Glavine, who methodically dispatched the Cubs in a 5-3 win this past Sunday night, earned his milestone victory in much the same way he has pitched his entire career; consistent, proficient and professional.
“It wasn’t a dazzling performance in terms of striking people out,” Glavine told reporters following the game. “It was an exercise in hitting my spots and changing speeds and letting the guys behind me do their work.”
Perhaps it’s that kind of modesty that has unintentionally allowed Glavine to fly under the radar.
One would think that two Cy Young Awards and a World Series MVP with the Atlanta Braves in 1995 would have meant more accolades for this classy pitcher. But until Sunday night, Glavine has always seemed to take a back seat to others.
Whether it was the far more celebrated Greg Maddux, who was Glavine’s teammate with the Braves, or current Mets’ teammate Pedro Martinez, Glavine’s accomplishments and talent have often been overlooked.
Take last year, for instance. When injuries knocked Martinez and Orlando Hernandez from the Mets’ playoff rotation, it was Glavine who stepped up, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three playoff starts, nearly propelling the Mets to the World Series.
Still, despite that performance, the Mets didn’t even make re-signing him a high priority this off-season, and instead dallied with bigger names like Oakland’s Barry Zito, before inking Glavine to a contract for 2007.
However, the likelihood that Glavine will be the last pitcher to win 300 games may change his legacy as an unappreciated All-Star for good.
Only former Yankee Randy Johnson, with 284 victories, is close to reaching the elusive 300-win milestone. But the 44-year old left-hander’s back problems — which have already knocked him out for the rest of the 2007 season — have prompted the four-time Cy Young Award winner to contemplate retirement. Outside of a return to health for Johnson, no other active pitcher is even close.
Moreover, in the last 20 years, only Maddux, Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan have reached the 300-win milestone. And in this new age of monitoring pitch-counts, five-man rotations and a growing over-reliance on relief pitching — most of which did not exist prior to 1980 — starting pitchers aren’t even getting the opportunity to post 20-win seasons anymore.
“The way the game has changed, we’re probably pretty close to (the end for 300-game winners)” Hall of Famer and former Met pitcher Tom Seaver told the Associated Press.
Seaver, who won 311 games from 1967-86 (but won his 300th as member for the White Sox), says today’s MLB has “a regimentation of how many innings you’re going to pitch ... (that) seems to be the underlying factor in this.”
About the only negative on the night was the fact that Glavine wasn’t able to post his memorable win at Shea Stadium. Yet, there were plenty of Mets fans (surprisingly) in the friendly confines of Wrigley on Sunday, several of whom trekked hundreds of miles to root for Glavine to make history.
“Tom-my Glav-ine,” they shouted from behind the dugout, prompting even the most die-hard of Cubs fans to join in a thunderous standing ovation.
In a place where opponents’ home runs are routinely thrown back on the field in disgust, for one night, they cheered for the privilege of seeing history made.
Tom Glavine, 300-game winner is an afterthought no more.
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