Thomas Edward Bolton (born May 6, 1962) is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1987 through 1994 for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

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

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Listed at and , he batted and threw left-handed.

Biography

A native of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, Bolton helped lead

Antioch High School Antioch High School is a public high school located in Antioch, California, United States. It is located at 700 West 18th Street between G and L streets. It is a comprehensive high school for grades 9-12. There are about 120 teachers, and 20 mai ...

to the Tennessee High School Class AAA state championship in 1979, his junior year. His overall

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

as a high school pitcher was 26–4. Bolton was selected by the

in the 20th round of the

1980 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall S ...

. Bolton's

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

career spanned 1980 to 1998, as he appeared in Minor League Baseball during 16 seasons and in MLB during eight seasons. He moved back and forth between being a starting pitcher and being a relief pitcher. He reached MLB in 1987 with the Red Sox, playing in parts of six seasons with them before moving to three other teams late in this career. Bolton's most productive season came in 1990 with Boston, when he had a 10–5 mark with a 3.38

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 16 starts. He made his only major league postseason appearances that season, pitching a total of three scoreless innings in two games of the 1990 ALCS, as the Red Sox were swept by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. In 1991, Bolton recorded a high-career 19 starts, but went 8–9 with a 5.24 ERA. In July 1992, he was sent to the

in the trade that brought

Billy Hatcher William Augustus Hatcher (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first base coach. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Philli ...

to the Red Sox. After that, Bolton was used mostly as a

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

and

left-handed specialist In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Bec ...

. He spent his last two seasons with the

(1993) and

(1994). In an eight-season MLB career, Bolton posted a 31–34 record with a 4.56 ERA and 336

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 209 appearances, including 56 starts, three

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, and

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He had one save in MLB, which came on August 13, 1988, during a blowout victory against the Tigers, as Bolton pitched the final three innings of 16–4 win. As a batter, Bolton was hitless in 14 major league at bats, all occurring with Cincinnati in 1992. As a fielder, he committed six errors in 117

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

, for a .949

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Bolton pitched in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary ...

(1996–1997),

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

(1997) and

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

(1998). He was also an assistant pitching coach with the Sounds. In 16 minor league seasons, Bolton went 79–71 with 841 strikeouts and a 3.88 ERA in innings. Bolton was inducted to the

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Metro Nashville Public Schools, or MNPS, is a school district that serves the city of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County. As of the 2020–21 school year more than 80,000 students were enrolled in the district's 162 schools. Demographics ...

sports hall of fame in 2008. He has served as a board member of the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association. Bolton and his wife, Diane, have three children.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Tom 1962 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Boston Red Sox players Calgary Cannons players Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Elmira Pioneers players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players New Britain Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Tucson Toros players Winter Haven Red Sox players