Tug McGraw
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Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was a colorful Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was the father of country music singer Tim McGraw.
He was born in Martinez, California. Signed out of Poway high school by the New York Mets on June 12, 1964. The Mets tried him as a starting pitcher, but he only managed a 2-12 record in 16 starts over two years. One of those victories, however, was against Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax - the first time the Mets had ever beaten the future Hall of Famer. After spending all of 1968 in the minor leagues, he became a full-time reliever in 1969. Relying on a good screwball, he racked up twelve saves for the Miracle Mets as they went on to win the World Series, but he did not pitch in the Fall Classic.
He became one of the more successful closers in baseball during the early 1970s, placing second in the National League in saves in 1972 and 1973. McGraw was the winning pitcher of the 1972 All-Star Game, one of two All-Star Games in which he played. During the 1973 season, he coined a popular rallying cry for the Mets, "You Gotta Believe!" That year, the Mets won the National League East with only 82 wins, but managed to make the World Series, losing to the Oakland Athletics in seven games in a series many Mets fans felt the team should have won.
On December 3, 1974, McGraw was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Don Hahn and Dave Schneck in exchange for catcher John Stearns, pitcher Mac Scarce and outfielder Del Unser. At the time of the trade, McGraw was the all-time Mets leader in saves, games pitched, and games finished, and it appeared as though the Mets were unloading damaged goods, as McGraw had developed shoulder trouble during the 1974 season. After the trade, he was diagnosed with a simple cyst and after successful surgery to remove it, recovered completely.
With the Phillies, he continued his role as a reliable relief pitcher. In 1980, he finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award voting, compiling 20 saves and a 1.46 ERA and helping the Phillies win the NL East. In the playoffs, he appeared in all five games of the National League Championship Series, saving two of them. His finest efforts came in the World Series, striking out ten batters in 7 2/3 innings. He saved the final game by striking out Willie Wilson, clinching the Phillies' first World Series championship.
He spent the next four seasons as a set-up man rather than a closer, and retired after the 1984 season. He compiled 180 saves in his career, tied for eighth-best in Major League history at the time.
Besides his pitching talents, Tug McGraw was a colorful character off the field. He once famously said: "Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste." When asked in 1974 whether he preferred natural grass or artificial turf, he replied "I don't know, I never smoked AstroTurf". [1] In the mid 1970s McGraw was involved with the creation of the nationally syndicated comic strip "Scroogie."
He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1993 and to the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame in 1999.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he was a reporter for Action News on WPVI, the American Broadcasting Company affiliate found on channel 6 in Philadelphia, and usually reported on sports or wacky stories.
McGraw could also throw righthanded and would often loosen up before games by playing righthanded catch with his teammates, leaving fans wondering who that righthander wearing number 45 was.
On March 12, 2003, McGraw was working as a spring training instructor for the Phillies when he was hospitalized with a brain tumor. Surgery performed to remove it revealed that he had cancer. Given three weeks to live by doctors, he managed to survive nine months. During this time, he attended the closing ceremonies of Veterans Stadium, where he recreated the final out of the Phillies' World Series triumph.
At the time of his death, McGraw was ranked:
- 24th on the all-time major league list in games pitched (824)
- 22nd on the all-time major league list in games finished (541)
- 1st on the all-time Phillies list in games finished (313)
- 3rd on the all-time Phillies list in games pitched (463)
- 4th on the all-time Phillies list in saves (94)
- 8th on the all-time Phillies list in least hits per nine innings (7.89)
- 4th on the all-time Mets list in games saved (86)
- 4th on the all-time Mets list in games finished (228)
- 5th on the all-time Mets list in most games pitched (361)
- 7th on the all-time Mets list in least hits per nine innings (7.78)
- 10th on the all-time Mets list in most batters struck out per nine innings (7.02)
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[edit] Personal life
McGraw had just met Elizabeth D'Agostino in 1966 when their brief relationship resulted in the conception of country music superstar Tim McGraw. For years, Tug refused to acknowledge that this was his son, but eventually he and Tim became close.
Tug was married to the former Phyllis Kline in 1968, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1988.
[edit] Quotes
Asked what he would do with the salary he was making as a pitcher, Tug McGraw said:
Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste.
Source: The New Yorker, Feb 19 & 26 issue. (Louis Menand, article entitled "Notable Quotables")
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career Stats for Tug McGraw
- The Tug McGraw Foundation
- You can find quotes by Tug McGraw on Wikiquote.
- The Deadball Era
| Preceded by Willie Stargell |
Babe Ruth Award 1980 |
Succeeded by Ron Cey |
