Tom Glavine

Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007).

With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine earned the second-highest number of wins as a pitcher in the National League (NL), second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176. He was a five-time 20-game winner and two-time Cy Young Award winner, and one of only 24 pitchers (and just six left-handers) in major league history to earn 300 career wins. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1995 World Series as the Braves beat the Cleveland Indians.

In 2014, Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, receiving 91.9% of the votes cast.

Early years

Glavine was born in Concord, Massachusetts, and raised in Billerica, Massachusetts. Glavine 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.

Professional career

Drafts and minor leagues

Glavine was drafted by both the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 NHL entry draft (in the fourth round, 69th overall—two rounds ahead of future National Hockey League star Brett Hull and five rounds ahead of Luc Robitaille, both 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees), and the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball organization in the second round of the 1984 amateur baseball draft. Glavine elected to play baseball.

Atlanta Braves (1987–2002)

thumb|left|270px|Glavine delivers a pitch in [[spring training, 1998]]

Glavine made his major league debut on August 17, 1987. Glavine had mixed results during his first four seasons in the Majors, 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 earned run average. It was his first of three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins, and saw him earn his first National League Cy Young Award. and selection to the National League All-Star team. However, he struggled again during a second half marred by losing front teeth in a car accident while riding in a taxicab. He went on to post a slightly better record, though still a losing one, going 11–14. He pitched innings and won 8–3, bringing his lifetime record to 300–197. Glavine is the 23rd pitcher to win 300 games, and the fifth left-handed pitcher to do so, joining Eddie Plank, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, and Steve Carlton. (Randy Johnson won his 300th game on June 4, 2009, becoming the 24th pitcher and 6th left-hander to do so.)

On September 30, 2007, Glavine started the final game of the Mets' 2007 regular season against the Florida Marlins. The Mets, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies after having squandered a seven-game lead over the prior sixteen games, needed a win to either win the division or force a playoff game with the Phillies for the division. Glavine made one of the worst starts of his career, allowing seven runs while recording only one out, and the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention with an 8–1 loss.

Glavine declined a one-year, $13 million contract option for the 2008 season with the Mets on October 5, 2007, ending his tenure with the team. However, he did collect a $3 million buyout when he declined the $13 million option.

Return to Atlanta Braves (2008) and retirement

thumb|Glavine being introduced at [[Turner Field in his first game back with the Braves in 2008]]

On November 18, 2007, Glavine rejoined the Braves, seemingly bringing his career full circle, with a one-year contract worth $8 million. On April 18, 2008, Glavine was placed on the disabled list (DL) for the first time in his 22-year career.

On May 14, 2008, Glavine won his first game with the Atlanta Braves since September 19, 2002. This was also his 304th win, and it occurred against the Philadelphia Phillies. Coincidentally, both his win on September 19, 2002, and May 14, 2008, were against the Phillies.

On August 14, 2008, Glavine appeared in his final game. He started against the Chicago Cubs, and he gave up seven runs in four innings. A few days later, he was placed on the disabled list because of a recurring shoulder injury.

On February 19, 2009, Glavine agreed to return to Atlanta on a $1 million, one-year contract that included another $3.5 million in possible bonuses based on roster time. However, the Braves released Glavine on June 3, as he was completing his rehab assignment. On June 20, Glavine announced he would not pitch for the rest of the season.

On February 11, 2010, Glavine officially retired as a player, having strongly hinted at that decision throughout the prior few months. That day, he agreed to take a job as a special assistant to Braves president John Schuerholz. He was a guest analyst for some Braves games for several seasons. Following the death of his father in 2021, Glavine announced that he would be taking a break from broadcasting during the 2022 season. He returned to the broadcast booth in a part-time role in 2023.

The Braves retired Glavine's #47 on August 6, 2010.

On July 29, 2021, Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame's Board of Directors.

Pitching style

thumb|right|270px|Glavine with the Atlanta Braves in 1993.

Glavine, a left-hander, gradually lost velocity over the latter part of his career. Even at the end of his career, he was an effective starting pitcher in the National League due to his excellent control and deception, changing speeds, and locating pitches off the outside corner of the strike zone. His most common approach was to begin by locating his circle changeup off the outside corner, then follow with alternating fastballs and changeups to confuse the hitter. While batters frequently made contact with his pitches, the substantial movement he placed on them made drives very soft, resulting in easily fielded ground balls and fly outs. Glavine's consistency was also highlighted by his durability; beginning with his first full year, in 1988, he started at least 25 games every season and was never placed on the disabled list until his final season—at age 42. In addition to his excellent changeup and well-controlled fastball, Glavine had a plus-curve ball, a slider, and a tailing two-seam fastball. Despite being a left-handed pitcher, Glavine was often more effective against right-handed batters. Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully noted that this attribute was likely due to Glavine pitching from the extreme right edge of the pitching rubber.

Like longtime Atlanta teammates Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, Glavine was one of the better-hitting pitchers of his generation. He had a career .186 batting average—decent for a modern pitcher—and hit over .200 in nine seasons, with a career-best of .289 in 1996. He had a good eye, drawing a high number of walks (for a pitcher), which, combined with his hits, gave him a career on-base percentage of .244. Because Glavine got on base almost a quarter of the time he came at bat, opposing pitchers were never able to treat him as an automatic out in the lineup. In 2004, Glavine walked as often as he struck out (10 times each). Glavine's 201 sacrifice bunts prior to 2007 ranked second among active players at the time, only behind Omar Vizquel. Glavine won four Silver Slugger Awards, ranking him second all-time for pitchers behind Mike Hampton, while being the most among Cy Young Award Winners and Hall of Famer pitchers.

Players' union representative

thumb|Glavine signs autographs in 2014

Starting in 1991, Tom Glavine served as the Atlanta Braves team representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association, succeeding former NL Most Valuable Player and Braves icon Dale Murphy in the position. Prior to and during the 1994–95 MLB strike, Glavine was heavily involved in negotiations between the union and team owners and was frequently interviewed and quoted in the press about the talks. Ultimately, the strike caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and lasted months. When play resumed in 1995, Glavine was booed by Braves fans for his role in the players' union.

Personal life

Glavine and his wife Christine married in 1998 and have a family of five children. One of their sons, Peyton, became a professional baseball player. They live in Johns Creek, Georgia, and Glavine coaches his sons' hockey teams. Glavine is a Roman Catholic and is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ.