Glavine Is Nearly Perfect for Mets

Right away, Tom Glavine knew this might be a memorable day for him and the New York Mets.

“After the warmup, I knew I had good stuff,” Glavine said. “After the first inning, I knew I had good location.”

Those are the qualities that have made Glavine one of baseball’s best pitchers for almost two decades -- and they nearly added up to the first no-hitter in the Mets’ 43-season history.

Glavine took a perfect game into the seventh inning Sunday and a no-hit bid into the eighth before Kit Pellow’s two-out double ended it. He finished with the first one-hitter of his career and a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

For 95 pitches, Glavine held the Rockies hitless. He retired his first 18 batters and was four outs from history when Pellow doubled off the right-field wall.

“As soon as he hit it, I knew it was over,” Glavine said.

“I kind of hoped it would die. It was not a letdown. It was more a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to get caught up in it. I wanted to stay away from that. The important issue was winning the game.”

So Glavine, a thinking man’s pitcher, moved on.

“Now,” he said, “I have a chance for the shutout and to win the game.”

Glavine easily retired his last four batters to complete the 27th one-hitter in Met history. It was the 23rd shutout of his career and New York’s first complete game this season.

“His track record speaks for itself,” Colorado Manager Clint Hurdle said.

“He’s a tough pitcher on the mound. He’s a pro on the mound. He’s a presence on the mound. He’s got great stuff. The one thing is, our young pitchers should watch this. They should benefit from it. You don’t have to blow up a radar gun to be successful.”

Glavine never has. His approach never varies.

“You know all the cliches,” he said. “One pitch at a time. One hitter a time. I used them all.”

He lives on the corners and he was able to do that consistently again.

“He had them tied up in knots,” Met Manager Art Howe said. “Inside, away ... that’s pitching.”

The two-time Cy Young winner struck out eight and walked one in the best outing of his career. But in their 43rd season, the Mets are still without a no-hitter.

In the end, Glavine joined the long list of star pitchers who flirted with a no-hitter for the Mets, including Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and David Cone.

Nolan Ryan began his career with the Mets, then went on to throw a record seven no-hitters elsewhere. Seaver, Gooden and Cone all pitched no-hitters for other teams.

It was the longest any Met pitcher has taken a no-hitter since Cone went 7 1/3 innings against the Houston Astros on April 28, 1992.