Tom Glavine

Left-handed pitcher with 300 wins and two Cy Young Awards.

Thomas Michael Glavine is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He won 164 games in the 1990s, the second-highest total in the National League, and is one of only 24 pitchers in major league history to achieve 300 career wins. Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 in his first year of eligibility.

Quick Facts

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left
Born: 25 March 1966
Birthplace: Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: August 17
Debut year: 1987
Debut team: Atlanta Braves

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

Glavine was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 NHL entry draft, two rounds ahead of Brett Hull and five ahead of Luc Robitaille.
His younger brother Mike also played in MLB, as a first baseman for the New York Mets in 2003.
Glavine's 201 sacrifice bunts prior to 2007 ranked second among active players at the time, behind Omar Vizquel.

Early years

Tom Glavine grew up in Billerica, Massachusetts, after being born in Concord. At Billerica Memorial High School, he was a standout student and athlete, earning honors each year and a spot in the National Honor Society. On the ice, he notched 47 goals and 47 assists over 23 games as a senior, earning Merrimack Valley MVP honors. On the diamond, he guided his baseball squad to a Division I North title and an Eastern Massachusetts championship that same year. He graduated with honors in 1984 and was later inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 1993.

Professional career

Glavine was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 NHL entry draft and by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 1984 MLB draft, choosing baseball. He debuted on August 17, 1987, and compiled a 33–43 record from 1987 to 1990. In 1991, he won 20 games with a 2.55 ERA, earning his first Cy Young Award, and helped the Braves win the National League pennant. He became the last major league pitcher to win 20 games in three straight years (1991–1993). Glavine won his second Cy Young Award in 1998 with a 20–6 record and 2.47 ERA. In the 1995 World Series, he was named Most Valuable Player after winning Games 2 and 6, including eight innings of one-hit shutout baseball in Game 6. He signed with the New York Mets in 2003 and later returned to the Braves in 2008.

Pitching style

Glavine, a left-hander, relied on excellent control, deception, and changing speeds as his velocity declined. He typically started with a circle changeup off the outside corner, then alternated fastballs and changeups to confuse hitters. His pitches had substantial movement, leading to soft contact and easy ground balls or fly outs. He started at least 25 games every season from 1988 onward and was never on the disabled list until his final season at age 42.

His repertoire included a plus-curve ball, a slider, and a tailing two-seam fastball. Despite being left-handed, he was often more effective against right-handed batters, a trait Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully attributed to Glavine pitching from the extreme right edge of the rubber. Glavine was also a strong-hitting pitcher, with a career .186 batting average and a .244 on-base percentage. He won four Silver Slugger Awards, second all-time among pitchers behind Mike Hampton.

Players' union representative

Starting in 1991, Glavine served as the Atlanta Braves team representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association, succeeding Dale Murphy. He was heavily involved in negotiations during the 1994–95 MLB strike, which lasted 7½ months and caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. When play resumed in 1995, Braves fans booed Glavine for his role in the union.