I like the part of Mike Lupica's article where Tom says that the Mets' reaching .500 in 1969 was no reason to drink champagne. Winning the World Series is what he and his teammates were after. This is what Tom Seaver was all about - aiming for the pinnacle and not settling for anything less. Lupica did a good job describing the facts of Tom's career. It was a nice way to celebrate the man's life just after his passing.

Things were so much better in the '60s and '70s. I mean, look at the beautiful color and composition of this photograph. They don't take pictures like this anymore.

By the way, to go off on a tangential rant, can you imagine Tom Seaver in a black Waffen SS Mets uniform? The knuckleheads who like those uniforms (Pete Alonso included) have no appreciation of Mets history or classically beautiful aesthetics like the photograph used in this article.

If the Mets would stick with their 1969 (or 1986 uniforms) all season with no variation, that alone would be worth a 5-10 Wins Above Replacement. There was something magical in those uniforms.

As for Tom, his passing hit me hard because it was the way my dad passed. In fact, one of the very last things I ever told my dad was that Tom Seaver had been diagnosed with the same thing he had.

All that pales in comparison to what Tom accomplished on the mound. He was the Mets' Christy Mathewson, in other words, a once-in-a-hundred-year talent. In all their history, I do not believe the Yankees have ever had a pitcher as good as Tom was in his prime.