SEAVER TO BE GUEST AT BASEBALL BANQUET, CLINIC JAN. 28-29
Three-time Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver of the New York Mets will be the keynote speaker and clinician for the 28th annual Greenwich Kitchens Old Dominion University Baseball Scholarship Clinic and ACS Systems Banquet on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28-29.
Tickets for the clinic, held in the Old Dominion University Field House on Jan. 29 for one session beginning at 9 a.m., are $5.
The weekend begins on Friday, Jan. 28, with the ACS Systems "Meet the Stars" Banquet at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, beginning with a social at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and are on sale at the Old Dominion University Athletic Ticket Office. Proceeds from the dinner and clinic support baseball scholarships at Old Dominion.
Nicknamed "Tom Terrific," Seaver was the 1967 National League Rookie of the Year. He led the league in strikeouts five times and was named the Cy Young Award winner in 1969, 1973 and 1975. Seaver won 311 games and fanned 3,640 batters. In 1969, Seaver compiled a 25-7 record with a 2.21 ERA and helped lead the "Miracle Mets" to the World Series championship over the Baltimore Orioles. His best season was 1971.
Seaver was 20-10 with a 1.76 earned run average (half the league average), fanned 289 batters in 286 innings and threw four shutouts. He pitched 21 complete games and finished second to Fergie Jenkins for the Cy Young Award. Seaver also led the Mets to the 1973 World Series against the Oakland A's. On April 22, 1970, Seaver struck out 19 in a win over the San Diego Padres, including a record 10 in a row to end the game, to tie the then major league mark for a nine inning game, shared by Steve Carlton.
On June 10, 1978, while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, Seaver threw a no-hitter. From 1968-76, Seaver fanned at least 200 batters each season. He was the first pitcher to have ten 200-strikeout seasons until former teammate Nolan Ryan broke that mark with 15. The 13-time all-star and alumnus of the University of Southern California retired from baseball in 1986. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 with 98.84 percent of the vote.
In the 27 previous years of the clinic, 108 major leaguers managers, coaches and administrators have participated in the clinic weekend. Past Baseball Hall of Famers have included Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson, Lou Brock, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Tommy Lasorda, Harmon Killebrew, Dave Winfield, Sparky Anderson, Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Robin Roberts, Bob Feller, Steve Carlton and Jim Palmer.
For more information on the clinic and banquet, please contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 683-5484.