Lest we forget: Tom Seaver

This time, it’s personal.

For many Mets fans of a certain age, Tom Seaver, who died earlier this week at the age of 75, was indeed “The Franchise.” If any one player deserves credit for reversing the fortunes of a team it was George Thomas Seaver, who turned loveable losers into World Champions.

They say the “Golden Age of Baseball” is the period when you developed a real love for the game, so for me it was the mid-1960s. That the Mets became my team of choice rather than the Yankees might say something about my personality/mental state. But my fandom kicked in when Seaver joined the team in 1967. I still recall watching him on TV in that year’s All-Star Game as he picked up the save in a 2-1, 15-inning NL victory.

There will be tributes: TV specials, documentaries, no doubt a new book or two in addition to Pat Jordan’s Tom Seaver and Me, which was just released, and Bill Madden’s bio, Tom Seaver: A Terrific Life, due out next April; no doubt both will get sales boosts from their subject’s passing.

This might not come across well, but as time goes by and baseball means less in the American landscape, I don’t think the death of such an iconic figure like Seaver will have the same impact as those who went before him. When Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle died, their funerals were covered on television in a manner usually reserved for heads of state, but that’s because they were the heroes of the greatest generation and baby boomers, respectively. I was talking with a coworker about this and we wondered how a future Hall of Famer, like let’s say a Mike Trout, would be memorialized when his time comes (not for many, many years, of course). We couldn’t imagine a similar scenario like what we’re experiencing now.

Finally…You don’t want anyone’s passing to turn into a political statement but in these times the cause of death can lead to just that. Seaver had been suffering from dementia for a few years, a malady covered very sweetly in Art Shamsky’s most recent offering, After the Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the ’69 Mets. The obituaries also attribute his demise to Covid-19. One way or the other, people are going to be POed by this designation, those who hate the way this administration dithered with the epidemic, inflicting suffering that might have been avoided if dealt with in a sane and timely manner, and those who believe linking deaths to Covid when there is an underlying condition is erroneous and cast needless blame.

The New York Times has a special obituary section for “Those We’ve Lost” as a result of Covid; Seaver received such treatment. Bruce Weber had the honor and responsibility of eulogizing Seaver. I say “responsibility” because it is; it’s not just a casual thing. An obituary like this carries the last observations about the deceased and it’s important to present them in a respectful and honest manner, which Weber has been doing for years.

Here are a few more articles from the Washington Post, ESPN, NY Daily News (by Madden), NPR, New York Post, and the Cincinnati Enquirer (Seaver spent six season with the Reds; he also played for the Chicago White Sox — where he won his 300th game) and the Boston Red Sox (he did not appear on the post-season roster and so did not have the chance to face the Mets in the World Series in 1986). And from the Times‘ Jay Schreiber and Tyler Kepner.

In addition to the aforementioned, here’s a sampling of books by and about Tom Terrific, according to Amazon:

• The Last Icon: Tom Seaver and His Times, by Steven Travers
• Art of Pitching, by Seaver with Lee Lowenfish
• How I Would Pitch to Babe Ruth, by Seaver
• Pitching with Tom Seaver,, by Seaver with Steve Jacobson
• Baseball is My Life, by Seaver and Jacobson
• Great Moments in Baseball, by Seaver with Marty Appel
• The Perfect Game: Tom Seaver and the Mets, by Seaver with Dick Schaap

And I had all of the Topps cards mentioned in this article from Sports Collectors Digest. My personal favorite — not listed in the story — is the one in the top right, from the 1970 set, the one following their World Series championship.

Tagged as: Bruce Weber, New York Mets, Tom Seaver