My Favorite Pitcher Turns 300

Thanks, Tom!
I'm grateful for the way you have gone about your whole career, and since you spent the bulk of it with the Braves, I've seen the whole thing. You and Smoltz started out together, kids on a terrible, terrible team. But Hank Aaron saw something when he was head of Player Development. Bobby Cox saw it when he came back south from Canada as the Braves' General Manager; it was enough to make him leave the desk job for John Schuerholz, and return to the dugout.
It started with a cup of coffee in 1987. Then came the dreadful 1988. You weren't ready. The team around you was a joke, and not a very funny one. Terry Blocker? Dion James? Andres Thomas? Anyone? Anyone? You were only 22 years old. But you went out there every time they gave you the ball, and you showed the grit and determination that are the keys to your professional life, qualities that have taken you to two Cy Young Awards, five twenty-win seasons, and now, your 300th victory.
I always preferred you. John had, and on the good days still has, the fire. He could rain down strikeouts on any team any time. Maddux was the diva. Grace in motion. Perfection around the next corner. But through his whole pitching life, when Greg feels like he's through, he's through. There were times when it looked like he told Bobby Cox that he wanted out. Not you.
When Bobby came to remove you from a game, he had to bring a crowbar. You never willingly let go of the ball. Because you believed (and still do) that you can get it done. You looked disgusted when Willie Randolph came calling last night, one out and one hit into the seventh inning. Classic Glavine.
You didn't blow anyone away. You never pitched a 76 pitch complete game. You just poured your whole heart and soul into every game, because when you're on the mound, it's you taking on the world, and you mean to win. And because you've been smarter, more committed and more determined, you are now the 23rd pitcher, and only the fifth left-hander, in baseball history to accomplish 300 wins.
You have indicated pretty clearly that this will be your last season. I hope not. But if it is, I will be marking my calendar, in ink. I can never remember how the Hall of Fame keeps time, but I believe that the clock starts on your five year wait on January 1, 2008. If that's accurate, I'll be vacationing in Cooperstown, NY, in late July or early August of 2013. But don't worry; whatever year you become a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I'll be there to celebrate with you and all your fans. Fans of a guy who brought hockey player toughness to the pitching mound, and made us all proud.