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George Thomas "Tom" Seaver (born November 17, 1944), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", 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 , 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). He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1967, and three NL Cy Young Awards as the league's best pitcher. Seaver is the Mets' all-time leader in wins, and is considered by many baseball experts as one of the best starting pitchers in the history of baseball. ==Early life and development== Seaver was born in Fresno, California to Betty Lee Cline and Charles Henry Seaver.〔(Baseball Hall Of Fame )〕 Pitching for Fresno High School, Seaver compensated for his lack of size and strength by developing great control on the mound. Despite being an All-City basketball player, he hoped to play baseball in college. He joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves on June 28, 1962. He served with AIRFMFPAC 29 Palms, California through July .〔(Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame ), Retrieved July 1, 2007〕 After six months of active duty in the Reserves, Seaver enrolled at Fresno City College. In anticipation of the following season, he was being recruited to pitch for the University of Southern California by legendary Trojan coach Rod Dedeaux. Unsure as to whether Seaver was worthy of a scholarship, he was sent to pitch for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1964. After a stellar season – in which he pitched and won a game in the national tournament with a grand slam — he was awarded a scholarship to USC. As a sophomore, Seaver posted a 10-2 record, and he was drafted in the tenth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. When Seaver asked for $70,000, however, the Dodgers passed. In 1966, he signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves, who had drafted him in the first round of the secondary June draft (20th overall). However, the contract was voided by Baseball Commissioner William Eckert because his college team had played two exhibition games that year (although Seaver himself hadn't played). Seaver intended, then, to finish the college season, but because he had signed a pro contract, the NCAA ruled him ineligible. After Seaver's father complained to Eckert about the unfairness of the situation, and threatened with a lawsuit, Eckert ruled that other teams could match the Braves' offer.〔 The Mets were subsequently awarded his signing rights in a lottery drawing among the three teams (the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians being the two others) that were willing to match the Braves' terms. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tom Seaver」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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