Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver, born in 1944, American professional baseball player nicknamed “Tom Terrific” by fans. Born George Thomas Seaver in Fresno, California, he was educated at Fresno City College and at the University of Southern California (USC). An outstanding athlete in both basketball and baseball, he pursued baseball and was signed by the National League's New York Mets in 1966. The next year, he won the league's rookie of the year award. In 1969, perhaps his greatest year, he compiled a 25-7 win-loss record and helped the Mets capture the World Series. Seaver won the National League's Cy Young Award for best pitcher three times (1969, 1973, 1975) and led the league five times in strikeouts and three times in victories and earned-run average. In 1977 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, was picked up again by the Mets in 1982, and signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent after the 1983 season.

Seaver pitched his 300th career victory in his 19th season (1985), the 17th major league pitcher to accomplish this feat. He played his last season in 1986 with the Boston Red Sox. Seaver finished with a career total of 311 wins, a .603 winning percentage, and 3,640 strikeouts, third-best on the all-time list. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.