Phillies Legend Tug McGraw and Why 'Ya Gotta Believe'

A boisterous presence on the mound and a heck of a lefty reliever, today we look back on the 19-year MLB career of Tug McGraw.

© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A big personality on and off the field, fans marveled at the energy and dominance of Tug McGraw in the 1970s and early 1980s. He played a role in two World Series Championship runs, earned two All-Star selections, and finished top 25 in MVP voting four times.

Tug had some solid moments early on in his career with the New York Mets, but jumped up and down between the minors and majors frequently. It wasn’t until he met pitcher Ralph Terry where his career and pitching arsenal would make a complete 180.

Terry taught McGraw the screwball, a pitch that is designed to break the opposite direction of a curveball. Tug put in a lot of practice towards this unique new pitch and it took time to perfect it but once he had it, he dominated.

McGraw spent six more seasons in New York with the Mets after learning the screwball, and helped win the NLCS in 1969, which led to his first World Series victory. During that span he also received his first All-Star selection and collected 85 saves with an ERA of 2.79 in 305 appearances.

The Mets got a new general manager towards the end of the 1974 season, Joe McDonald. Once the season was complete, McDonald made a phone call to Philadelphia and made a trade that would send McGraw and a couple others to the Phillies.

The screwball is a very gimmicky pitch to throw and because of that, McGraw began to develop a shoulder problem. The Phillies were not aware of his shoulder issues when making the trade, and McGraw ultimately needed surgery in the off-season. The surgery would sideline him for the first month of the 1975 season, but once he returned at the end of April, he came out firing on all cylinders.

McGraw earned his second All-Star honors thanks to a season where he delivered a 2.98 ERA while closing out 37 games. His first visit back to Shea Stadium was in June for a doubleheader. McGraw pitched in each game for a total of seven innings where he retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced.

1976 and ‘77 danced to a very similar tune for McGraw as he kept his end of the bargain helping the Phillies win 101 games in each year. In the ‘77 NLCS, McGraw was on the mound to complete a save against the Dodgers that would count as the Phillies first postseason victory since 1915.

Skipping ahead to the famed 1980 season, McGraw was coming off of a rough year in ‘79. He was looking to bounce back in a big way, and he did just that. He closed out 48 games, collected 20 saves, had a 0.921 WHIP and received enough votes for fifth place in Cy Young Award voting. His season ERA was 1.46, and he didn’t let in a single run in the entire month of July. The man was untouchable.

The Phillies of course won the division and made it to the historic NLCS against the Astros. McGraw pitched in all five games of that series, and helped them move on to the World Series. McGraw played a huge role in the World Series as well, and with two outs in the 9th, he fanned Willie Wilson to clinch the Phillies' first ever World Series victory.

1980 was undoubtedly the peak of McGraw’s career as he brought the city of Philadelphia one of the greatest gifts they could ask for. He played four more seasons with the Phillies including another playoff appearance in 1981.

McGraw retired from the game following the 1984 season. He spent 19 seasons in the big leagues, split between nine years with the Mets and 10 with the Phillies. His Phillies tenure would end with a 3.10 ERA, 491 strikeouts, and a 1.198 WHIP.

McGraw was quite the personality on the mound and his accomplishments with the Phillies will never be forgotten in Philadelphia. In 1999, McGraw was recognized on the Phillies Wall of Fame with a plaque in his name. The final out of the 1980 World Series will be a memory that Phillies fans can hold in their hearts forever, and it is all thanks to Tug McGraw.

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