On This Date in Sports August 5, 2007
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Tom Glavine of the New York Mets becomes the 23rd pitch to win 300 games. Win 300 comes in a Sunday Night Game at Wrigley Field, with the Mets delivering an 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Glavine who spent most of his career with the Atlanta Braves would finish his career with a record of 305-203. He won the Cy Young twice and was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2014.
Tom Glavine was born on March 25, 1966, in Concord, Massachusetts. A two-sport star in high school, Glavine was drafted by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round with the 69th overall pick in 1984. He was taken earlier than Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, two future Hall of Famers. Tom Glavine, chose baseball instead as he was taken in the second round by the Atlanta Braves. Glavine made his debut with Atlanta on August 17, 1987. Though a highly touted prospect for the Braves, there were growing pains in the early years for Tom Glavine, as he had a league high 17 losses in 1988. Over the first four years of his career, he posted a record of 33-43. When the Braves had their remarkable turnaround in 1991, going for worst to first Tom Glavine was the driving force. Winning his first Cy Young, Glavine posted a record of 20-11, with a 2.55 ERA. It would be the first of three straight seasons, that Tom Glavine won 20 games. In 16 seasons, with the Braves Glavine posted a record of 242-143, with the 1995 World Series MVP thrown in.
Following the 2002 season, Tom Glavine left the Braves and signed with the rival New York Mets to a four-year contract worth $42.5 million. His Mets debut was less than stellar, as he allowed five runs in three and two third innings as the Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs 15-2 on Opening Day at Shea Stadium. In his first season with the Mets, Glavine would post a record of 9-14, with an ERA of 4.52. Though he did get a chance to play with brother Mike Glavine as minor league journeyman who was a September call up, playing in his only six major league games. Glavine continued to struggle with the Mets in 2004, with a record of 11-14, but showed signs of improvement in 2005 when he was 13-13. His best season in New York was in 2006, as the Mets ended the Braves 11-year reign as Eastern Division Champions, as he posted a record of 15-7. Needing ten wins for 300, Glavine now 41 signed a one-year extension with the Mets for the 2007 season.
Tom Glavine’s 300th win came in a Nationally Televised Game on ESPN. A Sunday Night Game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Glavine helped his own cause in the second inning, with a RBI single off former Braves teammate Jason Marquis that scored Lastings Milledge. The Mets added two runs in the fifth inning on doubles by Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green, and two more in the sixth inning on RBIs from Jose Reyes and Delgado. The Cubs scored off a tiring Glavine in the sixth inning with a RBI double from Aramis Ramirez. Glavine departed the game with one out in the seventh, after a double by Angel Pagan. The Cubs would score two runs in the seventh inning to cut the Mets lead to 5-3, as three relievers Guillermo Mota, Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Heilman were needed to finish the inning. Tom Glavine’s final line was 7.1 innings pitched, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, one walk, and one strike out. The Mets would add two more runs in the eighth with a double by RBI Carlos Delgado, who would score on a single by Paul LoDuca. Delgado would add a fourth RBI in the ninth with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-3 in favor of the Mets. On the mound, Jorge Sosa retired the Cubs in the eighth, while Billy Wagner closed the game in the ninth.
Tom Glavine won three more games with the Mets in 2007, posting a record of 13-8. However, much like his New York debut, his final start was the stuff of nightmares. With the Mets in a historic collapse, Glavine got the start on the final day of the regular season as the Mets were dead even with the Philadelphia Phillies in first place. Retiring just one batter, Glavine allowed seven earned runs as the Mets season ended with an 8-1 loss to the Florida Marlins. In five seasons with the Mets, Tom Glavine posted a 61-56.
Glavine would return to the Atlanta Braves in 2008, though injuries limited him to just 13 starts as he posted a record of 2-4. He attempted to pitch in 2009 but never made it back as he was released after completing a minor league rehab in June. Following the season Glavine officially announced his retirement. In 2014 Tom Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 91.1% of the vote after a career record of 305-203.