B4 | Thursday, September 3, 2020 |beaumontenterprise.com |BeaumontEnterprise SPORTS TOMSEAVER: 1944-2020 Heart, mightyarm of MiracleMets dies at 75 By Ronald Blum tional pitchers to playthe Seaver did not attend AP BASEBALL WRITER game,” Reds Chief Execu- those ceremonies, either, tive OfficerBob Castellini but daughter Sarah Seaver NEW YORK —Tom Seav- said in astatement.“We are did and said her parents er,the Hall of Fame pitcher grateful thatTom’s Hall of were honored. whosteered astunning Fame career included time “Thisissoveryappropri- transformation from lov- with the Reds. We areproud ate because he made the able losers to Miracle Mets to count hisname among NewYorkMets the team in 1969,has died. He was75. thegreatsinthe Reds Hall of thatitis,”said RonSwobo- The Hall said Wednesday Fame. He will be missed.” da, the right fielder whose night thatSeaverdied Mon- Supremelyconfident — sprawling catchhelped dayfromcomplications of and not necessarilymodest Seaver pitch the Mets to a10- Lewy bodydementia and about hisextraordinary inning win in Game 4ofthe COVID-19. Seaver spent his acumen on the mound — ’69Series. “Hegavethem final years in Calistoga, Cal- Seaver wasa12-time All-Star credibility.” if. wholed the major leagues Seaver’s deathwas an- Seaver’s familyan- with a25-7recordin1969 nounced hours after the nounced in March2019 he and a1.76ERA in 1971. Aclas- Mets beat the Oriolesinan hadbeen diagnosed with sic powerpitcher with a interleague game. dementia and hadretired drop-and-drive delivery When the Mets closed from public life. thatoften dirtied the right their previous home, Shea He continued working at AssociatedPress filephoto knee of hisuniform pants, Stadium, on the final dayof Seaver Vineyards, founded Former New York Mets pitcher TomSeaverhad acareer 311-205record witha he wonCyYoung Awards the 2008 regular season, by the three-time NL Cy 2.86 ERA, 3,640 strikeouts and 61 shutouts. with NewYorkin1969,1973 Seaver put the finishing Young Awardwinner and and 1975.The club retired touchesonthe nostalgic hiswife, Nancy, in 2002 on on NBC and ABC even while “Tom wasagentleman “But Ilookback at it in a hisNo. 41 in 1988, the first ceremonieswith alast pitch 116acres at Diamond Moun- still an active player. whorepresented the best of positive waynow.Itgaveme Mets playergiventhe hon- to Piazza, and the two tain in the Calistogaregion “Hewas simplythe great- ournational pastime,”Com- the opportunitytoworkin or. walked off together waving of Northern California. estMets playerofall-time missioner RobManfred said different areasofthe coun- “From ateamstand- goodbye to fans. Seaver wasdiagnosed and among the best to ever in astatement.“He wassyn- try.” point,winning the ’69 Seaver wasborn in Fres- with Lyme disease in 1991, playthe game,”Mets owner onymous with the NewYork He threw hisonlyno-hit- worldchampionship is no,Calif., on Nov. 17,1944, a and it reoccurred in 2012 Fred Wilpon and son Jeff, Mets and their unforgetta- terfor the Reds in June 1978 something I’ll remember son of CharlesSeaver, atop and led to Bell’s Palsy and the team’s chief operating ble 1969 season. against St.Louis and was most,” Seaver said in 1992. amateur golfer whowon memoryloss, the Daily officer,said in astatement. “After their improbable traded back to NewYorkaf- “From an individual stand- both hismatchesfor the News of NewYorkreported Seaver waselectedtothe WorldSerieschampion- terthe 1982 season. But point,my300th win U.S. overBritain at the 1932 in 2013. Hall of Fame in1992when ship,Tom became ahouse- Mets general manager brought me the most joy.” Walker Cup. “Hewill always be the he appeared on 425 of 430 hold name to baseball fans Frank Cashen blundered by Seaver limited hispublic Seaver wasastaratthe heartand soul of theMets, ballots forathen-record —aresponsibilityhecarried leaving Seaver off hislistof appearancesinrecent UniversityofSouthern Cali- the standardwhich all Mets 98.84 percent.His mark outwith distinction 26 protectedplayers, and in years. He did not attend the fornia and wasdrafted by aspire to,” MikePiazza, a wassurpassed in 2016 by throughout hislife.” January1984 he was Baseball Writers’ Associa- Atlantain1966.Hesigned former Mets catcher and KenGriffey Jr., again in 2019 Seaver pitched forthe claimed by the Chicago tion of Americadinner in with the Braves for$51,500 Hall of Famer,tweeted when Mariano Rivera be- Mets from 1967 until 1977, WhiteSox as free agent 2019, wheremembers of the onlyfor Commissioner Wil- when Seaver’s dementia di- came the first unanimous when he wastraded to Cin- compensation forlosing 1969 Mets were honored on liam Eckert to void the deal. agnosiswas announced. selection by baseball writ- cinnati after apublic spat pitcher DennisLamp to To- the 50th anniversaryof The Trojansalready had Nicknamed TomTerrific ers and in 2020 when Derek with chairman M. Donald ronto. what still ranks among base- playedexhibition games and The Franchise, Seaver Jeterfell one vote shortofa Grant overSeaver’sdesire While pitching forthe ball’s most unexpected thatyear, and baseball rules wasafive-time 20-game clean sweep. foranewcontract.Itwas a WhiteSox,Seavergot his championships. at the timeprohibited aclub winner and the 1967 NL HisplaqueinCooper- clashthatinflamed baseball 300th win at Yankee Stadi- Five months later, as part from signing acollege play- Rookie of the Year.For his stownlauds him as a“pow- fans in NewYork. um and did it in stylewith a of acelebration of that er whose season hadstart- career,from1967-86,hehad er pitcher whohelped “Mybiggest disappoint- six-hitter in a4-1 victory.He team, the Mets announced ed. Anyteamwilling to a311-205 recordwith a2.86 changethe NewYorkMets ment? Leaving the Mets the finished hiscareer with the plans forastatue of Seaver matchthe Braves’signing ERA, 3,640 strikeouts and from lovable losers intofor- first time and the difficulties 1986 Boston RedSox team outside Citi Field, and the bonuscould enter alottery, 61 shutouts. He became a midable foes.” He changed Ihad with the same people thatlost to the Mets in the ballpark’saddresswas offi- and Eckertpicked the Mets constant on magazine cov- not onlytheir place in the thatled up to it,” Seaver told WorldSeries. ciallychanged to 41 Seaver outofahat thatalso includ- ers and amedia presence, standings but the team’s the AssociatedPress ahead “Tom Seaver wasone of Wayinanod to hisuniform ed Cleveland and Philadel- calling postseason games statureinpeople’sminds. of hisHall induction in 1992. the best and most inspira- number. phia. TENNIS No. 1seed Pliskovawon’t analyze lossatU.S. Open By Howard Fendrich AP TENNIS WRITER NEW YORK —Undernor- mal circumstances, Karoli- na Pliskovawould not have been seededNo. 1atthe U.S. Open and so,while asec- ond-round loss certainly would have been disap- pointing to her and noticed by others, it wouldn’t have been as newsworthy. But what’s normal in 2020?With the women who are1-2 in therankings choos- SOUTHEAST ing to skip thetriptoFlush- Al Bello/GettyImages ing Meadowsbecause of the Karolina Pliskova, thetop-seeded woman at theU.S. pandemic, No.3Pliskovaas- Open, bowedout in thesecond round and expressed cendedtothe topspotinthe some frustration in aclipped news conference after SOUTHEAST draw —and by Day3,she thegame. wasgone. Pliskova, the 2016 run- ShelbyRogers,anAmer- thatgameand then wassu- ner-up at the U.S. Open, ican ranked 93rd,beat11th- perior in the tiebreaker. SOUTHEAST made her mood clear dur- seeded Elena Rybakina7-5, “I knewshe wasgoing to ing a6-1,7-6 (2) loss to 50th- 6-1, and Ann Li, whois come back and notgive me ranked Caroline Garciaon ranked 128th, beat 13th- the match. When shecame Wednesdaybythrowing a seeded Alison Riske6-0,6-3 back very well,”Garciasaid, racket then again afterward in amatchupbetween two “I stayed calm and thatwas with aseriesofclipped re- players from Pennsylvania. important.” sponses at her news confer- Other seeded women Although much has been ence. whowereeliminated: No.12 expectedofher,the 26- WANTED Pliskovafidgeted with the MarketaVondrousova,No. year-old Garciaonlyonce microphone. Sighed. 30 KristinaMladenovic, No. reached aGrand Slam quar- Shruggedher shoulders. 31 Anastasija Sevastova. terfinal and neverhas been Rolled her eyes. Mladenovic’s loss wasthe past the U.S. Open’s third When areporteroffered wildest of themall. She led round. To do so thistime, possible explanations for 6-1, 5-1, thenlaterheld four she’ll need to beat 28th- the defeat—anew,faster matchpoints but neverwas seeded American Jennifer Notice is hereby given in accordance with the surface on the courts, alack abletofinish things off and Brady. terms and provisions of of atmospherebecause ended up on the wrong end As ateen, Garciabuilt,al- the Texas Alcoholic thereare no spectators, the of a1-6,7-6 (2), 6-0result beit lost,abig lead against Beverage Code that MG2 pressure of her high seeding against 102nd-ranked Varva- MariaSharapova at the 2011 Enterprise, LLC dba —Pliskovareplied: “Nothing ra Gracheva. French Open, inspiring An- Pricewise has filed from what yousaid.” Pliskovahad chancesto dy Murray to writeonTwit- application for Beer Retail Dealer’s Off- Herreasoning forthe re- take the second set against terthatthe Frenchwoman Premise License and sult? “I didn’t play good,” Garcia, whohad been 0-8 “isgoingtobeNo. 1inthe Wine Only Package Store Pliksova said, “sothat’sit.” against top-five opponents worldone day.” Permit. Said business to When another member at Grand Slam tourna- It neverhappened, al- be conducted at 107 N. of the mediasaidthisback-