Curtain Call: Tom Glavine

By H. P. Rosenberg
Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I hope that Tom Glavine doesn't retire after this season.

At age 41 he's still "master of the mound." Even if he were 20 years younger he couldn't have pitched much better than he did Saturday afternoon against the Astros. He had a perfect game for five innings and ended his day pitching seven innings of three-hit, no-run ball.

The Mets needed Glavine's stellar performance because they were only able to manage five hits off three Astros pitchers.

It was his 22nd quality start in 30 starts (73%). He has the third most quality starts in the National League. Only Brad Penny (24), Jake Peavy (24), and John Smoltz (23) have more. In his last eight starts Glavine's gone six innings seven times. And in only two of them did he give up more than two earned runs. In those games, he has a 4-0 record with a 2.90 ERA.

He hasn't lost since July 2.

Glavine joined the Mets in 2003 after 16 seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He lost more than he won in each of his first two years with the Men of Shea, something he'd only done three times while with the Braves. But since joining the Mets, every year he's won more games than he won the year before. This season, he's on pace to win as many as he did last year and would already have tied that mark if the bullpen, and Guillermo Mota in particular, hadn't failed him on several occasions.

During his career he's accumulated a ton of statistics. One of the more amazing ones is the difference in his ERA for his 302 games wins, his 197 losses, and his no-decisions. In his losses, his ERA is 6.34; in his no-decisions, it's 3.66; and in his wins, it's only 1.95. Further, in those victories, batters hit only .217 against him. His most wins have been against Washington, 33, and he has a losing record against only three of the 27 teams he's pitched against, Florida, Atlanta, and Seattle, against whom he's 0-1.

Though you'd expect him, being a lefty, to be more effective against left-handed batters than right-handed ones, that hasn't been the case. In fact, he's been more effective against right-handed batters than against left-handed ones. Righties have hit .256 against him, lefties .261.

Before his major league career began in 1987, he spent four seasons in the minors from 1984-87. Based solely on his minor league statistics it would have been difficult to predict how successful he would be in the majors.

In his third season in the minors, 1986, after spending most of it in Double-A, he got promoted to the Triple-A Richmond Braves. That stint in Richmond was the only time in the minors his ERA was above 3.41. He went 1-5 in seven starts with a 5.63 ERA for a team that finished 80-60.

He spent most of 1987 in Triple-A, compiling a better ERA, 3.35; however, he again had a losing record of 6-12, as did Richmond (56-83). One of his teammates on that team was John Smoltz.

He got called up to the Braves that season.

On August 17, 1987, in Houston, Glavine pitched in his first major league game — and lost — giving up 10 hits, six runs, and five walks in 3.2 innings.

Five days after his personal "opening day" loss, Glavine won. He beat the Pirates at home, giving a performance that has typified his career: In 7.1 innings he yielded seven hits, three runs, and two walks. He also hit his first batter, 21-year-old Barry Bonds.

He pitched his last game that season on September 30, 1987 in Houston against the Astros. It was an unusual performance. In seven innings he gave up four hits, one unearned run, and walked seven. Though he didn't get the win, the Braves did. The Braves season ended four games later with a 69-92 record. Only one pitcher on the team, Zane Smith, had a winning percentage greater than .500. Smith won 15 while losing 10.

"I got my brains bashed in in my first game," Glavine told Associated Press reporter Bill Konisberg. "I won my second start. The next year, I won seven. The first year-and-a-half were tough. I learned how to handle not performing well. My approach for the rest of my career was formulated in that first 1-1/2 years."

And then, in the same interview, Glavine gave some advice that both Mets youngters, such as Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber, and Mets management should pay heed to.

"I had the luxury of being on bad teams and I knew I would pitch every five days. I could develop and get better down the road. You realize this is not an easy game, as much as you want it to be, and you won't be successful all the time. You learn to deal with bad times. There are bad times and lots of them. In the long run, it makes you a better player and a better person."

The 1987 Braves weren't that good (69-92); the 1988 Braves were worse (54-106); the 1989 Braves showed some improvement (63-97-1), as did the 1990 Braves (65-97). Then, in 1991, the team started winning (94-68).

In 1990 he had another losing season (10-12), and then posted 12 consecutive winning seasons, including three in a row in which he won at least 20 games (1991-93).

One of the secrets to Glavine's success is that, on the mound, he is "poise personified." Plus, he's at his best in pressure situations. In his slate.com article, In Search of Clutch Pitching, Josh Levin wrote that "The Mets' Tom Glavine is the best clutch pitcher of his generation."

He showed that again last Saturday. During the heat of the pennant race, he again cooled off the opposition.

H.P. Rosenberg, aka writerhoward, also writes about the Mets and their farm teams on his metbaseball blog.