What Do Michael Wacha and Tom Seaver Have In Common?

On Tuesday night, Michael Wacha of the St. Louis Cardinals was one out away from baseball immortality.  He had retired twenty-six Washington Nationals without allowing a hit.  All he had to do was find a way to get Ryan Zimmerman out and he would have completed his first no-hitter in just his ninth major league start.

But Zimmerman had other ideas.  The Nats' third baseman chopped a ball that grazed off the top of Wacha's glove and rolled in the direction of shortstop Pete Kozma.  Kozma's throw pulled first baseman Matt Adams off the bag, who could not apply the tag to a hustling Zimmerman.

The no-hitter was not to be for Wacha, as he fell one out short of immortality on September 24.  That date should bring back memories of a similar circumstance that happened to Tom Seaver in 1975.

Thirty-eight years ago, also on September 24, Tom Seaver took the mound against the Chicago Cubs.  Seaver had already taken two no-hitters into the ninth inning in his career.  But both of those gems were broken up with one out in the ninth.

On July 9, 1969, Chicago's Jimmy Qualls looped a clean single to left after Seaver had retired the first twenty-five Cubs to face him.  Seaver retired the next two batters, then stood on the mound with his hands at his waist wondering what might have been in the Mets' 4-0 victory.

Three years later, Seaver was once again two outs away from pitching the Mets' first no-hitter (although this one was not a perfect game, as Seaver walked four hitters) when he faced the San Diego Padres on July 4, 1972.  But Leron Lee channeled his inner Jimmy Qualls and lined a single to center to break up the no-no.  Seaver then induced the next batter, Nate Colbert, to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, giving the Mets a 2-0 win over the Padres.

After two near-misses in 1969 and 1972, Seaver took another no-hitter into the ninth inning on September 24, 1975 when he matched up against the Chicago Cubs.  But this time he was able to retire the batter he faced with one out in the ninth, striking out the Cubs' Rick Monday.  Needing one out to pitch nine hitless innings, Seaver allowed a two-out single to rightfielder Joe Wallis to break up the no-hitter.  However, even if Seaver had retired Wallis, he would not have been able to celebrate a no-hitter at that moment because the game would not have ended there.  Neither team had scored through the first eight innings and the scoreless duel continued into extra innings.  The Mets eventally lost the game, 1-0, when closer Skip Lockwood walked Bill Madlock to force in a run in the 11th inning.

Since 1975, when Seaver lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth, no Met had even taken a no-hitter into the ninth until Johan Santana did so on June 1, 2012.  But Santana finished what Seaver couldn't, striking out David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the first no-hitter in franchise history.

Michael Wacha, now Freese's teammate in St. Louis, came within one out of throwing his first career no-hitter on September 24, 2013.  Tom Seaver, on September 24, 1975, also missed his first career no-hitter by one out, becoming the only Met to have a hitless game broken up with two outs in the ninth inning.

What do Michael Wacha and Tom Seaver have in common?  They both share a September 24 heartbreak.  Wacha hopes that's not the only thing he can share with Seaver before his career is over.
 

Tom Seaver And Eleven-Run Games

Today was Tom Seaver Bobblehead Day at Citi Field and the Mets "honored" the best pitcher in franchise history by allowing 11 runs to the Detroit Tigers.  If Seaver had been around to witness the shellacking, he'd be rolling in his vineyard.

That being said, I thought it would be interesting to conduct some research on whether or not the Mets ever allowed as many as 11 runs in a game started by Seaver himself.  And my research showed that even having "The Franchise" on the mound didn't stop five teams from lighting up the Mets.

On Opening Day in 1969, the Mets welcomed the Montreal Expos to Shea Stadium for their first-ever game.  Seaver was not sharp in his season-opening appearance, allowing four runs (two earned) in five innings.  He also gave up the first six hits and three walks in Expos history.  Although the Mets scored ten runs against five Montreal pitchers, New York's bullpen couldn't prevent the new franchise from crossing the plate several times.  The Expos scored seven runs against Cal Koonce, Al Jackson and Ron Taylor.  A four-run ninth inning rally by the Mets got them close, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Expos' first-ever victory, an 11-10 decision over the Mets.

Three years later, on June 24, 1972, Seaver had one of the worst starts of his career, allowing seven runs and 13 base runners (10 hits, 3 walks) in only four innings.  The Mets were shut out by the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-0.  Fortunately, Seaver didn't allow the effort to linger in his mind, as he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning just ten days later.  Seaver didn't get the no-hitter, allowing a one-out single to the Padres' Leron Lee, but he showed that the game against the Cardinals was just a fluke.

Or was it?

Less than three months after his horrible outing against St. Louis, Seaver had the worst performance of his career, allowing more runs (eight) than he recorded outs (seven).  In addition to the eight runs allowed to the Chicago Cubs, Seaver gave up six hits and walked five batters in just 2⅓ innings.  The Mets lost to the Cubbies, 18-5 on September 16, 1972.  The eight earned runs allowed by Seaver were the most he ever allowed as a Met.  The 18 runs scored against the Mets were also the most ever allowed in a game started by Tom Seaver.

On May 21, 1975, Seaver's defense let him down.  Although The Franchise allowed seven runs to the Cincinnati Reds in 4⅔ innings, only three of them were earned.  An error by the usually steady Felix Millan led to four unearned runs in the fifth inning, turning a 3-3 tie into a 7-3 deficit.  The Reds scored four more runs against the Mets' bullpen en route to an 11-4 victory.

Finally, on August 7, 1976, Seaver allowed five runs in the fifth inning to the Pittsburgh Pirates, turning a 1-0 Mets lead into a 5-1 deficit.  The Mets chipped away at the Bucs' lead, scoring single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but relievers Ken Sanders and Bob Myrick combined to give up seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings, turning the game into a 12-3 laugher.

In 11½ seasons with the Mets, Tom Seaver made a franchise-record 395 starts.  In only five of those 395 starts, the Mets allowed 11 or more runs.  On Sunday, when the Mets were giving away Tom Seaver bobbleheads, Dillon Gee and five relief pitchers combined to allow 11 runs to the Tigers in an 11-3 loss to Detroit.  

Tom Seaver surely wouldn't have been happy with the way the Mets (especially their bullpen) pitched today.  But as great as he was, on a handful of occasions, Mets fans weren't happy with the way Seaver and his relief corps pitched.  Eleven wasn't heaven for the Mets on Sunday.  And in five forgetful games, it was hell for "The Franchise" and his teammates as well.