Thomas Hubert Hume (born March 29, 1953) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, from to . Hume was drafted by the Reds with the 16th pick in the 1st round of the 1972 amateur draft (secondary phase). Hume came into his own in 1979 with the Reds when manager John McNamara started using him exclusively out of the bullpen in the latter part of July. Hume responded by recording 15 Saves over the last 10 weeks of the '79 season finishing runner-up to J. R. Richard of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

for the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

lead with a 2.76

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. Hume followed up his 1979 breakout season with perhaps the best season of his career in 1980. Hume finished with a 9-10 record, however posted a 2.56 ERA and recorded 25 saves, finishing a National League high 62 games. Hume was rewarded by being named the National League's Fireman of the Year by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' (sharing the award with

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985. His effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseball an ...

). Hume followed up his Fireman of the Year season by having another solid season in the strike shortened campaign of 1981, compiling a 9-4 record with a 3.46 ERA and chalking up 13 saves. Hume was off to a fast start to the 1982 season, heading into the All-Star break 3rd in the National League with 16 saves. Hume was named to the National League All-Star team and recorded the Save for the NL in a 4-1 victory over the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. Hume injured his knee and made his final appearance of the 1982 season on July 26, recording a save against the Cubs. 1983 and 1984 were lackluster seasons for Hume as he struggled to regain his form following knee surgery and could not regain his closer's role with the Reds. Hume rebounded back to form in 1985 with a solid season as a setup man in the Reds bullpen. He was traded along with

Gary Redus Gary Eugene Redus (born November 1, 1956) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers. ...

from the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * ''Reds'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...

to the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for

John Denny John Allen Denny (born November 8, 1952) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds, from ...

and Jeff Gray on December 11, 1985."Orioles Trade Roenicke for Bordi, Hudler," ''The Washington Post'', Thursday, December 12, 1985.
Retrieved July 10, 2023. Hume rewarded the Phillies with a solid 1986 season sporting a 4-1 record and 2.77 ERA in 46 appearances. Hume, however, slumped again in 1987 and was dealt back to the Reds in midseason, finishing out his career where he started.

Coaching career

The 2006 season was Hume's 11th consecutive season as the Reds bullpen coach. He was serving as interim pitching coach because regular pitching coach

Vern Ruhle Vernon Gerald Ruhle ( ; January 25, 1951 – January 20, 2007) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros for 13 seasons, ...

was absent with cancer (Multiple myeloma). Ruhle died in January 2007. Prior to Ruhle's death,

Dick Pole Richard Henry Pole (born October 13, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and a former pitching coach. A right-handed pitcher, Pole was tall and weighed during his playing career. Playing career Pole was born in Trout Creek ...

was signed to be the pitching coach for the Reds, and Ruhle was assigned to help with the minor leagues. Hume then went back to being the bullpen coach.

References

External links

Tom Hume
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

Bio Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, Tom 1953 births Living people Cincinnati Reds announcers Cincinnati Reds coaches Cincinnati Reds players Clearwater Phillies players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches National League All-Stars Philadelphia Phillies players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Trois-Rivières Aigles players Baseball players from Cincinnati