Tom Glavine

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

He graduated from high school in 1984 with honors.

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 and made his major league debut on August 17, 1987.

Glavine had mixed results during his first several years in the majors, compiling a 33–43 record from 1987 to 1990, including a 17-loss performance in 1988.

For the first time since 1988, he failed to win 10 games, also posting his first losing record in that span, 9–14.

He also allowed his first career grand slam, hit by José Vidro of the Expos on September 19.

Glavine did get to enjoy a personal highlight at the end of the season, however, when the Mets called up his brother Mike to join the team.

With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine earned the second-highest number of wins as a pitcher in the National League, 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.

Atlanta, long thought of as a perennial cellar dweller, was lifted in the 1990s into one of the most successful franchises in the game on the strength of its stellar pitching staff and solid hitting.

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.

Glavine was the ace of the 1991 Braves' starting rotation that included Steve Avery, Charlie Leibrandt, and another future NL Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Fame inductee, John Smoltz.

His season helped ensure a dramatic reversal in the Braves' competitive fortunes as they won the National League pennant and earned a trip to the World Series, though they lost to the Minnesota Twins in seven games.

Among them, they won seven Cy Young Awards during the period of 1991 to 1998.

Glavine was elected to the Billerica Memorial/Howe High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

After the Braves acquired Greg Maddux from the Chicago Cubs in 1993, Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz formed one of the best pitching rotations in baseball history.

He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1995 World Series as the Braves beat the Cleveland Indians.

The Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians in six games in the 1995 World Series, and Glavine was named the Series MVP.

He won two games during that series: Game 2 and Game 6.

In Game 6, he pitched eight innings of one-hit shutout baseball.

In addition to the championship won with the Braves in 1995, he pitched in four other World Series with the team (in 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1999) when the Braves lost to the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Yankees twice, respectively.

Glavine won his second Cy Young Award in 1998, going 20–6 with a 2.47 ERA.

Glavine's performance had slumped in the second half of 2002 and he was ineffective in his two postseason starts, so Atlanta refused to guarantee a third year on his contract.

Glavine struggled in his first year as a Met.

In 2003, Glavine left Atlanta to play for the rival New York Mets, signing a four-year, $42.5 million deal.

Glavine began 2004 well, highlighted by a May 23 one-hit shutout of the Colorado Rockies 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 started off 2005 slowly, but rebounded after advice from pitching coach Rick Peterson, who encouraged Glavine to begin pitching inside more often (including a change-up in) and incorporate a curveball in his repertoire.

Glavine's turnaround helped him earn National League Pitcher of the Month in September.

In an era of the diminishing 20-game winner (there were none in the majors in 2006 and 2009), Glavine became the last major league pitcher to win 20 games in three straight years (1991–1993).

Years later, after Glavine joined the Mets and Maddux played for the San Diego Padres, the three (along with Smoltz who still pitched for Atlanta) all recorded wins on the same day, June 27, 2007.

On January 8, 2014, Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, receiving 91.9% of the votes cast.

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.