Tom Glavine Cy Young Award

Lore & Background

Glavine was born in Concord, Massachusetts, and raised in Billerica, Massachusetts. He attended Billerica Memorial High School, where he was an excellent student and a letterman in ice hockey as well as baseball. He was a four-year member of the honor roll and the National Honor Society. In hockey, he scored 47 goals and 47 assists in 23 high school games, and as a senior, he was named the Merrimack Valley's Most Valuable Player. In baseball, he led his team to the Division I North Title and the Eastern Massachusetts Championship as a senior. He graduated from high school in 1984 with honors. Glavine was elected to the Billerica Memorial/Howe High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. He was drafted by both the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL in the 1984 NHL entry draft in the fourth round, 69th overall, and by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 1984 MLB draft. Glavine elected to play baseball and signed on with the Braves.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was thick with humidity and anticipation on a sweltering July evening in 1997. Tom Glavine stepped onto the mound, adjusting his cap as the crowd roared for 'T-Glav.' He didn't need to shout; his delivery spoke volumes. With a deceptive windup and a slider that broke late, he silenced the opposition, striking out the side with effortless grace. In that moment, under the bright lights, it was clear: the league's best pitcher belonged to Atlanta.

Reader's Guide

Glavine made his major league debut on August 17, 1987. He had mixed results during his first four seasons, compiling a 33–43 record from 1987 to 1990, including a 17-loss performance in 1988. His fortunes turned around in 1991, when he won 20 games and posted a 2.55 ERA, earning his first National League Cy Young Award. He was the ace of the 1991 Braves' starting rotation that included Steve Avery, Charlie Leibrandt, and John Smoltz. Glavine became the last major league pitcher to win 20 games in three straight years (1991–1993). After the Braves signed Greg Maddux in 1993, Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz formed one of the best pitching rotations in baseball history. Among them, they won seven Cy Young Awards during the period of 1991 to 1998. Glavine won his second Cy Young Award in 1998, going 20–6 with a 2.47 ERA. The Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians in six games in the 1995 World Series, and Glavine was named the Series MVP. He won two games during that series: Game 2 and Game 6. In Game 6, he pitched eight innings of one-hit shutout baseball. He also pitched in four other World Series with the Braves (1991, 1992, 1996, and 1999) when the Braves lost. In 2003, Glavine left Atlanta to play for the New York Mets, signing a four-year, $42.5 million deal. He struggled in his first year as a Met, going 9–14. He began 2004 well, highlighted by a May 23 one-hit shutout of the Colorado Rockies and selection to the NL All-Star team, but finished 11–14. In 2005, he finished 13–13 with a 3.53 ERA. In 2006, he finished 15–7 with a 3.82 ERA as the Mets won the NL East. He started Game 2 of the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching six shutout innings, and Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, pitching seven shutout innings. On August 5, 2007, Glavine won his 300th game, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. On September 30, 2007, he started the final game of the Mets' regular season against the Florida Marlins and allowed seven runs while recording only one out, as the Mets lost 8–1 and were eliminated from playoff contention. Glavine declined a one-year, $13 million contract option for the 2008 season with the Mets on October 5, 2007. On November 18, 2007, he rejoined the Braves with a one-year contract worth $8 million. On April 18, 2008, Glavine was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 22-

Did You Know?

• Glavine was one of three pitchers on the Atlanta Braves (alongside Greg Maddux and John Smoltz) to win Cy Young Awards in the National League during the 1990s.
• Glavine's 1991 Cy Young season helped propel the Braves back into playoff contention after a seven-year drought (the Braves had no playoff appearances between 1983 and 1991).