Quotes by Tom Seaver

About Tom Seaver:

George Thomas "Tom" Seaver is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets. During a 20-year career, Seaver compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts and a 2.86 earned run average. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage ever recorded (98.84%), and has the only plaque at Cooperstown wearing a New York Mets hat. As of 2010, Tom Seaver and Gil Hodges (played for the Mets in 1962-63) are the only Met players to have their jersey numbers retired by the team (Gil Hodges' number was retired as a manager even though he also played for the Mets).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The good rising fastball is the best pitch in baseball.

Tom Seaver

Pitching is what you have best on the day you work, and if you can't get your fastball over the plate, then maybe you can win with your curve.

Tom Seaver

If the Mets can win the World Series, the United States can get out of Vietnam.

Tom Seaver

In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.

Tom Seaver

There are only two places in the league - first place and no place.

Tom Seaver

My pitch count as a general rule was 135. And I knew how many pitches I had when I went to the mound for the last three innings.

Tom Seaver

There's nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's mechanics. And you can't look at his genes. It should come from the individual and the pitching coach and the manager...

Tom Seaver

Once a year, I take my whole wine team down to see the Giants, and we meet the players. I've never seen anyone pitch like Lincecum that can throw the ball and get through the front leg. He has that stiff front leg.

Tom Seaver

There is no set numerical value you can put on a pitcher. They're all different.

Tom Seaver

What's important is to get into the pitcher's head: to know what he's made of.

Tom Seaver

Take a look at all of them: Marichal, Jenkins, Spahn - what do you think made them successful? They conditioned their arms by pitching more, not less, starting from when they signed their first contract.

Tom Seaver

My job isn't to strike guys out; it's to get them out - sometimes by striking them out.

Tom Seaver

Basically, hitters fall into a pattern, and once you know what they like, you can set them up for the putout with something else.

Tom Seaver

I had 12 years under my belt of baseball at the amateur level before I got to the big leagues.

Tom Seaver

I would like to be a great artist. I would quit pitching if I could paint like Monet or Rousseau. But I can't. What I can do is pitch, and I can do that very well.

Tom Seaver

It takes 20 victories for people to recognize you as a great pitcher.

Tom Seaver

I'm a huge advocate of pitching. You have to have good pitching as the solid core, the foundation. It keeps you in every game.

Tom Seaver

The thing most people don't understand is that pitching isn't the same every time out.

Tom Seaver

Fenway is the essence of baseball

Tom Seaver

Imagine if these computer geeks who are running baseball now were allowed to run a war? They'd be telling our soldiers: 'That's enough. You've fired too many bullets from your rifle this week!'

Tom Seaver

Author Bio

  • NameTom Seaver
  • DescriptionHall of Fame baseball pitcher (1967-1986)
  • AliasesTom Terrific
  • BornNovember 17, 1944
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionBaseball Player
  • AwardsNational Baseball Hall Of Fame And Museum