I was devastated yesterday when I heard the news that Tom Seaver has Dementia and will retire from public life. Today's Met's fans have Noah and Jacob. They are both great pitchers. I feel blessed to have grown up watching Tom Seaver. Yesterday post after post reminded us of his awards and milestones. Three Cy Young Awards, 25 wins in 1969, a 1.76 E.R.A. in 1971, a no hitter with the Reds in 1978. Career wins 311. My memories of him are more personal. In the 1969 World Series he gave up a lead off home run in game 1. The Mets lost that game but Seaver bounced back and pitched a complete game 4-0 win in game 4. I remember game 1 of the 1973 championship series against the Reds too. The Mets were ahead 1 to 0 for 7 innings. In the 8th a Pete Rose homer tied the game. Johnny Bench's walk off homer in the 9th ended it. As a 12 year old boy I saw Tom Seaver was hanging his head as Bench rounded the bases. The tears were rolling down my eyes as my best friend (a Yankees fan) taunted me. My dad told us both: "It was just one game and that Tom Seaver had nothing to hang his head about." Tom Seaver would have his day in the deciding game of that series a few days later. He was the winning pitcher in a 7 to 2 Mets victory. The Mets won the pennant. Looking back I realize Tom Seaver helped me understand how important it was to keep trying even after you fail. Today we don't remember the games he lost. We do remember his amazing talent, strength, consistency and accomplishments. One thing today's baseball fans might not read about is how often Tom Seaver pitched all 9 innings of a game. He stayed out there and finished what he started win or loose. One season he pitched 18 complete games. Two of my favorite Tom Seaver quotes: "A good player feels the kind of love for the game they did when they were little leaguers." and "God is a Mets fan."