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Tom Glavine, one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history, and career long Atlanta Brave, will not finish his career in Atlanta. Instead, he has agreed to a
lucrative 4 year deal with the Braves' bitter rival, the New York Mets. This move has been met by Braves fans with a mixture of sadness, disappointment,
and some acrimony.
The main sticking point in the negotiations was Glavine's desire to have at least a guaranteed three year contract, with options for a fourth year, because he is only 58 wins away from
the coveted 300 mark. At age 36, he knows every season he can be guaranteed to pitch will be crucial to reaching this milestone. While the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets eagerly
offered 3 year contracts, the Braves front office dragged behind, only upgrading their 2 year proposal to 3 years at the last minute. It was too little too late for Glavine, who considered
the Mets offer of 3 guaranteed years for $35 million, plus options for a fourth year as his best option for reaching 300 wins. Glavine expressed frustration over his
negotiations with the Braves, the only team he has been with for his entire Major League career. Glavine will no doubt perform professionally and be a team player for
the Mets, but he doesn't seem to be particularly excited about the prospect. Obviously, he would have preferred to stay in Atlanta.
On the flip side, Glavine had every opportunity to stay in Atlanta, and the Braves did offer him a 3 year, $30 million deal, which he turned down. One has to wonder how much
money played a factor in Glavine's decision to go to the Mets. With the options, his new contract with the Mets is worth between $35-42 million. However, Glavine is certainly
not hurting in the money department. As far as reaching the 300 win milestone, if he had taken the Braves offer and finished his 3 year contract with a strong performance, there
is no doubt that the Braves would have at least brought him back for another year, to let him reach his 300 wins. Glavine claims he was willing to take significantly less to stay with
the Braves, but apparently, $30 million wasn't enough. Of course, baseball is business, and Glavine has every right to pursue the most advantageous contract possible. It's just that
Glavine has come across in the local media as appearing hurt that the Braves didn't offer him what he wanted, and placing the blame for his leaving Atlanta on the Braves management,
when in fact, he opted to leave, for more money, and in hopes to reach a record that is important to him.
Once the fact that Tom Glavine is no longer an Atlanta Brave sinks in, it will be time to move forward and look at how the new
Braves bullpen is shaping up. Mike Hampton was picked up from the Colorado Rockies, and along with Maddux, who was secured for one more
year through arbitration, the Braves should still have strong pitching. John Smoltz appears ready to come back in the closer position, one that he has adapted to very nicely.
There is no doubt that Glavine will be missed. But life will go on without him for the Atlanta Braves.
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