GLAVINE GOES THE DISTANCE
When Tom Glavine enters the Hall of Fame, he will be the first Massachusetts native so honored by the Baseball Writers Association of America since Rabbit Maranville in 1954. Glavine has reached the pinnacle at age 48. But if you squint hard and imagine, it's easy to envision him as a suburban Boston kid lacing up the skates each winter and pitching through frigid temperatures and the occasional snowflakes in April in pursuit of his ultimate goal.
Glavine went on to win two Cy Young Awards and 305 games, appear in 10 All-Star Games and make roughly $130 million in career earnings. But he was never much for glamour. He lived on the corners -- all stoic and resolute -- and racked up five 20-win seasons even though he never recorded 200 strikeouts in a year.
In 1994 and '95, Glavine was a prominent target for fan discontent as a spokesman for the players' association during the strike. But he ingratiated himself just fine with Braves die-hards in October 1995, when he threw eight shutout innings to beat Cleveland 1-0 for the only world championship in the team's amazing 14-year division title run.
Atlanta fans celebrated that night, and Glavine boosters from his hometown of Billerica, Massachusetts, will load up the buses this weekend to pay him a more enduring tribute. Their favorite son has gone the distance.
-- Jerry Crasnick
HALL OF FAME GALLERY
See more photos of Tom Glavine and the other five members of the 2014 class. Launch gallery »
FACTS AND STATS
• BORN: March 25, 1966
• FROM: Billerica, Massachusetts
• TWITTER: @tom_glavine
• POSITION: Left-handed pitcher
• SEASONS: 22 (1987-2008)
• TEAMS: Atlanta Braves, New York Mets
• RECORD: 305-203
• ERA: 3.54
• CAREER WAR: 74.0
HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• Five 20-win seasons
• Led NL in wins in five seasons
• 10-time All-Star selection
• Won NL Cy Young in 1991, 1998
• Won World Series with 1995 Braves (World Series MVP)
• Four-time Silver Slugger (second most among pitchers)
SOCIAL
@Tom_Glavine Sending congrats! Great respect for your work and for your respect for the game and its history. A honor working with you.
- Doug Glanville (@dougglanville) January 11, 2014
Brady Bosarge 8Yrs #tomglavine #SouthFanPhoto #Braves #baseballhalloffame2014 pic.twitter.com/vFeS6PimDX
- herman bosarge (@HermanBosarge) July 20, 2014
Dominant for the @Braves and @Mets, @Tom_Glavine joined the 300-win club on August 5, 2007: http://t.co/diz9CbtH8M pic.twitter.com/YVTiiO37nI
- MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2014
QUOTES
"Tom Glavine is the most strong-minded individual I have ever been around. He has an unparalleled knowledge of the game of baseball and a work ethic to match. Tom is a combination of class and street toughness with a never-give-in attitude. Tom is consistently excellent. That's his standard."
--Former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone
"He's like a tailor; a little off here, a little off there and you're done, take a seat!"
--Vin Scully
"You locate pitches and your confidence builds. Sometimes you've got to turn your brain off and trust yourself to pitch, getting back to what you've always done well. It seems so simple."
--Tom Glavine