TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 11-SEPT. 17, 2020 5
BY JOE PANTORNO
The New York Mets community
and Major League Baseball
is mourning the loss of the franchise’s
greatest representative,
Tom Seaver, who died at his
home in California at the age of
75 from complications of Lewy
Body Dementia and COVID-19.
An icon and role model for
millions throughout the 1960s
and 70s, he was the Mets’ true
superstar, helping them catapult
from loveable doormats
in Major League Baseball to
the unlikeliest of champions in
1969.
He was also one of the very
best pitchers of not only his
generation, but MLB history,
racking up 311 victories with a
2.86 ERA, 3,640 strikeouts, and
three Cy Young Awards.
As news of his passing extends
throughout the baseball
world, past and present Mets
greats, along with prominent
members of the baseball
world have extended their
condolences:
JERRY KOOSMAN
(Seaver’s teammate,
1967-77)
“A great leader of our team.
When he wasn’t pitching he
was always there to help the
other guys on the staff. He was
a true professional.
ED KRANEPOOL
(Seaver’s teammate,
1967-77)
“When he joined us as a
rookie, he pitched like a 35-
year-old. He had a great head
on his shoulders. We became a
different team when he walked
into the locker room in 1967.”
RON SWOBODA
(Seaver’s teammate,
1967-70)
“A lot of us aren’t here anymore,
but this one really hurts.
This one really hurts.”
MIKE PIAZZA (Mets
catcher, 1998-2005)
“Tom Seaver was a larger
than life baseball Icon, he
embodied all that is desired
in a player and a man, dedicated,
loyal, sincere, and
fiercely competitive. Showed
strength and dignity during
his recent suffering. He will
be missed”
KEITH HERNANDEZ
(Mets fi rst baseman,
1983-89, Mets
broadcaster)
“I am deeply saddened of the
passing of Tom Seaver. I had
the honor of unsuccessfully hitting
against him & having as
a teammate. He is the greatest
Met of all time. No one will ever
surpass him that wears the orange
& blue. My condolences to
Nancy & his family. Tears.”
DAVID WRIGHT (Mets
third baseman, 2004-
2018)
“Tom and I had a great relationship.
I think he saw a little
of himself in me, I was homegrown,
just like he was. He
called me from time to time, but
we would never talk about baseball.
We would talk about life.”
JACOB deGROM (Mets
pitcher, 2014-present)
“Saddened to hear of the
passing of Tom Seaver. Unfortunately,
I never got the chance
to meet him. Seeing the person
he was on and off the field, he
is definitely someone I look up
to.”
Baseball world mourns
passing of Mets legend
he pitched like a 35-yearold.
He had a great head on his
shoulders. We became a different
team when he walked into
the locker room in 1967.”
Tom Seaver died at the age of 75. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
/QNS.COM
