Former Met of the Day: Tug McGraw (1965-1974)

Frank Edwin McGraw was born August 30, 1944 in Martinez, California. The colorful McGraw earned the name Tug from the strong efforts he made by tugging on his mothers breast while she breast fed him. The Mets signed McGraw right out of high school in 1964 and he made his MLB debut the following April. He went 2-12 as a starter during his first two seasons. One of those victories came against Sandy Koufax in his prime; it was the first time the Mets ever beat Koufax. He spent 1968 getting tutored in the minor leagues and returned with a great 1969 season. He went 9-3 with 12 saves and a 2.24 ERA in the Miracle season of ’69. He and Ron Taylor complimented each other perfectly in save situations, forming one of the best bullpens in baseball. McGraw perfected the screwball as his best pitch and struck out 92 batters in 100 innings. He got the save in Game #1 of the NLCS in Atlanta pitching three innings allowing only one hit & one walk. It was his only post season appearance.

The self proclaimed flaky McGraw always made the moment interesting. He volunteered to cut hair for the homeless on the Bowery, and once dyed
his uniform green on a St. Patrick’s Day Spring Training game. In 1970 the Mets toured Vietnam & as the story goes McGraw was smoking a joint and
Ron Taylor slapped it out of his mouth. When asked if he pefered natural grass or Astroturf he said, “I don’t know, I never smoked Astroturf”.
Another great McGraw quote after signing his contact was "Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."

In 1970 he went on a toboggan run with Ron Swoboda and sprained his ankle. He told the team he slipped on ice at home. In 1970 he went 4-6 with 10 saves posting a 3.38 ERA. In 1971 he began his run as one of the best relievers in baseball for the Mets over the next three seasons. He won 11 games, third best on the entire staff, losing only 4 games with 8 saves and the best winning percentage on the whole staff. In 111 innings he struck out 109 batters only allowing 4 HRs and 21 runs for a fantastic 1.70 ERA. In 1972 McGraw saved 27 games a Mets record, second best in the National League. In 54 games he struck out 92 batters in 106 innings posting an identical 1.70 ERA, posting an 8-6 record. He made his first All Star team, and pitched the final two innings, striking out four batters and earning the victory for the NL. At the end of the season he even got a few votes for the MVP award.

In 1973 Tug struggled for most of the year. By the last weeks of August he was 0-6 with an ERA at almost five and a half. With the Mets staff also struggling with injuries at certain points he was put in the starting rotation to work out his issues. Nothing seemed to work, until a fateful team meeting with Chairman of the board M. Donald Grant. Grant gave the team a pep talk telling them the front office was behind them and believed in them. McGraw jumped up and shouted, “You gotta believe! You gotta believe!” right in the middle of the Grants speech. Grant wasn’t sure if he was being mocked or supported. Some of his teammates laughed thinking Tug was actually mocking Grant. Either way it became legendary. The battle cry of “You Gotta Believe” led the Mets all the way to the World Series. McGraw turned his season around as well, on August 27th & 28th he saved two straight games, after having only saving two the whole month. He had a spectacular September winning five games and saving ten, posting a 0.88 ERA striking out 38 batters in 41 innings leading the Mets from last place to win the Divisional title. He finished the year at 5-6 with 25 saves and a 3.87 ERA. By now he developed his trademark of slapping his glove on his thigh as he stormed off the mound. It was a signal of affection to his wife watching at home.

In the post season McGraw again was spectacular. In the NLCS he struggled in Game #4 pitching 4 innings, walking three and giving up three hits but didn’t allow any runs. In the final Game #5 at Shea Stadium, he came in the 9th inning to relieve Tom Seaver who was tiring & falling into a bit of trouble. He got the final two outs of the Mets 7-2 win, covering first base as John Milner flipped the last ground out to him. He grabbed his hat and ran for his life as the fans swarmed the field, and the Mets advanced to the World Series. In the 1973 World Series Tug was again Yogi Berra’s go to guy in the bullpen. He appeared in five of the seven games, earning a win, a save, a 2.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched. In the Game 2 ten-inning marathon in Oakland he pitched an incredible 6 innings in relief getting the win to even the Series at one game each. He even got a base hit and scored a run. In Game 5 at Shea Stadium, Tug and Jerry Koosman’s combined on a 3-hit shutout against the mighty A’s. Tug got the save by putting out the fire in the seventh inning and rolling through 2 2/3 innings not allowing a hit, although he walked three without any damage, and struck out three. Cleon Jones RBI double in the second and Don Hahn's triple scored the only Met runs. Even New Yorks Mayor John Lindsay was seen on TV above the Mets dugout shouting; “You Gotta Believe” as Tug retired the side in the 7th.

“Ten million years from now, when the sun burns out and the earth is a frozen ice ball, no one will care if I got this guy out or not” -Tug McGraw

In 1974 the Mets struggled, and McGraw was no exception. He had arm problems and couldn’t recover. A lump was found in his shoulder and it was even feared he may have had cancer. He went 6-11 with only 3 saves and a 4.16 ERA, in 88 innings he gave up 96 hits and 41 earned runs. The Mets organization believed McGraw was done and his arm was permanently damaged. On December 3, 1974, It was the first of many sad days to come in Mets history when fan favorite and one of the most popular Mets ever was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Don Hahn and Dave Schneck in exchange for catcher John Stearns, pitcher Mac Scarce and outfielder Del Unser. At the time of the trade, McGraw was the all-time Mets leader in saves, games pitched, and finished. He still is fourth all time in Met saves with 84 and fifth in games pitched with 561.

After the trade, he was diagnosed with a simple cyst and after successful surgery to remove it, McGraw recovered completely. With the Phillies, he continued his role as a reliable relief pitcher. He posted ERA’s under three for the next three seasons, saving 14,11 and 9 games two seasons in a row. In 1980, he finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting, compiling 20 saves and a 1.46 ERA. Without McGraw, the Phillies would have never won their first World Series title. After coming off the DL in mid July he allowed just three earned runs the rest of the year with a 0.52 ERA. He was 5-0 with 11 saves during the stretch run. In the NLCS, he got two saves & in the World Series, he saved three, striking out ten batters in 7 2/3 innings. In 26 post season games he is 3-3 with seven saves and a 2.24 ERA. His five NLCS saves were also a record.

From 1981-1984 he was the Phillies set up man, retiring after the 1984 season. He compiled 180 saves in his career, tied for eighth-best in Major League history at the time. Tug McGraw was the last active major league player to have played under manager Casey Stengel. Lifetime Tug was 96-92 with 180 saves (8th best all time when he retired, and 52nd today) and a 3.14 ERA. He struck out 1109 batters in 1514 innings pitched, walking 542. His strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio is 131st all time.

Retirement: McGraw retired on Valentine's Day 1985, to celebrate his love affair with baseball. He wrote a number of children's books, and two autobiographies, Screwball in 1974 & You Gotta Believe in 2001. In the mid 1970s McGraw was involved with the creation of the nationally syndicated comic strip "Scroogie"

He also spent time as a sports reporter for Philadelphia Action News. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1993.

Family: During his 1965 minor league season, McGraw fathered an illegitimate child, Tim. He was raised by an abusive truck-driving father, and at age 11 he discovered his birth certificate, and his true father. Twice McGraw refused to have any involvement with the boy but finally agreed to finance his education, on the condition of cutting off all contact. Then during a meeting, he saw himself in the boy and a relationship developed. Tim McGraw became a major country music star, & married the beautiful Faith Hill. The father and son grew very close and Tug spent his final days at their Nashville home.

Passing: On March 12, 2003, McGraw was working as a spring training instructor for the Phillies when he was hospitalized with a brain tumor. Surgery performed to remove it revealed that he had cancer. Given three weeks to live by doctors, he managed to survive nine months. McGraw died of brain
cancer at the home of his son, country music star Tim McGraw.

The Tug McGaw Foundation: Was established by Tug in 2003 to enhance the quality of life for people & their families with brain tumors.

Quotes: "Tug McGraw was one of the great characters of the game of baseball; He just had a joy for life and living. But what people sometimes Over look because he was always happy-go-lucky was what kind of competitor he was on the mound. No one competed with more intensity than he did.
“-Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.