Commonly described as the most iconic player in Mets history, Seaver played a significant role in their victory in the 1969 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1992, Seaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, receiving the highest percentage of votes ever recorded at the time.

After a stellar season, in which he pitched and won a game in the national tournament with a grand slam, USC head coach Rod Dedeaux awarded him a scholarship.

As a sophomore in 1965, Seaver posted a 10–2 record for the Trojans, and he was selected in the tenth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, the contract was voided by Baseball Commissioner William Eckert because USC had played two exhibition games that year, although Seaver had not participated.

[5] The Mets were subsequently awarded his signing rights in a lottery drawing among the three teams (the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians being the two others) that were willing to match the Braves' terms.

[6] In 1966, Seaver was 12–12 with a 3.13 earned run average pitching in Class AAA with the Jacksonville Suns, the Mets' affiliate in the International League.

[13] In front of a crowd of over 59,000 at New York's Shea Stadium on July 9, Seaver threw 8+1⁄3 perfect innings against the division-leading Chicago Cubs.

Rookie backup outfielder Jim Qualls broke up Seaver's bid for a perfect game when he lined a clean single to left field.

[14][15] In the inaugural National League Championship Series, Seaver outlasted Atlanta's Phil Niekro in the first game for a 9–5 victory.

[16][17] On April 22, 1970, Seaver set a major league record by striking out the final ten batters of the game in a 2–1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium.

Two famous quotes about Seaver are attributed to Reggie Jackson: "Blind men come to the park just to hear him pitch.

Seaver wanted to renegotiate his contract to bring his salary in line with what other top pitchers were earning, but chairman of the board M. Donald Grant, who by that time had been given carte blanche by Mets management to do what he wished, refused to budge.

Longtime New York Daily News columnist Dick Young regularly wrote negative columns about Seaver's "greedy" demands.

Seaver attempted to resolve the impasse by going to team owner Lorinda de Roulet, who along with general manager Joe McDonald, had negotiated in principle a three-year contract extension by mid-June.

Upon learning of the story, Seaver informed de Roulet and McDonald that he immediately wanted to be traded, believing that he could not co-exist with Grant.

His departure from New York sparked sustained negative fan reaction, as the Mets became the league's worst team, finishing in last place the next three seasons.

[30] After having thrown five one-hitters for the Mets, including two games in which no-hit bids were broken up in the ninth inning, Seaver recorded a 4–0 no-hitter for the Reds in 1978 against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 16 at Riverfront Stadium.

[4] On April 5, 1983, he tied Walter Johnson's major league record of 14 Opening Day starts, shutting out the Philadelphia Phillies for six innings in a 2–0 Mets win.

[4] The Mets, especially general manager Frank Cashen, incorrectly assumed that no one would pursue a high-salaried, 39-year-old starting pitcher and left him off the protected list.

A knee injury prevented Seaver from appearing against the Mets in the World Series with the Red Sox, but he received among the loudest ovations during player introductions prior to Game 1.

Roger Clemens attributes the time he shared with Seaver as teammates in 1986 as instrumental in helping him make the transition from thrower to pitcher.

A decent hitter and proficient bunter, Seaver hit 12 home runs during his career, along with a relatively solid lifetime batting average, for a pitcher, of .154.

Three of the five ballots that had omitted Seaver were blank, cast by writers protesting the Hall's decision to make Pete Rose ineligible for consideration.

[59] On April 15, 2022, at their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets unveiled a 10-foot statue of Seaver in front of Citi Field.

[60] Seaver's television broadcasting experience dated back to his playing career, when he was invited to serve as a World Series analyst for ABC in 1977 and for NBC in 1978, 1980, and 1982.

[61] After retiring as a player, Seaver worked as a television color commentator for the Mets, the New York Yankees, and with Vin Scully in 1989 for NBC.

Seaver replaced Joe Garagiola[62] as NBC's lead baseball color commentator, which led to him calling the 1989 All-Star Game and National League Championship Series.

[65][66][67] He presented his two cabernets, "Nancy's Fancy" and "GTS," at an April 2010 wine-tasting event in SoHo, to positive reviews.

[71][72] In 2013, it was reported that Seaver suffered from memory loss, not even remembering long-term acquaintances and experiencing symptoms of "sleep disorder, nausea, and a general overall feeling of chemical imbalance".