Most Phillies fans spent the 1990s hating Tom Glavine, and with good reason. The dude was really good, and the Braves kept winning our division, even past the 1990s. We got a small measure of revenge for those years when Glavine lost the final game of the 2007 season for the New York Mets, and we won the division as a result. There was still years of torture though.
I was not one of those fans who didn't like Glavine though. I was a huge Glavine fan for much of his career, because I had a positive personal interaction with the Braves star in 1991. In the midst of his break-out season, Glavine was going through his off-season routine, running sprints along the warning track from right-field's corner to left-field. I was an 8 year old kid with a ticket where the concrete wall came down in right-field, within a good yell's distance of Glavine (in reality, about 15 feet). Of course, being that I knew who he was, since he was good, I yelled over asking for a ball. Glavine said he would return after his routine and give me the ball. In 90% of cases at a ball-game, even an eight year old never gets that ball. That night, I got the ball. Glavine not only came back over after his sprints. He signed the ball for me too. Tom Glavine won the National League Cy Young that Summer. My night was made.
Twenty-three years have gone by since that night. Today, Tom Glavine joined Baseball's Hall-of-Fame. I couldn't be happier for a good guy to get in. Congratulations to Glavine and his fans everywhere.
