Fansided

New York Mets legend Tom Seaver dies at 75 of COVID-19 and Lewy body dementia

By Josh Hill

NEW YORK - CIRCA 1969: Pitcher Tom Seaver #41 of the New York Mets pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1969 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Seaver played for the Mets from 1967-77,83. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - CIRCA 1969: Pitcher Tom Seaver #41 of the New York Mets pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1969 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Seaver played for the Mets from 1967-77,83. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

One of the greatest pitchers of all-time and New York Mets legend Tom Seaver has died at the age of 75. 

The Franchise is gone.

Tom Seaver, who used two decades in baseball to turn in an iconic Hall of Fame career, died on Wednesday at the age of 75. His death is being attributed to a nearly decade-long battle with Lewy body dementia combined with a case of COVID-19.

His career is one that we will use as a litmus test for as long as baseball is played. Seaver was a 12-time All-Star, is the New York Mets all-time leader in wins, and racked up 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts, and a 2.86 earned run average. His no-hitter in 1978 remains an iconic moment in Reds history and came in the middle of what ended up being a legendary career.

“We are heartbroken to share that our beloved husband and father has passed away,” Seaver’s family announced in a statement to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “We send our love out to his fans, as we mourn his loss with you.”

Seaver was already remembered as perhaps the greatest player in New York Mets history and was part of one of the brightest eras in the franchise’s history. For a handful of special years at the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s, Seaver’s sidekick in the Mets rotation was Nolan Ryan and the duo helped lead the Mets on a Miracle run to a World Series title in 1969.

After his tenure with the Mets came to an end in 1977, Seaver pitched for the Reds, White Sox, and Red Sox with a one-year reunion with the Mets in 1983 mixed in for good measure. He remained at a high-level after leaving New York, pitching so well with the Reds that he was inducted into Cincinnati’s Hall of Fame in addition to being a member of the Mets Hall of Fame.

Seaver was plagued with health issues later in his life, starting in 2012 when he began to suffer from what was ultimately diagnosed as Lewy body dementia. It was a disease that slowly robbed Seaver of his memory and debilitated him further and further during the last eight years of his life.

But Seaver will never be forgotten. Tom Terrific was more than an Amazing Met or a Hall of Fame ballplayer. He was and will forever remain a legend.

Home/MLB