Topic: Tug McGraw

Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and is the father of Country legend Tim McGraw. He was born in Martinez, California and gained sports stardom during the New York Mets World Series victory in 1969 and is likely best remembered for coining the motto "Ya Gotta Believe" during the New York Mets' run for the 1973 World Series. He is also renowned as the star reliever who pitched the final strike for the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Tug graduated from St. Vincents High School in Vallejo, CA in 1962. He enrolled in a local barber college where his poor scissor technique earned him the nickname "Tug." The New York Mets signed him as an amateur free agent on June 12, 1964. The Mets initially tried him as a starting pitcher, but he only managed a 2-12 record in 16 starts over two years. However, one of those victories was against the legendary Sandy Koufax and marked the first time the Mets had ever beaten the future Hall of Famer. After spending all of 1968 in the minor leagues with the Jacksonville Suns, he became a full-time reliever in 1969. Relying on a good screwball, he racked up twelve saves for the Miracle Mets as they went on to win the World Series, but he did not pitch in the Fall Classic.

He became one of the more successful closers in baseball during the early 1970s, placing second in the National League in saves in 1972 and 1973. He recorded perhaps his finest overall season in 1972 , when he saved 27 games along with a microscopic 1.70 earned run average and giving up just 71 hits in 106 innings pitched. McGraw would also serve as the winning pitcher of the 1972 All-Star Game, one of two All-Star Games in which he played. During the 1973 season, he coined a popular rallying cry for the Mets, "Ya Gotta Believe!" He said the famous phrase when maybe only he believed the Mets could actually get to the World Series. But soon enough, hearing McGraw say it again and again, seeing him do his magic in the ninth, the Mets themselves came to believe in belief. That year, the Mets won the National League East (after trailing the Chicago Cubs by as many as 9 1/2 games) with only 82 wins, but managed to make the World Series, losing to the Oakland Athletics in seven games in a series many Mets fans felt the team should have won.