Whereas relief pitchers are not given the opportunity to bat frequently….that was not so with Tug McGraw….who was allowed to bat leading off the sixth inning of a 6-0 blowout at the hands of the Montreal Expos on September 8, 1971…..when he rewarded his manager’s faith in him by putting the Mets on the board with his only career home run.
McGraw could also throw right-handed….and would often loosen up before games by playing right-handed catch with his teammates….while leaving fans wondering who that right-hander wearing number 45 was.
At the time of his death, McGraw was ranked:
24th on the all-time major league list in games pitched (824) 22nd on the all-time major league list in games finished (541) 4th on the all-time Mets list in games saved (86) 4th on the all-time Mets list in games finished (228) 5th on the all-time Mets list in most games pitched (361) 7th on the all-time Mets list in least hits per nine innings (7.78) 10th on the all-time Mets list in most batters struck out per nine innings (7.02) 1st on the all-time Phillies list in games finished (313) 3rd on the all-time Phillies list in games pitched (500) 4th on the all-time Phillies list in saves (94) 8th on the all-time Phillies list in least hits per nine innings (7.89)
However, as seen in this video herewith, Tug McGraw was as much “showman” as he was he was a “stopper”…..and his performance in this Unofficial Baseball Handbook program goes a long way to prove that statement true….as he shows Sean Mooney that “How to conduct MLB interviews” is found on page 56 of the Unofficial Baseball Handbook.
