By Marc Zarefsky, MLB.com
Original article
HERE.
CHICAGO -- Sunday was not a normal day for Tom Glavine, or his family.
Sure, the Mets left-hander was preparing for his second attempt at career win
No. 300 -- which he notched in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday
night -- but during the day, his wife, Christine, was facing a difficult
dilemma.
The couple's 13-year-old son, Jonathan, woke up sick around three o'clock in the
morning, and was so sick that Christine actually called a doctor to their hotel
room to give her son some medicine and make sure he was fine.
"We were just crossing our fingers that he would feel better," said Christine
Glavine, who did not want to think of what Plan B would have to be. "My
husband's going for 300, my son's coughing his guts up, what do I do? Luckily,
he made a turn for the better."
Jonathan did indeed make a turn for the better, and he was at Wrigley Field
along with his siblings, his mom, both sets of his grandparents, and other
family and friends to watch his dad become the Major League's 23rd member of the
300-win club.
"I don't want to say a long time coming, but a lot of anticipation," said
Christine Glavine, who after thinking about it for a second corrected herself.
"Yeah, a long time coming. Twenty years in the making. He works so hard, he's so
disciplined. We knew, hopefully, God willing, it was going to be inevitable. We
couldn't do it on the first try, but he was awesome on the second try."
Glavine first went for win No. 300 on Tuesday in Milwaukee, but did not get a
decision as the Mets lost to the Brewers, 4-2, in 13 innings. Glavine had 30
family members and friends in Milwaukee for the game, and fortunately, the
entourage was able to make the trip to Chicago Sunday.
"That was the greatest," Tom's mother, Mildred Glavine, said. "They were all
here for his first win, and of course they went to all the different fields
throughout the years, and then to be able to all be here for this.
"It's just like floating in a hot-air balloon. It's incredible."
Glavine's 12-year-old daughter, Amber, felt the same way.
"It was great because he's been trying really hard for a really long time,"
Amber said as she fought back tears. "And it's just great that he could finally
get here, because for so long we talked about how he's going to get 300 wins
someday."
Glavine gave up two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings to notch his 10th win of
the season Sunday and become only the fifth left-handed pitcher to accumulate
300 wins. After receiving hugs from his teammates, he made his way over to his
family and friends, who were all sitting just beyond the Mets dugout along the
first base line.
"I just congratulated him, told him he did a great job, and that we're very
proud of him," Tom's father, Fred, said. "It's 34 years of baseball. To have
this accumulate into 300 wins in Chicago, in this city, is unbelievable. That's
all I can say."
When Tom was growing up in Massachusetts, he heard stories from his father about
Boston Braves pitcher Warren Spahn. Spahn also won his 300th game against the
Cubs, but the elder Glavine was quick to shy away from any comparison between
the two.
"Two different pitchers," Fred Glavine said. "Warren threw in the mid-nineties,
Tommy's a soft-toss [pitcher]. Like he says and like Greg Maddux says, if they
were coming out of high school today, neither one of them would probably get
drafted. They don't throw hard enough. It's all about power."
Pete Smith faced Tom and his finesse pitching in high school, and was later
teammates with him on the Atlanta Braves. On Sunday Smith again witnessed
Glavine succeed without overpowering speed, watching as his friend triumphed in
his shining moment.
"We came up together, we lived together with the Braves, we played high school
ball against each other," Smith said. "Our families have bonded. We've known
each other for 20-something years. It's just nice to be here and be part of the
Glavine group today. It's phenomenal for that family, and I'm sure a lot of that
pressure is going to be relieved now, so they can enjoy the rest of the season."
Christine Glavine agreed that some of the pressure was gone, and admitted that
while usually she is the nervous one between her and her husband, on Sunday it
was Tom that was nervous.
"I felt a little more calm today, I don't know why," Christine Glavine said.
"But he didn't. He seemed more nervous today than he did in Milwaukee. Our kids
start school in a couple of weeks, so we started freaking, we can't take them
out of school every five days. We're glad to have it behind us."
"And hopefully," Christine Glavine said with a smile as the family's anything
but ordinary day came to a close, "the next little gathering like this will be
in Cooperstown."