On this day in 1992, the legendary Tom Seaver was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.
Tom Terrific received 98.8% of votes, third-highest in history to only Mariano Rivera (100% in 2019) and Ken Griffey Jr. (99.3% in 2016). The right-hander chose to don a Mets cap for his Cooperstown plaque, making him the first to be inducted as a New York Met.
Though Seaver also played for the Reds, White Sox, and Red Sox throughout his career, his choice was fitting as his tenure with the Mets was one for the history books. He is still revered as the best player in franchise history, as well as one of the best right-handed pitchers of all time – and for good reason.
Seaver kicked off his 1967 season with a Rookie of the Year title with the Mets. In the following years, he would prove to far exceed it.
His near-perfect game in 1969 is one that still makes Mets fans teary-eyed, as he would eventually throw a no-hitter, but not until 1978 and not with the Mets. The righty threw a perfect game up until the final two outs, when Jim Qualls hit a single to left-center field. He retired the final two batters, limiting it to a one-hitter, which was the first of his career.
In fact, the 1969 World Series season as a whole is still one that fans everywhere reminisce about. In Game 4 of the World Series, Seaver delivered 10 innings of pure dominance, with six strikeouts, just six hits and one earned run.
Seaver didn’t stop there, as he’d go on to then-tie the major league single-game strikeout record at 19 the following year. In 1971 alone, he held an astonishing 1.76 ERA, had 289 strikeouts, four shutouts, and 21 complete games.
Throughout his career, Seaver collected three Cy Young Awards (1969, 1973, 1975) and was a twelve-time All-Star (9 times with the Mets).
Seaver still holds franchise records in wins (198), ERA (2.57), GS (295), strikeouts (2,541), complete games (171), and shutouts (44).
Much of the Mets’ history is rooted in a star like Seaver, and there are too many shining moments of his career to count. One of the most memorable, however, was the day he was rightfully honored in the Hall of Fame, where he will forever be remembered as one of the best pitchers in baseball history.
