Tom Gordon

From SoSH

Thomas Gordon (born November 18, 1967 in Sebring, Florida), nicknamed "Flash", has been a Major League pitcher since 1988. Gordon pitched for the Red Sox from 1996 - 1998, and owns the Red Sox single-season record for saves with 46 (1998).

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Moment in the Sun 5 Trivia 6 Transactions 7 External Links

Overall Career

Tom "Flash" Gordon began his career as a 20-year-old right-handed starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 1986 pool. He was a starter for eight seasons in Kansas City as well as two more with the Boston Red Sox before he was converted after the 1997 season to full-time Closer after two mediocre (12-12, 12-9) showings. He appeared in 73 games in 1998, saving 46 of them to lead the American League. He has never started another game, finishing that portion of his career with a 97-90 record (including 17-9 for the 1989 Royals) and a 4.21 ERA in 356 games (203 as a starter).

Gordon saved 68 games for the Red Sox before leaving as a free agent for a 2-year, 4.8 million dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs in December of 2000. The Yankees, of course, added another 75% to that contract before the 2004 season, then primarily used him as a set-up man for Mariano "Fruitbat" Rivera.

Gordon pitched well in that role, amassing 6 saves over 170 1/3 innings (2.38 ERA) as the Bombers endured a painful and historic collapse to Boston in his debut season in the Bronx, and an early bow-out to the Angels in 2005.

Gordon announced his desire to close again, and was picked up as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2006 season.

Awards

• 1988 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year
• 1989 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 1998 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award
• 2006 National League All-Star
• 2-time American League All-Star (1998 & 2004)

Achievements

• American League Leader in saves (1998)
• American League Leader in games finished (69, 1998)
• Set a MLB record with 54 consecutive saves (1998-99)
• American League Leader in Holds (36) 2004

Moment in the Sun

• In 1998, Gordon led the American League in Saves (46) and Games Finished (69).
• Set a MLB record with 54 consecutive saves (1998-99) (since broken by Eric Gagne)

Trivia

• He was referenced as the object of infatuation for the young protagonist of the 1999 Stephen King novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
• Gordon vomited during the 2004 ALCS in the Yankees bullpen.

Transactions

• June 2, 1986: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1986 amateur draft. Player signed June 3, 1986.
• October 30, 1995: Granted Free Agency.
• December 21, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 1, 2000: Granted Free Agency.
• December 14, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• August 22, 2002: Traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Houston Astros for players to be named later and Ross Rohlicek (minors). The Houston Astros sent Travis Anderson (minors) (September 11, 2002) and Mike Nannini (minors) (September 11, 2002) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.
• October 29, 2002: Granted Free Agency.
• January 23, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
• October 27, 2003: Granted Free Agency.
• December 16, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• October 28, 2005: Granted Free Agency.
• December 6, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis