R.A. Dickey Breaks Tom Seaver's 37-Year-Old Record

In 1975, Tom Seaver won his third and final Cy Young Award, going 22-9 for the Mets.  Seaver's 22nd victory came on the season's final day and allowed the Mets to finish the year with a winning record, albeit barely (82-80).  Seaver accounted for 26.8% of his team's victories in 1975, which was the highest percentage for any Mets pitcher in team history.  That's "was", as in he's no longer the leader in this category.

R.A. Dickey finished the 2012 campaign with a 20-6 record, becoming the first pitcher to win 20 games for a sub-.500 Mets team.  The Mets finished the year with a 74-88 mark, with Dickey getting credit for 27.0% of the team's wins, breaking Tom Seaver's 37-year-old record.

Nine times in franchise history has a pitcher accounted for at least one-quarter of the team's wins, led by Dickey's 27.0% this year.  The following is a list of those nine instances:

• 2012 Mets (74-88): R.A. Dickey goes 20-6 (27.0% of the team's victories)
• 1975 Mets (82-80): Tom Seaver goes 22-9 (26.8% of the team's victories)
• 1967 Mets (61-101): Tom Seaver goes 16-13 (26.2% of the team's victories)
• 1968 Mets (73-89): Jerry Koosman goes 19-12 (26.0% of the team's victories)
• 1963 Mets (51-111): Al Jackson goes 13-17 (25.5% of the team's victories)
• 1994 Mets (55-58): Bret Saberhagen goes 14-4 (25.5% of the team's victories)
• 1972 Mets (83-73): Tom Seaver goes 21-12 (25.3% of the team's victories)
• 1962 Mets (40-120): Roger Craig goes 10-24 (25.0% of the team's victories)
• 1969 Mets (100-62): Tom Seaver goes 25-7 (25.0% of the team's victories)

Tom Seaver received credit for 25% of his team's wins in four separate seasons.  Five other pitchers also accomplished that feat for the Mets.  But none of those pitchers ever won as many as 27% until R.A. Dickey did it in 2012.

This year was an historic campaign for the Mets' resident knuckleballer.  If back-to-back one hitters, 230 strikeouts and a 20-win season weren't enough, R.A. Dickey can now add another accolade to a season full of them.  For 37 years, Tom Seaver had the highest percentage of his team's wins in a single season.  That record now belongs to R.A. Dickey.  It couldn't have happened to a better guy.