Miracle Mets of 1969 just a small part of what made Tom Seaver great

In 1970 and ’71, Seaver led the NL in both ERA (2.81 and 1.76) and strikeouts (283 and 289) but did not win the Cy Young Award. It wasn’t until 1973, when he led the Mets to their second World Series, with a 19-10 record and league leading 2.08 ERA, 18 complete games, 251 strikeouts and 0.976 WHIP, that he became the first pitcher to win the Cy Young without winning 20 games.

He won his third and final Cy Young in 1975, leading the NL in wins (22-9) and strikeouts (243).

Due to disagreements with Mets owner Lorinda de Roulet in 1977, Seaver asked to be traded, and was in midseason to the Cincinnati Reds.

He won 75 games for the Reds from 1977-81, and went 14-2 during the strike-shortened 1981 season despite losing some of his legendary power due to shoulder tendinitis.

He rejoined the Mets in 1983, finishing 9-14, and then was picked up by the Chicago White Sox as a compensation pick when the Mets failed to keep him on their exemption roster.

Seaver won 15 games in 1984 for the White Sox including his 300th career victory — a six-hit, seven-strikeout complete game against the New York Yankees with the appropriate score of 4-1, his career uniform number. He spent 1986 with the Boston Red Sox, but was not on the postseason roster due to injury. Instead, he watched his former team, the Mets, win their second world title from the stands.

Seaver officially retired in 1987, and a year later, the Mets retired his No. 41, and his list of Met records — wins (198), complete games (171), shutouts (44), starts (395), innings (3,045), strikeouts (2,541) and ERA (2.57) — will likely stand forever.

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