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This Day In Sports…June 15, 1977:
Just before the trade deadline, the New York Mets unceremoniously deal three-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver, the team’s best and most popular player, to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Pat Zachry, along with Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. The deal breaks the hearts of both Mets fans and the man they called “The Franchise”. It was the result of squabbling between Seaver and Mets general manager M. Donald Grant over terms of a contract extension for the future Hall of Famer and the direction of the team.
In New York they called it the “Midnight Massacre,” and it sent shockwaves through the Big Apple. Seaver had led the “Miracle Mets” to the 1969 World Series title, and eight years later he was the best pitcher in baseball. The Mets themselves were stunned and disillusioned by the trade, and fans were both sad and angry—crowds at Shea Stadium were openly weeping in the days following and brought a plethora of signs denouncing the team’s front office.
At the time of the deal, Seaver was 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 starts. Reds manager Sparky Anderson predicted that Seaver would be even better in Cincinnati, and he was, going 14-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 20 starts. He finished the season with a 21-6 record, a 2.58 ERA and a big league-best seven shutouts. Seaver’s performance was good enough for a third-place finish in the NL Cy Young Award voting.
Without their beloved ace, the Mets suffered a massive drop in attendance—by 1979 it was down to 9,740 per game. The team also plummeted to the bottom of the NL East, finishing in last place in five of the next seven seasons. Seaver, meanwhile would remain a Red through 1982 before returning to the Mets for one season in 1983. It appeared he was on the decline by then, as he went 9-14, and the team—despite picking up his contract option for 1984—left him unprotected in a free agent compensation draft. The Chicago White Sox promptly picked him up. Mets fans weren’t much happier this time around.
In two-plus seasons with the White Sox, Seaver was 33-28 with a 3.67 ERA and notched his 300th career victory. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox midway through the 1986 season, which would be his last. Seaver did not pitch against the Mets in World Series that season due to injury; he then announced his retirement the following June. Seaver’s final numbers: a 311-205 record with a 2.86 ERA and 3,640 strikeouts. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 in his first year of eligibility.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
