Tom Glavine

Baseball Player

• Born: March 25, 1966
• Place of Birth: Concord, Massachusetts

SPORT: Baseball

Early Life

Thomas Michael Glavine was born to Fred and Millie Glavine in Concord, Massachusetts, on March 25, 1966. Tom, his two brothers, and his sister grew up in Billerica, Massachusetts, where his father owned a family construction business. In the summer, he helped out in the business and played sports. He got his first pair of ice skates at the age of five and began baseball at the age of eight, playing hockey in winter and baseball in spring and summer. Active in youth leagues for hockey and baseball, in high school, he excelled in both sports, winning the Massachusetts Valley Conference’s Most Valuable Player award in hockey and playing in the state baseball finals.

The Road to Excellence

During Glavine's senior year in high school, he was recruited by several schools to play hockey. He signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Lowell. He was chosen in the second round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Atlanta Braves and, five days later, was a fourth-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League (NHL). He signed with the Braves with an $80,000 bonus and on June 27, 1984, at the age of eighteen, he boarded a plane at Boston’s Logan Airport to join the Bradenton Braves in the rookie Gulf Coast League.

Glavine's first start came a week after he arrived and in unfamiliar, intense Florida heat. He developed soreness in his throwing arm and was told to let it rest. However, legendary minor-league pitching instructor Johnny Sain insisted Tom throw every day to get his arm strong. Soon his arm improved, as did his performance, and he finished the year with a 2–3 record and a 3.34 earned run average (ERA).

Near the end of the 1986 season, Glavine was sent to Richmond, Virginia. His debut, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, witnessed by family and friends, was humiliating for Tom, who gave up two grand slams in one inning as his team lost 18–0. The jump to AAA was difficult for the young pitcher. He struggled with his control and against fiercer hitters, but he remained confident.

The Emerging Champion

In August 1987, Glavine was called up to the struggling Atlanta Braves team. His first game, against Houston, was similar to his AAA debut: disappointing. He lasted 3 1/3 innings, gave up ten hits, and ended the day with an ERA of 14.73. Five days later, however, he won his first major-league game in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet Glavine's pitching was still not consistent, nor was Atlanta’s defense. Manager Chuck Tanner was fired, and Russ Nixon, third-base coach, took over, but the Braves’ record that year was 54–106.

In spring training in 1989 Glavine discovered a new grip that allowed him to throw the ball with the same arm speed as a fastball but with slightly reduced velocity. This pitch, called a changeup, slowed down and sank. He added a dominant pitch to his already impressive array of pitches that included the fastball, curveball, and slider. That year, his record improved to 14–8 with a 3.68 ERA. In 1990, Nixon was replaced as manager by Bobby Cox, who brought in Leo Mazzone from Richmond to be the Braves’ pitching coach. Once Sain’s pupil, Mazzone, too, believed pitchers should throw every day—an unorthodox practice that Glavine credited with much of his eventual success. By the spring of 1991, Glavine had developed the confidence and mindset that made him a consistent, winning pitcher. Selected to pitch in the All-Star game in Toronto, his record was 20–11 by the end of the season, and he won a Cy Young Award, given annually to the best pitchers in the National League and the American League. The Braves advanced to the World Series, where Glavine started twice, losing the second game of the series before winning the fifth. The Braves ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins in seven games.

Continuing the Story

In 1992, Glavine hoped to repeat the success he had experienced in 1991. Despite struggling with first-inning problems and a rib injury, for the second time, he was named the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star game halfway through the season. He again won twenty games by the end of the regular season and assisted Atlanta in winning the National League Championship Series (NLCS). He was then chosen by Cox to pitch the first game of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1993, the Braves added Greg Maddux to a pitching rotation that included Glavine and John Smoltz, forming a pitching trio that would lead Atlanta to remarkably consistent success throughout the 1990s. The Braves won 104 games in 1993 but lost the NLCS to Pittsburgh. In 1994 Glavine was enthusiastic about the MLB's new expanded divisional format but discovered that his pitching required adjustment. His control suffered because he suddenly began throwing a faster changeup. He struggled with his pitching as the Braves scrambled to a wild-card spot in the playoffs. However, the team's playoff push came to naught because of the players’ strike in August. As a player representative, Glavine spent time in negotiations and was the target of personal attacks from fans who blamed the players’ greediness for the suspension and cancellation of the baseball season.

In 1995, Glavine pitched to a record of 16–7, and the Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds for the National League pennant and faced the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. Glavine won his starts in the second and sixth games of the series, with the latter game clinching Atlanta the championship title after Glavine pitched eight innings while allowing only one hit and no runs. He was named the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Braves returned to the World Series in 1996 against the New York Yankees but lost in six games, with Glavine taking the loss in game three despite giving up only two runs—only one earned—in seven innings.

During the 1990s, Glavine was the winningest left-hander in baseball. He was an All-Star in 1997 and 1998, and he won the Cy Young Award in the latter year when he again won twenty games. He and Maddux took advantage of generous outside corners from umpires and used pinpoint control to dominate batters. However, when the strike zone was tightened up in 1999, Tom struggled through a difficult year, finishing 14-11 with a 4.12 ERA. The Braves managed to reach the World Series again, where they rematched the Yankees but were swept in four games, with Glavine pitching to a no-decision in game three. He recovered his form over the next three years, however, becoming a five-time twenty-game winner with an impressive performance in 2000. In 2002, he changed his approach to throw more inside cut fastballs and changeups and used backdoor sliders against right-handers. That season, Glavine was again selected as an All-Star and finished with a stellar ERA of 2.96 and an 18–11 record.

After the 2002 season, the New York Mets, the Braves' division rivals, noticed Glavine's success and offered him a four-year $42.5 million contract, which he accepted. He struggled through two losing seasons with the Mets before he began to show signs of his earlier mastery. The highlight of his Mets years was winning his 300th game in 2007. He became only the fifth left-hander in major-league history to do so.

At the age of forty-two, Glavine decided that he no longer wanted to be so far away from his wife and four children, who remained in suburban Atlanta during his five years in New York. Therefore, he determined either to return to the Braves or retire. Needing to shore up a weak starting rotation, the Braves signed him to a contract for $8 million for the 2008 season. Atlanta was happy to re-sign a pitcher who had contributed to eleven division titles in his thirteen seasons with the club. However, the normally resilient Glavine suffered an arm injury and ended up pitching in only thirteen games, posting a 2–4 record. He underwent surgery and signed a new one-year contract with the Braves for 2009 to attempt a comeback, but he was released by the team before finishing a minor league assignment.

Glavine then announced his retirement from baseball in 2010, finishing his career with a record of 305–203, a 3.54 ERA, 2,607 strikeouts, ten All-Star nominations, and even four Silver Slugger Awards for his batting skills as a pitcher. He would rejoin the Braves organization as a special assistant and also went on to provide commentary and analysis on some team broadcasts. Atlanta retired his jersey number 47 during the 2010 season. In 2014, Glavine was accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame during his first round of eligibility. In the 2020s, Glavine's son also began an MLB career, playing for the Washington Nationals. In his retirement, Glavine has remained active through media appearances, providing baseball commentary for local Atlanta television and the MLB Network, and participating in various charities. Glavine is also an avid golfer and hosts golf tournaments benefiting charity.

Summary

Tom Glavine’s mental approach, rather than a blazing fastball, was the basis for his success and survival in Major League Baseball. Always appearing unruffled by pressure, he relied on his mature, stoic attitude to cope with the ups and downs in his pitching record. Intelligent and attentive to details, rhythm, and control, he maintained a work ethic that allowed him to single-mindedly pursue pitching perfection across a Hall-of-Fame career.

Bibliography

DeMacio, Tony. “Tom Glavine Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News.” MLB.com, www.mlb.com/player/tom-glavine-114849. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Feinstein, John. Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember. Boston: Little, Brown, 2008.

“Field of Dreams: Charity Golf Tournament Benefits Seaside School Foundation.” Emerald Coast, 21 Oct. 2022, www.emeraldcoastmagazine.com/golf-tournament-benefits-seaside-school. Accessed 11 June 2024.

“Glavine, Tom.” Baseball Hall of Fame, baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/glavine-tom. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Glavine, Tom, and Nick Cafardo. None but the Braves. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Glavine, Tom, and Brian Tarcy. Baseball for Everybody. Worcester: Chandler House, 1999.

Shpigel, Ben. “Glavine Will End Career on Own Terms in Atlanta.” New York Times, 20 Nov. 2007.

Shpigel, Ben. “Mets’ Glavine Reaches Milestone After a Week of Anxious Moments.” New York Times, 6 Aug. 2007.