, and not been there to face the Sox in 1986.
I was also at Seaver's 300th win in Yankee Stadium. I was also there for what should have been his last victory, but Steamer blew the save and vultured the win as La Schelle Tarver scored the winning run.
Carried over from P&GI remember going to his first game as a Red Sox. He was still quite good that year until his knee gave out. Would've been interesting if he had made the postseason squad. The Roger Angell pieces written about him in his books capture what he meant to the Mets. He's their Williams, their Ruth, their Jordan or Brady to carry the analogy across sports lines. An icon - RIP.
The Wilpons did not own the tean in 1983. They are awful owners and committed many baseball crimes but letting Seaver go in 83 wasn't one of them. Doubleday Inc owned the team. The Mets GM Frank Cashen at the time of 83 draft did not believe there was a chance in hell a team would take Seaver if left unprotected. However, Jerry Reinsdorf the ex New Yorker took a chance on Seaver for the White SoxNever knew about that 1983 draft. And I guess the Wilpons have sucked for longer than I realized.
Yes, Carlton was a paranoid, right-wing lunatic before it became fashionable. Even his family eventually got sick of him and the last anyone heard of him he was planning to ride out the inevitable apocalypse in his underground home in Durango, Colorado. (And no, I'm not making that up.)Carlton was an altogether strange person, and even his chief apologist McCarver had some difficulty defending him. This article suggests that some crazy comments made after retirement were reflective of his overall personality, and not a one-off. In today's "paranoid personality disorder is the new normal" world, he'd fit right in.
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/14/sports/on-baseball-was-silence-better-for-steve-carlton.html
Seaver was one of those athletes who played for a rival and yet you couldn't help rooting for. And from all the evidence I've seen, he was authentic.My recollection with Seaver is that he could be difficult with the press. He was bright and polished and he didn't suffer their foolishness well, which some branded as arrogance (see above comments on Dick Young). He "presented" so well mostly, that it kind of didn't affect his reputation. The city of New York adored him - Jeter is the other player who received similar sainthood in NY - but Seaver was more authentic and less of an act, and I want to say that was a thing that was appreciated about him. He was also really, really good.
Fred Wilpon was the president of the Mets at the time. He is mentioned in the article as being devastated by the loss of Seaver, but the blame is probably more on GM Frank Cashen.The Wilpons did not own the tean in 1983. They are awful owners and committed many baseball crimes but letting Seaver go in