Saturday, August 23, 2014

Player Profile: Tom Bolton

I have 26 cards of Tom Bolton. This one is from 1994 Collectors Choice. 

Playing career: Fred Digby was a Red Sox scout who knew he could get a good deal on a Cadillac in Nashville, and wanted to expense his trip, so he decided to check out a high school pitcher named Tom Bolton while he was in town. Digby liked what he saw, and the Red Sox took a flier on Bolton with the 20th pick in the 1980 draft. By 1987, Bolton was in the major leagues, and in 1990 he was a key member of the pitching staff for the 1990 AL East champs, going 10-5 with a 3.38 ERA and pitching three innings of scoreless relief in the ALCS. Overall, Bolton pitched for eight seasons in the major leagues, mostly for te Red Sox but with brief stops in Cincinnati, Detroit and Baltimore, going 31-34 with a 4.56 ERA. A fuller account of his career can be found at The Greatest 21 Days.

Where he is now: He works in real estate development in Nashville and is also an instructor at the Nashville Baseball Academy.

Interesting facts: Bolton’s wife Diane is an avid marathon runner. In 2013, both Tom and Diane were at the Boston Marathon that was bombed by terrorists. Tom was near the finish line and saw the explosion. Diane had slowed to jog with a friend along the way, otherwise she may have been much closer to the bomb when it went off. It took two hours for the two of them to be reunited.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Tom Bol, between Tom Bolles, an artist, and Tom Bolt, Director of Performance Management at Lloyds. Another prominent Tom Bolton is a clown in Germany.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Mark Bomback.

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