Steve Somers was not on WFAN Wednesday night into Thursday morning following the passing of Tom Seaver, but the Schmooze still made it to the NYC airwaves, calling in to sister station 1010 WINS to talk to Lori Madden about the loss of “Mr. Met.”
And a big loss it was, worthy of a spot on any newscast anywhere because of the impact Seaver had.
“No one can replace the man who defined the Mets, who turned them from the lovable losers of the 1960s into champions,” Somers said. “Sort of like the first kiss you have, you’ll always remember Tom Seaver as a Mets fan, and as a baseball fan. Anyone who is even a little bit familiar with the game of baseball will know the name Tom Seaver.”
Seaver was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, no doubt, and is considered the best Mets player – not just pitcher, player – in the franchise’s six decades of history. And, with 311 wins, over 3,600 strikeouts, a Cy Young Award, and, at the time of his induction, the highest percentage of Hall of Fame vote ever, Seaver is in the inner circle of the inner circle of the best of all-time.
“Any time you knew he was scheduled, you figured the Mets were going to win that day, and they usually did,” Somers said. “He was always with the game face. So determined, so focused, and so dominant. Jacob deGrom is very close, but no one can replace the man who defined the Mets, who turned them from the lovable losers of the 1960s into champions.”
Indeed, the Miracle Mets of 1969 will never be forgotten, but as long-time New York fans know, it was Seaver, among others, who turned the lovable losers that lost 120 games in their inaugural season of 1962 into a team that reached two World Series in five years within a decade.
“He was Mr. Met, Tom Terrific, The Franchise…the leader of that great rotation with Jerry Koosman and Nolan Ryan and Gary Gentry,” Somers said. “They were the laughable and lovable Mets, but they were losers too until Seaver and some of the others that followed came in the late 60s and turned it around. There’s a reason they re-named the address at Citi Field 41 Seaver Way, and of course a statue was to debut sometime this year, positioned where it belongs.”
And to sum up, Somers, who has been on WFAN’s airwaves since day one, remembered one moment in that ’69 season that would come to define the Mets in a good, and not-so-good, way.
“One of his most memorable games of all was in 1970, when he struck out 19 San Diego Padres, including the last 10 he faced,” Somers said, “but also that game where he had a no-hitter (editor’s note: actually, a perfect game) into the ninth against the Cubs until Jimmy Qualls with a little bleeder, a blooper, a Texas Leaguer, to break it up.”
Seaver finished that game two batters later with a one-hit shutout, finally got his no-hitter as a Red in 1978, and, eventually, got to see the Mets’ first-ever no-no in 2012. And, as Jimmy Qualls can always count that moment – one of only 31 hits he recorded in MLB – as a highlight, we, too, in New York, and anywhere baseball is played, will never forget Tom Seaver.