Mets Celebrate Tom Glavine's 300th Win At Pregame Ceremony

NEW YORK (AP) _ When Tom Glavine first got to New York, the former Braves star struggled on the mound and heard the fans chanting 'Tom-my Glav-ine' with a simple twist: <br/><br/>``With some expletives

Sunday, August 12th 2007, 4:13 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ When Tom Glavine first got to New York, the former Braves star struggled on the mound and heard the fans chanting 'Tom-my Glav-ine' with a simple twist:

``With some expletives added,'' Glavine said.

It took him four years, but it's safe to say he's turned around even the most hardened Mets fans.

Glavine became the 23rd pitcher to win his 300th game last Sunday night, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-3 at Wrigley Field. The Mets honored Glavine on Sunday in a pregame ceremony that delayed the start of the Marlins-Mets game by 29 minutes.

Hall of Famer and fellow 300-game winner Tom Seaver honored Glavine, along with Glavine's family, teammates and the organization. Hockey Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert also was on hand.

``Let me be the first to say, welcome to the club my boy, well deserved,'' Seaver said, with the fans on their feet and applauding loudly. ``To watch Tom Glavine pitch a game is to watch a professional athlete who has mastered the art of pitching. No doubt in my mind you'll be a first-round inductee into the Hall of Fame.''

The fans gave Glavine a hearty ovation when he was announced and walked out to the field with his wife, Christine, his daughter Amber, and his sons Peyton and Mason.

``It's obvious to say that humbled and flattered wouldn't scratch the surface of how I feel at this moment,'' Glavine said to the near-capacity crowd.

In a video tribute to Glavine, 300-game winners such as Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton welcomed him to the club. Messages from Glavine's former Braves teammate John Smoltz and former manager Bobby Cox drew loud boos.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky also congratulated Glavine, who was drafted in 1984 out of high school by the Los Angeles Kings, ahead of players such as Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull. Glavine chose to stick with baseball.

``Had you chosen hockey maybe the 1993 Kings would have won the Stanley Cup,'' Gretzky said. ``You were the missing link. Congratulations!''

His teammates presented Glavine with a set of Seadoo jet skis, and the team gave him a 2007 Lincoln MKX Luxury vehicle.

Glavine presented the jersey he wore and a game ball signed by him and catcher Paul Lo Duca to the Hall of Fame.

Seaver and Glavine are two of the four 300-game winners _ Nolan Ryan and Warren Spahn are the others _ to have won at least one game in a Mets uniform. Glavine was the first to win No. 300 while pitching for the Mets.

``I'm glad Tom got there because I've been hanging around New York for two weeks now,'' Seaver said before the ceremony, smiling.

``It's an unattainable goal when you start, it's something that happens to other people, and then suddenly you're on the threshold. And part of you still thinks 'what am I doing here?'''

Getting 300 wins has become one of the rare milestones in baseball. Only 10 pitchers have achieved it since the end of World War II. And since 1990, only Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Glavine have made it.

The 41-year-old Glavine is 10-6 with a 4.25 ERA this season. Since 1989, he has failed to win at least 10 games only once, when he went 9-14 in 2003, his first season with the Mets.