Tom Glavine

Growing up in the Northeast, Tom Glavine, like most young men who live in the Northeast, loved hockey; he even played hockey and was very good at it. In fact prior to being drafted by the Atlanta Braves, Glavine was drafted by the LA Kings in the 1984 NHL Draft.

But destiny had other plans for Glavine; that same year Glavine was also drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft. He became the cornerstone for the Braves success in the 1990's and early 2000's.

Glavine made his Braves debut in 1987 and won his first major game against a team he would become famliar with, the Pittsburgh Pirates. But Glavine's first few years as a major leaguer were filled with ups and downs including a 17 loss season in 1988. But starting in 1991, things started to change for Glavine and the Braves.

Glavine won 20 games that year along with his first of two Cy Young Awards (the second was in 1998). He also lead the Braves to their first of 14 division titles and to their first World Series since the Braves moved to Atlanta. From 1991-2002, Glavine won 189 games and was a 20-game winner five times during that 11 year period. In 1995, Glavine and the Braves would win the World Series and Glavine would be the MVP of the Series. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=114849

Glavine and the Braves would make the World Series several more times, but they only garnered one World Series title. In 2003, after spending his whole career as an Atlanta Brave, Glavine would sign a four-year contract with their division rivals, the New York Mets.

Glavine would find some success with the Mets, but it didn't equal to the same amount of success he had with the Braves, but as a Met he would achieve his 300th win on August 5, 2007 against the Chicago Cubs. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=114849 Although Glavine was a Met when he won number 300, but the Braves would honor him for this achievement when the Mets came to Atlanta.

Glavine would re-sign with the Braves in 2008, but he was put on the disabled and he never pitched again. The Braves brought Glavine back in 2009 but released him in June to make room for pitcher Tommy Hanson. Glavine offically retired in February 2010 but reports surfaced a few months earlier that Glavine was considering filing a grievance against the team as he believed that he was released to save the team money and make a roster spot for Hanson.http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/11831361

Tom Glavine was part of the original young guns along with fellow pitchers Steve Avery and John Smoltz, but he was the Brave who started the young guns. Coming up in the organization, he had to carry the banner a long time as a starter for the Braves. So, it was only appropriate that Glavine would lead the Braves to their World Series victory and win the series MVP award.

Glavine won Games 2 and 6 (the series clincher) against the Cleveland Indians. Glavine pitched eight scoreless, one-hit innings in the Braves 1-0 victory. After all the years of hard work, ups and downs with his original club, Glavine was the pitcher on record as the Braves celebrated their World Series victory. Even after he left Atlanta for New York, Braves fans and old teammates never forgot Glavine's contribution to the organization on and off the field. In 2010, Glavine decided to work in the front office of the club who gave him his first start.