USAhockey.com, By Randy Schultz, 12/19/05
Original Article HERE
Tom Glavine certainly had a tough decision to make back in 1984. An outstanding high school athlete, Glavine had played both baseball and hockey. The Concord, Mass., native was a four-time league All-Star and All-Conference honoree in baseball and was named to All-Star and All-Conference teams three times in hockey.
June 1984 turned out to be a month of decision for Glavine. Within days, the talented athlete was first drafted by the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Kings. There were even a number of colleges trying to recruit the youngster.
History indicates that Glavine made the right decision by choosing the Braves.
“It was a tough decision to make, that’s for sure,” said the left-handed Glavine, who will enter his 19th season in the majors in a few months. “There aren’t too many left-handed pitchers -- or, at least, good ones -- in the majors today, or even at that time. I felt being left-handed gave me the edge in making the majors sooner than had I been right-handed. What it came down to in the end was taking a chance with baseball and giving up a college scholarship. Being a second-round pick in the baseball draft, I received a pretty good bonus. I made my decision and I went with baseball.
“Actually, the decision was quite easy in the end.”
Glavine began his pro career in 1984 with Bradenton, and his rapid rise through the Braves’ farm system culminated in his major league debut on Aug. 17, 1987 in Houston vs. the Astros.
Was his swift ascent to the top of the National League pitching ranks that easy? Could he have done that well in professional hockey?
“Hockey is a tougher game to play,” said Glavine. “I think I got my answer as to if I could have played pro hockey or not in 1991. That was the year I got to work out with the Boston Bruins, my [favorite] team as a kid growing up in Massachusetts. I got to work out with guys such as Cam Neely, Adam Oates and Ray Bourque. Those guys were all big and fast. They were all so good.
“It also gave me a new appreciation for the game that is played today in the NHL. It made me second-guess myself about my earlier decision, but only for a second or two.
"When I came out of high school, I was only 5-11 and maybe 170 pounds. That’s not really big enough to play in the NHL, at least not by today’s standards, and expect to survive.”
As Glavine indicated, he now has a deeper appreciation than ever before for the game of hockey.
“There is so much gracefulness that goes on in the game that I think people miss,” said Glavine. “It is so fast-paced, yet, it’s a very graceful sport.
“It’s more than just a bunch of guys out there bumping into one another and trying to put the puck into the net. Sometimes people don’t see how smooth and graceful some of those skaters can be.
“It is a great sport to watch and I love watching it as much as possible, either on TV or in person.”
Not bad for a guy who was a big fan of the great Bobby Orr, yet instead of wearing Orr’s number 4, he wore the jersey of the famed No. 7, Phil Esposito. One of the top starters for the New York Mets pitching staff still enjoys the game and spreading the gospel of hockey.
“I try and get as many guys on the team as possible to watch hockey and to educate them on the game,” Glavine said. “It’s not easy with some of them, but I give it my best shot."
Not unlike his pro baseball decision more than 20 years ago.
“I have no regrets about my professional decision. I know I made the right one for myself, but I’ll always love the game of hockey. It’s in my blood.”