Art of Pitching

by Tom Seaver, Lee Lowenfish

More than two hundred photographs comprehensively illustrate pitching technique from grip to follow through in a guide that details the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher's conditioning regimen and his ideas on mental preparedness

Genres: Baseball, Sports

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox from 1967 to 1986. A longtime Met, Seaver played a significant role in their victory in the 1969 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles.

With the Mets, Seaver won the National League's (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 1967, and won three NL Cy Young Awards as the league's best pitcher. He was a 12-time All-Star and ranks as the Mets' all-time leader in wins. During his MLB career, he compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts, and a 2.86 earned run average, and he threw a no-hitter in 1978.

In 1992, Seaver was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage of votes ever recorded at the time. Along with Mike Piazza, he is one of two players wearing a New York Mets hat on his plaque in the Hall of Fame. Seaver's No. 41 was retired by the Mets in 1988, and New York City changed the address of Citi Field to 41 Seaver Way in 2019. Seaver is also a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Jim Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for it's day!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you probably are aware of my re-kindled interest in baseball (in general) and the San Francisco Giants (in particular). Hil and I have watch most of the games this season and I would estimate we’d seen some of all but three games – up until we left for our vacation. Anticipating I was going to be suffering from baseball withdrawal, I took along Tom Seaver’s book to ease my suffering. The book is an excellent guide to learning about the mechanics of pitching and I would highly recommend it for a junior level baseball coach or 10 to 12 year old who dreams of becoming a high school, college, or Big League pitcher. For me, there were many insights into the mechanics, but not a lot on the strategy of pitching to a specific hitter or work a game. Seaver does spend the last chapter going pitch by pitch through a game (he wins it), but it was somehow lacking in what I was hoping for. I’m not sure what I was looking for, but this didn’t quite “get it” for me. Anyway, it did help me get through the three weeks without watching a game and I do highly recommend this short volume to anyone interested in the mechanical side of pitching and picture preparation.