On Tom Glavine & The Final Game of 2007

With Tom Glavine‘s recent election to the Hall of Fame, and his appearance in New York (including a sit-down with SNY), some old wounds have been made fresh again for a number of Mets fans.

April 4, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Mets third baseman David Wright (not pictured) glove, hat and sunglasses lay in the dugout during the spring training game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

After a poor first season with the Mets in 2003, Glavine was pretty solid in Flushing between 2004 and 2007 – including pitching very well in the 2006 Playoffs.

For Mets fans, though, Glavine’s time in New York will always be remembered by the battering he took during the final game of the 2007 season and his reaction afterwards.

With the Mets needing a win to extend their season and avoid an epic collapse, Glavine failed to make it out of the first inning against the Marlins at Shea, allowing seven runs in just a third of an inning.

After the game, Glavine was asked if he was “devastated” about the loss, and said this:

"I’m not devastated.  I’m disappointed, but devastation is for much greater things in life."

It’s that brief quote that defines Glavine’s time in Queens, and it’s unfortunate.  I never loved Glavine, but I thought he gave it his all while performing quite well during his five years with the Mets.

That day in 2007, after the beating he took, all Glavine had to respond to the “devastation” question was “yes”.  It was not the time for him to play semantics.  People are aware that in the grand scheme of things, there are greater tragedies than losing baseball games.  In context, though, the entire fanbase was devastated, as were other players and the Manager.

By responding the way he did that day, Glavine came off as not giving a damn.  He displayed no emotion on the field during the game, or when he was removed.  And he displayed no emotion afterwards.  More irritating than Glavine’s words, was the feeling that he simply didn’t care.

Last night on SNY, Glavine was offered the chance to walk back his “not devastated” remarks a bit, but chose to go this route instead:

"It would’ve been easier for me to say I was devastated, but you know something, it’s not where I was emotionally, so to speak.  I guess I was looking at things a little bit differently at that stage of my life.  Whether I said I was devastated or not, trust me, at the end of the day I felt the same way I felt about that game.  It was an awful game, and it was the last way that I wanted my tenure here in New York to end."

Glavine went on to say that he would love to have a do-over as far as his in-game performance that day is concerned, but never expressed any remorse for how he chose his words that day.

It’s a shame that lots of players aren’t nearly as invested as the fans in the success of a team, but it’s a fact.

I’m still appreciative of the bulk of what Glavine did while he was a Met, but he certainly doesn’t make it easy for fans to give a damn about him, since he doesn’t appear to give a damn about us.

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