1,519 Cups of Coffee

What it's like to make just one major league appearance, plus, Atlanta falls back in love with Tom Glavine, Mookie has a vicious belly ache, and a Mets fan is afraid of winning.

Author

J.D. DiGiovanni
March 25, 2025

Pine Tar Letter
A vintage Topps baseball card featuring pitcher Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves in a gray uniform mid-pitch. The card has an orange and yellow border with a dotted halftone pattern, the Braves team name in blue at the top left, and "Tom Glavine" printed in a blue box at the bottom. A stylized "PTL" logo appears in the bottom right corner outside the card.

Today is the birthday of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, born March 25, 1966, in Concord, Massachusetts.

During the 1994 player’s strike, Glavine went from fan favorite to something of a villain in Atlanta. Known for his steady presence and pinpoint control on the mound, he took on a very different role as the players union rep — calling out ownership for being greedy and trying to control everything.

Fans in Atlanta did not sympathize. The Braves had won the division three seasons in a row, but hadn’t been able to clinch it. 1994 could’ve been their year. But no baseball. All because guys getting paid millions of dollars to live their dream still wanted more. And there was Glavine, calling owners greedy.

The resentment lingered after the strike ended in 1995. Both in Atlanta and on the road, Glavine was met with boos when he took the mound. It didn’t seem to distract him. Over the course of the regular season he went 16-7 with a 3.08 ERA. And suddenly the Braves were going to the World Series.

By the time Game 6 of the 1995 Fall Classic arrived, fans had already forgotten that they didn’t like him anymore. They were too anxious.

Glavine delivered for the Braves. Over the course of eight innings, he only allowed three walks and a single. Atlanta would win the game, and the series, with just one run. By the end of the ceremonies, Glavine was named World Series MVP.

Glavine’s entire career would span 21 years from 1987 to 2008. Over the course of that time he, won two Cy Young Awards, earned ten All-Star selections, had five 20-win seasons, and totaled 305 career victories. Atlanta retired his jersey in 2010, and he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

A graphic baseball card profile of Tom Glavine, featuring personal and career stats. It includes the PTL logo, his name in bold teal, and details: Position - Pitcher, Bats - Left, Throws - Left, Height - 6'0", Weight - 175 lbs, Born - 3/25/66 in Concord, Massachusetts. Below is a stats row with the following: Wins - 305, Losses - 203, ERA - 3.54, Strikeouts - 2607, Walks - 1500, Innings Pitched - 4413.1, WHIP - 1.314, Saves - 0, Complete Games - 26, Shutouts - 25. The design features clean typography and a red and blue color scheme.

MLB News

1,519 Cups of Coffee, Mets Fans Freak Out, And A Slick Glove

  • Betts Has a Stomach Bug – And apparently he’s down 23 pounds I just two weeks? There’s certainly been something going around this winter but that’s on another level.

  • More Imaginary Rankings – We’re in this odd zone where spring training is nearly wrapped, and the season has yet to start — and so all we have before (domestic) opening day is more rankings. And of course the Dodgers are #1.

  • 1,519 Cups of Coffee – The LA Times has a beautiful story on what it’s like to only play one major league game in your entire career. Check it out via Yahoo.

  • We’re All Losers Most of the Time – Devin Gordon contemplates the deep philosophical issues at the core of the Mets actually being good. A choice quote, “We’re all a little Metsy some of the time. We may have success, yes, but we can’t completely avoid failure and the sooner we embrace it, the happier we’ll be.”

  • Hatori Hanzo of Gloves – Rays minor leaguer Antonio Menendez ordered up what is maybe the slickest glove we’ve ever seen.

On This Day

The Other Tokyo Series

  • 2008 — The Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics played the first official MLB game of the 2008 season in Tokyo, Japan.