Tom Glavine (2014)


Date of Birth: 3/25/1966
Birthplace: Concord, Massachusetts

Tom Glavine played both baseball and ice hockey in high school and he excelled in both sports.

Atlanta Braves

Glavine, who played for most of his career with the Braves, signed with them in 1984. He played in the Braves' minor league system from 1984 through most of 1987, joining the team for nine games in 1987.

In 1988, his first full season in the major leagues, Glavine pitched 195.1 innings in 34 games and he finished the season with a 7-17 record and a 4.56 ERA. The following year, he pitched better, finishing the 1989 season with 14 wins and 8 losses, 90 strikeouts to 40 walks, and a 3.68 ERA in 186.0 innings in 29 games. He struggled again in 1990, finishing with a 4.28 ERA in 33 games.

Glavine had his first stellar season in 1991, when he had 20 wins and 11 losses, a career high 292 strikeouts to 69 walks, and a 2.55 ERA in a career high 246.2 innings in 34 games. He led the NL in wins and complete games with 9, and he won the NL Cy Young award and the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award. He also won his first of four Silver Slugger awards in 1991, batting .230 with 17 hits in 36 games.

Glavine led the NL in wins in 1992 with 20, and again in 1993 with a career high 22 wins. He also led the NL in shutouts in 1992. He finished that season with a 2.76 ERA. His ERA went up to 3.20 in 1993. In the strike shortened 1994 season, he had 13 wins and 9 losses and a 3.97 ERA.

Glavine finished the 1995 season with 16 wins to 7 losses, 127 strikeouts to 66 walks, and a 3.08 ERA in 198.2 innings in 29 games. He won his second Silver Slugger award that year, batting .222 in 29 games. He had a very strong postseason, winning the World Series MVP award and the Babe Ruth award. In the 1995 post-season, he pitched 28.0 innings in 4 games and he had a 2-0 record with 19 strikeouts to 9 walks and a 1.61 ERA.

In 1996, Glavine had a 2.98 ERA in 36 games. He had 15 wins and 10 losses and 181 strikeouts to 85 walks in 235.1 innings. He won his third Silver Slugger award, batting .289 with 22 hits and 4 doubles in 39 games. The following year, he finished with 14 wins and 7 losses, 152 strikeouts to 79 walks, and a 2.96 ERA in 240.0 innings in 33 games.

Glavine won his second Cy Young award in 1998, when he again led the National League in wins. He finished the season with a 20-6 record and a career low ERA of 2.47. He won his fourth and last Silver Slugger award for batting .239 with 17 hits, 3 doubles, and 7 RBIs in 33 games.

Glavine's ERA went up to 4.12 in 1999. He had 14 wins and 11 losses in 35 games. He came back strong in 2000, once again leading the NL in wins. He finished the season with 21 wins and 9 losses, 152 strikeouts to 65 walks, and a 3.40 ERA in 241.0 innings in 35 games. He won his second Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award in 2000.

In 2001, Glavine had 16 wins and 7 losses and a 3.57 ERA in 35 games. He struggled with control issues, walking 97 batters, while striking out 116. The next year, his control and numbers improved. He finished the 2002 season with 18 wins and 11 losses, 127 strikeouts to 78 walks, and a 2.96 ERA in 224.2 innings in 36 games.

New York Mets

In December, 2002, Glavine left the Braves and signed with the New York Mets. In his first season with the Mets, he had a 9-14 record with a 4.52 ERA in 32 games. He pitched much better in 2004, finishing with 11 wins and 14 losses, 109 strikeouts to 70 walks, and a 3.60 ERA in 33 games. His numbers were similar in 2005, when he had 13 wins and 13 losses, 105 strikeouts to 61 walks, and a 3.53 ERA in 33 games.

Glavine played two more seasons with the Mets. He finished the 2006 season with 15 wins and 7 losses, 131 strikeouts to 62 walks, and a 3.82 ERA in 198.0 innings in 32 games. In his last season with them, he had 13 wins and 8 losses and a 4.45 ERA in 200.1 innings in 34 games.

Final Years as a Player

Glavine returned to the Braves at the end of his career, signing with them in November, 2007. He had a poor season in 2008, pitching in just 13 games with the Braves and finishing with a 2-4 record and a 5.54 ERA. After four games in the Braves' minor league system in 2009, the team released him on June 3, 2009.

Awards and MLB Records

  • NL Cy Young award (2 times)
  • Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award (2 times)
  • World Series MVP
  • Babe Ruth award
  • Silver Slugger award (4 times)
  • Led the NL in wins (5 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Glavine in 20 full seasons (1988-2007) in the major leagues include:

  • 17 seasons with over 30 games, with a high of 36 in 1993, 1996, 2002
  • 14 seasons with over 200 innings pitched, with a high of 246.2 in 1991
  • 5 seasons with over 150 strikeouts, with a high of 192 in 1991
  • 5 seasons with 20 or more wins, with a high of 22 in 1993
  • 6 seasons with an ERA under 3.00, with a low of 2.47 in 1998

Career pitching statistics for Glavine include:

  • 682 games played
  • 4,413.1 innings pitched
  • 2,607 strikeouts to 1,500 walks
  • 305-203 win-loss record
  • 3.54 ERA

Career fielding statistics for Glavine include:

  • 682 games played
  • 856 assists
  • 262 putouts
  • 26 errors
  • .977 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Glavine include:

  • 12 postseasons
  • 35 games played
  • 217.2 innings pitched
  • 14-16 win-loss record
  • 143 strikeouts to 87 walks
  • 3.31 ERA

Post Playing Career

Glavine retired on February 11, 2010. He then signed on as a special assistant to the Braves president. He also worked as an analyst for SportSouth and Fox Sports South.

Glavine was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 on the first ballot with 91.9% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Tom Glavine
ESPN - Tom Glavine
Baseball Reference - Tom Glavine

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