Tom Gordon

Did You Know?

• Gordon was raised in abject poverty and his parents could not afford a telephone.
• He attended Avon Park High School in Avon Park, Florida, and was a letterman in baseball.
• He was selected in the sixth round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals and received a $38,000 signing bonus.

Professional career

Gordon began his MLB career as a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, debuting in five games late in the 1988 season at age 20. In his first full season in 1989, he posted a 17–9 record with a 3.64 ERA and 153 strikeouts, finishing second in Rookie of the Year balloting and earning the nickname "Flash." He recorded top-10 strikeout totals in 1990 and 1991, but his win totals declined and his ERA rose, culminating in a 6–10 record with a 4.59 ERA in 1992.

He rebounded with 11 to 12 wins from 1993 to 1995 but never regained his rookie form. Before the 1996 season, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox. In his first Boston season he had a 12–9 record and a 5.59 ERA, the highest of his career to that point. The Red Sox then converted him from starter to closer, and his career revived.

In 1998 he set the club single-season record with 46 saves (43 in a row) and made his first All-Star team. In 1999 he set a major league record with his 54th consecutive save in June, but an elbow injury limited him to 21 appearances and required Tommy John surgery, forcing him to spend all of 2000 on the disabled list. The Chicago Cubs signed him to a two-year, $5 million contract on December 15, 2000.

Family

Gordon never married any of the four women he had children with. He has five kids: Tamasha, Devaris (called Dee), Thomas, Thomana, and Nicholas (Nick). Dee, his eldest son, last played for the Washington Nationals. Nick, the youngest, was picked fifth overall by the Minnesota Twins in the 2014 draft and debuted with them in 2021. Gordon also serves as the legal guardian of Cleveland Guardians minor league pitcher Juan Hillman. Professional baseball runs in the family: his brother Anthony Gordon and cousin Clyde "Pork Chop" Pough both played in the minors and independent leagues.