1967
Born November 18, 1967
Sebring, FL, USA
Tom Gordon Marquee
b. November 18, 1967 · Kansas City Royals 1988–1995, Boston Red Sox 1996–1999, Chicago Cubs 2001–2002, Houston Astros 2002, Chicago White Sox 2003, New York Yankees 2004–2005, Philadelphia Phillies 2006–2008, Arizona Diamondbacks 2009
He pitched twenty-one seasons and did both jobs properly: 203 starts, 158 saves, 138 wins and 1,928 strikeouts across 2,108 innings. He led the American League with 46 saves in 1998 for Boston and was rookie pitcher of the year as a starter in 1989 for Kansas City, nine years earlier.
Stephen King published The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon in 1999, a novel in which a lost child keeps herself going by imagining him pitching. It is the only case of a relief pitcher's season producing a bestselling novel, and it followed the year he converted 43 consecutive save chances.
He pitched for eight clubs and was an All-Star in three different decades. His son Dee Gordon played fourteen seasons and led the league in stolen bases twice. The writers gave him two votes of 549 in 2015.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1998, 2004, 2006 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 1 | 1998 |
| The Sporting News Fireman of the Year | 1 | 1998 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1989 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | KCR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | KCR | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | KCR | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | KCR | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | KCR | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | KCR | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | KCR | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | KCR | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | BOS | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | BOS | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | BOS | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | BOS | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | CHC | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | CHC/HOU | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | CHW | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | NYY | 80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2005 | NYY | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | PHI | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | PHI | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | PHI | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | ARI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 893 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | KCR | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15.2 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 5.17 |
| 1989 | KCR | 17 | 9 | 49 | 16 | 1 | 163.0 | 122 | 66 | 86 | 153 | 3.64 |
| 1990 | KCR | 12 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 195.1 | 192 | 81 | 99 | 175 | 3.73 |
| 1991 | KCR | 9 | 14 | 45 | 14 | 1 | 158.0 | 129 | 68 | 87 | 167 | 3.87 |
| 1992 | KCR | 6 | 10 | 40 | 11 | 0 | 117.2 | 116 | 60 | 55 | 98 | 4.59 |
| 1993 | KCR | 12 | 6 | 48 | 14 | 1 | 155.2 | 125 | 62 | 77 | 143 | 3.58 |
| 1994 | KCR | 11 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 155.1 | 136 | 75 | 87 | 126 | 4.35 |
| 1995 | KCR | 12 | 12 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 189.0 | 204 | 93 | 89 | 119 | 4.43 |
| 1996 | BOS | 12 | 9 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 215.2 | 249 | 134 | 105 | 171 | 5.59 |
| 1997 | BOS | 6 | 10 | 42 | 25 | 11 | 182.2 | 155 | 76 | 78 | 159 | 3.74 |
| 1998 | BOS | 7 | 4 | 73 | 0 | 46 | 79.1 | 55 | 24 | 25 | 78 | 2.72 |
| 1999 | BOS | 0 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 17.2 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 5.60 |
| 2001 | CHC | 1 | 2 | 47 | 0 | 27 | 45.1 | 32 | 17 | 16 | 67 | 3.38 |
| 2002 | CHC/HOU | 1 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 42.2 | 42 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 3.38 |
| 2003 | CHW | 7 | 6 | 66 | 0 | 12 | 74.0 | 57 | 26 | 31 | 91 | 3.16 |
| 2004 | NYY | 9 | 4 | 80 | 0 | 4 | 89.2 | 56 | 22 | 23 | 96 | 2.21 |
| 2005 | NYY | 5 | 4 | 79 | 0 | 2 | 80.2 | 59 | 23 | 29 | 69 | 2.57 |
| 2006 | PHI | 3 | 4 | 59 | 0 | 34 | 59.1 | 53 | 22 | 22 | 68 | 3.34 |
| 2007 | PHI | 3 | 2 | 44 | 0 | 6 | 40.0 | 40 | 21 | 13 | 32 | 4.72 |
| 2008 | PHI | 5 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 29.2 | 31 | 17 | 17 | 26 | 5.16 |
| 2009 | ARI | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 21.60 |
| Career | — | 138 | 126 | 890 | 203 | 158 | 2108.0 | 1889 | 927 | 977 | 1928 | 3.96 |
On this day & linked events
1988
Major-league debut: Tom Gordon
Tom Gordon made a major-league debut on September 8, 1988.
2009
Final major-league game: Tom Gordon
Tom Gordon played a final major-league game on May 3, 2009.