Hats off to Tommy G.

I never have and never will root for the Mets. But I do hope Glavine wins 300. He'll try tonight.

No doubt Glavine will go into Cooperstown as a Brave. It's here he won 242 of his games, or 81 percent as of now. It's here he pitched the greatest game in Atlanta Braves history. It's here he came into the big leagues and honed the craft that's made him one of the greatest left handers ever.

It's also here that some people still jeer him. In today's local organ, Tommy tells Tim Tucker that the boos he hears on Hank Aaron Drive bother him.

People buy a ticket they can do what they want. I understand a lot of people resent Glavine's outspoken role during the '94 strike. I get that. I also get the notion some have, including me to some degree, that he on some level chose loyalty to the players union over the Braves when he left for the Mets.

Truth is, though, that none of us knows exactly what happened between Tommy and the Bravos' brass. The home team ultimately offered him 3 years, $30 million, just $5 mill less over three years than the Mets paid him. But I don't know how they got there, or what conditions were attached. I'm sure JS and Stan Kasten, who was still team president in 2002, are not exactly chummy to deal with in contract talks.

Bottom line: I would never boo Glavine. The guy was, as much as any one player, responsible for the Braves becoming the Braves of the '90s-'00s. For me, there are countless indelible memories of Tommy the Brave, the two warmest being the '95 Series clincher, or course, and him and The Hammer carrying home plate from Old Blue into Turner Field before the first game at the new yard. When they walked through the center field wall, if you didn't feel chills and your eyes didn't water, at least a little, you're not a true Braves fan.

Still, I get the resentment. He left for the Mets, for more money. Players do it all the time. If you want to boo him, boo him. I wish people wouldn't though. As Tommy points out, Julio went to the Mets for more money, too. Julio's done about 1/1,000th as much as Glavine did for the Braves. Yet Julio is greeted as a returning hero.

Atlanta fans are, to put it kindly, odd sometimes.

--CD

Comments

[PepeFreeUs]

Oh, goody. "Randy" and "Dave" Sounds like a typical morning drive time show.

So, were David Justice and Brian Jordan both lying about Schuerholtz, too? After a while, most people realize that where there's smoke, there is usually fire.

That "Ernie Banks era" clod quoted the AJC story today is typical of that breed of dumbass fan, incessantly pining for the illusion of happy players, perfectly content to play for a pittance of the total revenue and sell cars all winter, just to hear a few cheers, until that icky Marvin Miller led them astray. People like this make me ill.

As to the substance of this, to paraphrase Gene Mauch (something I rarely do), I can't believe anyone in Atlanta could even form their mouth to make a "boo" for Tom Glavine. It's so fundamentally absurd that I can't even muster up the effort to make the (very easily made) arguments against it. It's like arguing against drinking lye: you would think it was so obvious that people wouldn't do it, yet there is some goober showing up in the emergency room all the time.

On a related note (I'm just talking to the rational folks, now), does anyone else think that Randolph has very little confidence in Tom? He seems awfully ready with the hook of late. It wound up costing him tonight, much to my enjoyment.

[JS]

My hat is off, I'll give him a standing O and cheer him out of the dugout. Maddux was a party pooper, responding to reporters trying to get a good quote after his 300th in his finest deadpan that it was another game, another win. Sheesh. Go, Tommy, go.

[AtlPaddy]

I don't boo Glavine and I want him to win his 300th (and then lose the rest of the season), but as a friend of mine said, once he put on that Mets uniform, all the tomato juice in the world wouldn't be able to wash off the stink.

[CharlesP]

Chalk me up as in the wishing the best for Tommy camp. I was a bit miffed during the strike and when he left for the Mets... but as you pointed out, he did SO much for the team for SO many years.

[clete boyer fan]

The one thing that stands out from Glavine's exit in 02 was that it became a public pissing match between Tommy and JS. When Schuerholz started commenting on contract negotiations (something he almost never did), I knew Glavine was probably gone. And at that moment, only the Mets and Philly were offering top of the line deals.

I never minded Glavine's role in the '94 labor strife. Hell, given the choice between the owners' traditional "the sky is falling and this time we really are going broke" stance and that of the MLBPA, I've always sided with the players; the owners have always lied too damn much.

Is Glavine a mercenary? No more than any other free agent. When the Braves sign a player from another team, is that player derided as a mercenary, as not being a "real Brave"? Or do we cheer like hell for him because he's on our side? Glavine "can piss off and die"? PUH-LEEEZE. He is too huge a reason for this franchise's rise to be treated like a Randy O'Neal or Tim Spooneybarger. Since Glavine left, I've rooted against the Mets as usual unless he starts. When he pitches against the Braves, I root for a Braves win - and a no-decision for Glavine. And tonight, while watching my Bravos on the tube, I'll be watching Glavine shoot for 300 on the computer.

[Randy]

Glavine was such an outfront figure on the strike, plus taking the Mets' money, he epitomizes the money is everything type of player fans really can't stand. I remember his preening during the '94 strike, it was as ugly as the stupid things coming out of Bud Selig's mouth, this really made him unpopular. I agree Glavine is an outstanding pitcher, and a sure hall-of-famer. But he'll always be looked at as a mercenary, who'll do anything for a buck!

[CD]

I don't think we ever know for sure what goes on between players, agents and clubs. We might think we do, but we don't.

[Dave]

Piss off lefty. I can tell you exactly why people boo Glavine. 'Cause he exemplifies the problem of greedy ballplayers. First of all, his agent lied about Shuerholz not contacting him. Glavine and his agent lied about contract talks. Players deserve to be paid as much as the market will bear, but in some cases the hometown discount is justified. Sure that $5M difference is a life changer to 99% of the people in the world, but not to a ball player who is paid as much as Glavine. He could have stayed with the only team he ever knew, but he left just for the raise. And he went to our worst rivals too boot. They knew that Glavine would leave if they only offered him a little bit more.

Then the 'ole left handed bastard played with Atlanta fans yet again when he said that he may return to Atlanta this year. He told Omar that he would give him an answer by Monday. Schuerholz was trying to clear cap room as Glavine and his agent knew. Did Glavine wait until monday to accept the Mets' offer? Nope. He publicly stated on Saturday night that he was accepting the Mets' offer. He played the Atlanta fans like a freakin' harp. He had no intention of coming back. He was just pressuring the Mets for more money.

Glavine showed that he was a true mercenary and that is why Atlanta fans boo the bastard.

You want to know why things are different for Julio? Julio wasn't drafted here, he didn't play here for a decade, he is at the end of his career and the Mets offered him a guaranteed two year deal. Schuerholz wouldn't match the two years. Notice that Julio came back to the Braves and asked them to match the number of years. He tried to stay with the Braves.

Lefty can piss off and die.

[Willie Montanez]

You are right - without Glavine, the run of success never happens. They would not have won in '91 and '92 without him, and without the back-to-back WS appearances of those seasons, they would not have gotten Maddux here. I was never one to boo Glavine during the first 3 years of his exile, but I still resented him anyway. Especially after it came out in the JS book that they had a verbal agreement that Glavine walked out on. However, when Glavine made it publicly known that he wanted to return to Atlanta last offseason, in my mind, he redeemed himself - even if he never wears his real uniform again.

[Oliver]

First of all let me say that I love your blog. Second, let me say that I'm a huge Braves fan. I was born here, endured a decade and a half of putrid, last-place, horrific baseball when there was no light at the end of the tunnel. I was a HUGE Glavine fan (although Poison Avery was my favorite because he threw me a ball in BP of the NLCS in 91). Then the strike happened in 94 and I tried to get pissed off at baseball. That didn't last long, even though I distinctly remember swearing it off for life. Then later Tommy G left for the friggin' Mets. I thought there was no way in hell he'd go (and at least ANY PLACE BUT NY). I tried to get pissed at him too, but then I realized as head of the players union, he'd be a complete hypocrite if he didn't take the best offer out there. That's how I can justify it so I can still think back fondly on him nibbling at the outside corner all game with opposing batters just flailing at it trying to make contact. And how about the "Chicks dig the long-ball" commercials he and Maddux did? I remember always thinking if he got past the first two innings unscathed it was money in the bag. He NEVER blew leads late. Anyhoo, this comment is all over the place, but I just wanted to say I agree, love the blog, and keep up the great work. GO BRAVES!