Tug McGraw Marquee

The Mets were last in the division in August 1973 when he started saying it, and they won the pennant. Seven years later, with Philadelphia leading the sixth game of the World Series by two with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth, he struck out Willie Wilson, and the Phillies had their first title in ninety-seven years of trying.

Nineteen seasons gave him 180 saves and a 3.14 earned run average across 1,514 innings, with two All-Star selections. He saved 27 with a 1.70 earned run average in 1972 and had a 1.46 in 1980, at thirty-five, which is when he was best.

He was funny on purpose and quotable to a degree that has outlasted most of his contemporaries' statistics. A brain tumor was found in 2003 and he died the following January, at fifty-nine. His son is the country singer Tim McGraw, who found out at eleven who his father was and was acknowledged by him years after that.