Thomas Michael Carroll (born November 5, 1952) is a former

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), ...

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 ...

for the

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 ...

. The Reds selected Carroll in the sixth round of the June

1970 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

out of North Allegheny High School in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

at age 17. At 18, Carroll went 18–5 with a 2.39

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 ...

and 148

strikeouts 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 ...

with the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

. At 20, in 1973, Carroll went 15-9 for AAA Indianapolis. Carroll tossed a no-hitter against Omaha for the Indianapolis Indians in 1974 to improve his career minor league record to 51–33 with a 3.38 ERA when he received his first call to the majors. He made his major league debut on July 7, at

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 through 2002 and the Cincinnati Bengals o ...

. Facing

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

(who was also making his major league debut) in the first game of a doubleheader with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, he held the Cardinals to just two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

over seven innings while striking out six. The Reds went on to win in each of Carroll's first seven starts and at that point, he was 4–0 with 3 no decisions. He left the game after seven innings of his eighth start, giving up 3 hits and one run. The Reds eventually lost 2–1. He lost his final three decisions of the year, and ended the season 4–3 with a 3.68 ERA. He began the season with the AAA

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, but got a call to the majors when Reds starter

Don Gullett Donald Edward Gullett (born January 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that wo ...

fractured his left thumb. Immediately starting upon his arrival, he won his first two games, beating Houston 4-3 and then throwing 8 shutout innings against Atlanta, giving up three hits. On August 2, Carroll pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Dodgers in front of 52,015 fans. Clay Carroll came in in relief and together they beat Andy Messersmith and Mike Marshall 1–0. It would be his last major league win. He finished the season 4–1 with a 4.98 ERA in place of Gullett. Though he did not participate in the

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

victory over 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 ...

, he was voted a three-quarter World Series share by his teammates. He struggled with arm problems for the rest of his career and spent the season with Indianapolis, going 9–15 with a 5.38 ERA. Following the season, the Reds traded him to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for

Jim Sadowski James Michael Sadowski (born August 7, 1951) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 1974 season. Listed at 6' 3", 195 lb, Sadowski batted and threw right-handed. Coming out of a ...

. He was then taken from the Pirates, the first selection in the 1976 Rule V draft by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. He remained in Montreal's farm system until arm problems ended his career in . He attempted a comeback with the independent

Alexandria Dukes The Alexandria Dukes were a Minor League Baseball team of the Class A Carolina League from 1978 to 1983. Alexandria was unable to secure a Major League Baseball affiliate for their inaugural season, and again in 1980, forcing the team to operate ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in , but was unsuccessful. Carroll earned Bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgetown University and spent 28 years (where he worked as Dept. Chief Analyst, Dept. Chief Engineer, Portfolio Division Manager and Sr. Principal) with MITRE Corporation. He is an adjunct professor in Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service where he teaches courses on international security.

Career stats

As a hitter, one of his four career

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

came on July 17, 1974, against

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

as Gibson stood with 2999 career strikeouts. The next batter, César Gerónimo, ended up being Gibson's three thousandth career strikeout.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Tom Baseball players from New York (state) Cincinnati Reds players Alexandria Dukes players West Palm Beach Expos players Major League Baseball pitchers 1952 births Living people Sioux Falls Packers players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Trois-Rivières Aigles players Indianapolis Indians players Denver Bears players