Tom Terrific passes away - only 75

[chalupacollects]

Tom Seaver passed today at 75 from dementia caused by Lime disease...

Sad day for one of our own home grown Mets...

Here's a toast of wine to you Tom!

[Bobbycee]

I just heard & had that rush of sadness go through me. My first ever Favorite Baseball player. What a sad day in such a crappy year.

[bmattioli]

One my my favorites of all time.. RIP..

[Snapolit1]

Loved watching him pitch.

Have enjoyed his wine.

Met him once and he was really unnecessary nasty to me. Like bizarrely so.

Oh well. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[kailes2872]

I was just telling my wife that it is crazy to think that the Reds won the 75 & 76 World Series and then added one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball (Carlton, Palmer, Hunter, Seaver, and maybe Ryan). I only remember the back end of his career and never really saw him at his best.

What is weird for me is that he is really one of the first ones that I remember watching passing of somewhat natural causes. I know that it said that he had Covid-19 in the obit, but I remember the announcement of him no longer doing public appearances due to the onset of dementia (If I recall correctly - apologies if I am misremembering).

I am 48 and I remember watching players like Seaver, Bench, Rose, Brett, Schmidt, and the ilk on This Week in Baseball and thinking that they were super human the way the ran in slow motion and pitched in slow motion at the end of the show when the credits rolled. They are forever young etched in my memory and it makes me understand my own mortality when I think of Tom being gone.

[marzoumanian]

How sad. I grew up in NJ and was 14 in 1969 when the Mets won the World Series. So I remember all the excitement vividly. What a wonderful human being. I had heard he was struggling. Thank you, Tom, for leading that team the way you did.
Years later I got very lucky. I was at Yankee Stadium on August 4, 1985 and witnessed Tom winning his 300th game pitching for the White Sox. RIP.
P.S. for trivia fans. That same day, August 4, 1985, Rod Carew got his 3000th hit on the West Coast.

[rjackson44]

Rest in peace class act

[Snapolit1]

Lewy body dementia + Covid. Same dementia Robin Williams had.

I was just telling my wife that it is crazy to think that the Reds won the 75 & 76 World Series and then added one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball (Carlton, Palmer, Hunter, Seaver, and maybe Ryan). I only remember the back end of his career and never really saw him at his best.

What is weird for me is that he is really one of the first ones that I remember watching passing of somewhat natural causes. I know that it said that he had Covid-19 in the obit, but I remember the announcement of him no longer doing public appearances due to the onset of dementia (If I recall correctly - apologies if I am misremembering).

I am 48 and I remember watching players like Seaver, Bench, Rose, Brett, Schmidt, and the ilk on This Week in Baseball and thinking that they were super human the way the ran in slow motion and pitched in slow motion at the end of the show when the credits rolled. They are forever young etched in my memory and it makes me understand my own mortality when I think of Tom being gone.

[hcv123]

and remember the 74 clearly the 74 Seaver card being the best card you could get out of a pack here in Long Island NY. He was definitely my childhood favorite. Dementia is a horrible disease - RIP!

[Seven]

It's a shame, however he is no longer suffering from such a cruel disease. Dementia is a terrible thing.

[painthistorian]

As a Long Islander since birth, we had our heroes and Tom Seaver was one of the keys. He was an extroadinary athlete, a fabulous personality that NY LOVED and a truly amazing family man, he will be missed. I was blessed to spend an hour with Tom & my family at Last Licks in Huntington in which I took a family photo with Tom and got it developed and he signed to us same night, he was impressed. We signed him one identical photo, also from my family to Tom Seaver, he loved that! and we all had ice cream together, one of life's amazing moments! I really will miss this amazing man.

[triwak]

R.I.P. Tom Terrific

[whitehse]

Lewy body dementia + Covid. Same dementia Robin Williams had.

And Bill Buckner too!

[JollyElm]

A very sad day.

As The Kinks said in "Come Dancing"..."Part of my childhood died, just died."

[Kenny Cole]

This is a really hard one for me. RIP Tom Terrific.

[boysblue]

So sad. Remembering Tom back in the 60s/70s makes it even sadder: a handsome, personable man, and the best pitcher of that era. He was Tom Terrific to this kid back in the day for sure.

RIP Mr. Seaver.

[Kingcobb]

I watched him pitch a couple games at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati in the late 70's he still had great stuff on the mound. Great memories.

[the 'stache]

One of the all-time greats. He's the only pitcher with 300 wins since the end of WW II (1945) to have a sub 3.00 ERA at 2.86. Warren Spahn is next at 3.08.

I'm grateful he's no longer suffering, but it still sucks to know that he's gone. RIP, Tom.

[xplainer]

Being a kid and very much a baseball fan in the 70's, Seaver was one of the top cards to pull from a pack.
I think the thing I remember about him the most is how low he got on his delivery.
I remember him having clay marks on his right knee as it scrapped the mound.
As a pitcher in little league, I would try to copy him. But I could never get that low.

[Snapolit1]

Being a kid and very much a baseball fan in the 70's, Seaver was one of the top cards to pull from a pack.
I think the thing I remember about him the most is how low he got on his delivery.
I remember him having clay marks on his right knee as it scrapped the mound.
As a pitcher in little league, I would try to copy him. But I could never get that low.

Sure the pitching style added big time to his longevity. Driving on legs, engaging glutes for power . . . had to have taken some of the brute force off of shoulder and arm.

[ALR-bishop]

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/jj555/Bishop539/.highres/img456_zpsd5cb9850.jpg

[icollectDCsports]

Sure the pitching style added big time to his longevity. Driving on legs, engaging glutes for power . . . had to have taken some of the brute force off of shoulder and arm.

I remember seeing an interview with him where he discussed this very issue.

[ALR-bishop]

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/jj555/Bishop539/.highres/img456_zpsd5cb9850.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/jj555/Bishop539/.highres/img311.jpg

[D. Bergin]

I remember Seaver was a Yankee announcer for a few years in the early 90's. I thought he did a really good job, but Steinbrenner didn't like him because he wasn't enough of a homer and he got fired.

[Tao_Moko]

Rest in Peace Devil Dog!! Here's an article (https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/09/03/marine-veteran-tom-seaver-heart-and-mighty-arm-of-miracle-mets-dies-at-75/) in today's Marine Corps Times.

[h2oya311]

RIP Tom!

Here he is in 1966 while with the Jacksonville Suns, well before the Miracle Mets made history:

https://photos.imageevent.com/derekgranger/hofrookies1/websize/1966%20Seaver.jpg

[Exhibitman]

RIP Tom Terrific.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/miscellaneous5/websize/1970s%20Seaver%20Mets%20TI.jpg

[doug.goodman]

What a sad day in an already sad year.

Here is sportswriter Ike Kuhns' scored program, press pass, and clippings he attached to the program. Also, a press photo of Seaver after the game.

The "What Are You Crying For?" story is the best.

[h2oya311]

RIP Tom Terrific.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/miscellaneous5/websize/1970s%20Seaver%20Mets%20TI.jpg

Adam - that is so cool! 1970ish?

[Jason19th]

Tom Seaver passed today at 75 from dementia caused by Lime disease...

Sad day for one of our own home grown Mets...

Here's a toast of wine to you Tom!

The reports say he had Lewy Body Dementia which is often confused with Lyme disease but is a totally different condition

[packs]

I was fortunate enough to meet Tom Seaver at a show in Westchester forever ago when he was still doing signings. I was probably 10 and he was very nice to me when it was my turn to get my ball signed. He invited me behind the table and asked me my name and other small things about myself. I'll always remember it.

[Vintageclout]

One of the all-time greats. He's the only pitcher with 300 wins since the end of WW II (1945) to have a sub 3.00 ERA at 2.86. Warren Spahn is next at 3.08.

I'm grateful he's no longer suffering, but it still sucks to know that he's gone. RIP, Tom.

Only 2 pitchers in baseball history have achieved 300+ wins, 3,000+ strikeouts and a SUB-3.00 ERA - Walter Johnson & Tom Seaver! Tom Terrific was one of the top 5-7 pitchers of all-time, and he will be truly missed.

[paul]

I've been away from Net54 a few days, but had to add to everyone's sentiments. I've been a Seaver fan since I was 4 in 1969, and have every one of his issued cards. (Still looking for a 1970 Topps cloth sticker if anyone has one to sell). I met him several times at card shows and he was always perfect to me and everyone else in line. I can't believe he is gone.

[jsq]

lewy dementia or whatever it is called, als lou gherigs disease, brain cancer, etc.

i have long thought that their is something used on the grass, fertilzer or some chemical at these major league parks that is destroying these players, it seems too high a percentage of baseball players getting weird neurological problems versus the general population. who knows, maybe something in the water they drink at a specific stadium. i would love someone geared to this line of analysis prove me wrong.

a good test may be if the groundskeepers or other employees of the park suffer a high level of this type of stuff.

tom seaver, i was stunned at dementia at 75. do you remember him pitching, how the hell does this get end up at 75 with dementia, bizarre.

if i was the major league players association i would get someone who knows what they are doing and look into this. something does not seem to add up.

is this the same for baseball as brain injuries for football players?

jsq

[darwinbulldog]

Very sad. Seaver was my favorite player to collect my first time around in the hobby, and I just bought a lot of his 70s and 80s cards last week for old times' sake.

[tedzan]

As many of you know, I'm a long-time avid Yankees fan. Anyhow, in 1969 I was rooting for the Mets and Tom Seaver.

Furthermore, I used to really enjoy when Phil Rizzuto, Tom Seaver, and Bill White would broadcast the Yankees games back in the late 1980's - early 1990's.


GOD Bless Tom Seaver....and comfort his Family and fans.


https://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/tedzan77/1967TomSeaverRookie.jpg



TED Z
.

[Leon]

Another legend gone. RIP Tom

[Gary Dunaier]

Here's his rookie page in the 1967 Mets Yearbook...

https://live.staticflickr.com/1063/5116311699_e73086a177_c.jpg


...and here's a picture I took of him signing a bat at the "50 Years of Amazin' Baseball" autograph show at Citi Field, January 22, 2012.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7005/6746712623_204a1e9454_c.jpg

[h2oya311]

Looks like Adam’s photo is the same that was used in your ‘67 Mets Yearbook.

Sweet!

[brian1961]

I second Ted's post that God would bless and keep Tom Seaver's soul, and comfort his beloved wife Nancy, and their 2 daughters.

Living in the Chicago suburbs back in '67, I carry in my mind this image of the front page of the Sports section of the Chicago TRIBUNE. It was spring '67, and they ran an AP photo of this young rookie Met pitcher about to fire one in. Even as a tween, I sensed greatness in that black 'n white image. He'd just won the game, and held his opponent to mere nothing. He won beautifully; he won strong. Not as the Mets tried in the past, and their best was....sub-par and well, last place. The young pitcher, of course, was Tom Seaver, and just as Bobby Orr did for the Boston Bruins, THE FRANCHISE began to turn a hapless team around.

Fans giggled when Casey Stengel's book, CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?, was published. Tom Seaver had not yet arrived on the scene, and put on the Mets uniform, and proceed to gift greatness to an up to then failed franchise. Other players and a gifted manager came on board, and when MLB celebrated its 100th anniversary, those Amazing Mets gave the game one for the ages. Before "Ya Gotta Believe!", Tom Seaver did, right from the get-go.

I wish I had clipped out the picture and the story from the Trib. Mr. Seaver looked so good. Instead, I clipped it to my memory, and he's still there. The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art would do themselves proud to have a life-size black 'n white or glorious color photo study of Tom's frighteningly powerful delivery. Tom Terrific is the one Metropolitan that truly belongs in the Museum.

Somewhere, in the deep recesses of millions upon millions of long ago Captain Kangeroo tots, we can see Mighty Manfred weeping tonight. There is a time to cry, and I am. Tom, you were oh so terrific to us, on and off the field. Thank you.

--- from a former small face in the crowd, Brian Powell

[SteveWhite]

In April and May Fox Sports Ohio replayed great games from the Reds and of course they showed his no-hitter from 1978. It surprised me that Johnny Bench did not catch that game. I don't remember the Big Red Machine days I was too young, but I do remember 1981 and always thought Tom should have won the Cy Young Award that season.

[Vintageclout]

That 1981 Cy Young award voting was a complete SHAM! Seaver lost by only 2 points and both San Diego sportswriters didn’t even give Tom a single vote! The Cy voting is based on a 5 (first place); 3 (second place) and 1 (third place) point system (at least back then it was). Had Seaver received at least a single second place vote, he would have been the winner. Even 2 third place votes would have placed him in a tie. Simply stated, San Diego writers completely blackballed him - an utter disgrace. Also, in 1971, Seaver compiled a remarkable 1.76 ERA, 20 wins w/a poor hitting team & led the league in strikeouts and was beaten by Jenkins who gave up a FULL RUN per game more than Seaver. Another ridiculous vote. Seaver should easily have 5 Cy Young awards. An absolute shame.

[kailes2872]

I always felt like the 1981 NL Cy Young award was decided by Memorial Day. Fernando Mania had taken over the nation and even though he limped to the finish line with a 13-7 record, Seaver couldn't overcome the early head start.

[marzoumanian]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/insider/the-friendship-of-elena-and-tom.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Reader%20Center

Nice story about Tom and Elena that ran in today's NY Times. Of course, working for the Times helped her meet her hero BUT what is most important is that the friendship lasted and lasted and lasted. The piece shows a different side of a major league baseball player.
Stay healthy!