Thomas James Funk (born March 13, 1962) 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 (A ...

pitcher who played for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

during the 1986 season. He appeared in eight games and enjoyed early success before faltering and being sent down to the minors. He would never again pitch in the big leagues. The Astros would go on to win the 1986

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Western Division title without him.

Background

Funk was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, and attended

Winnetonka High School Winnetonka High School is a high school in the North Kansas City School District. The school is located at 5815 NE 48 Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Winnetonka opened in 1971. Originally built to hold 2,000 students, it now has approximately ...

and

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

. In 1982, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. The Astros selected him in the 28th round of the June 1983 free agent draft. The 6' 2" 210 lbs left-hander quickly began to work his way through the Houston minor league system. He was enjoying a good year with the

Columbus Astros Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

when he was called to the parent club.

1986 season

Upon reaching the Majors, Funk quickly filled the role of a left-handed reliever for the Astros bullpen. The team was in the middle of a pennant race and had been lacking a lefty since

Frank DiPino Frank Michael DiPino (born October 22, 1956) is a former American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). On Se ...

had been traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. In his first seven games Funk would record a stellar era of 2.45. On August 23, 1986 he was summoned from the bullpen at

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...

to relieve Mike Scott in what was a 3-1

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 ...

lead. Funk would proceed to get hammered during the course of the inning. He surrendered four earned runs and helped pad the Cardinals lead to 7 to 1. Funk's era ballooned to 6.48 and he was quickly demoted back to the minors at the behest of manager Hal Lanier. Jeff Calhoun would assume his spot as the left-handed reliever in the Astros bullpen for the remainder of the season. For the year, and his career, Funk finished with no decisions or saves over 8⅓ innings in eight games with six walks, two strikeouts (

Mariano Duncan Mariano Duncan Nalasco (born March 13, 1963) is a retired second baseman and shortstop who played for several Major League Baseball teams during his 12-year career. He was the infield coach and first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers under ...

and

Len Matuszek Leonard James Matuszek (born September 27, 1954), is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers from t ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

), and the aforementioned 6.48 earned run average.

Debut game

Funk appeared in his first big league game on Thursday, July 24, 1986 in a 9-3 Houston win over the

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

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capa ...

. He pitched the 9th and last inning of the game. The first batter he faced hit a home run. The following is the play by play; PHILLIES 9TH: Craig Reynolds replaced

Larry Andersen Larry Eugene Andersen (born May 6, 1953) is an American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and current radio color commentator for the Philadelphia Phillies. From through , Andersen played for the Cleveland Indians (1975, , ), Seatt ...

(PLAYING 1B); Funk replaced Glenn Davis (PITCHING); John Mizerock stayed in the game (PLAYING C ); John Russell homered; Steve Jeltz grounded out (third to first);

Greg Gross Gregory Eugene Gross (born August 1, 1952), is an American former professional baseball outfielder / pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Philadelphia Phillies, from –. He was previous ...

grounded out (second to first); Luis Aguayo flied out to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 9, Phillies 3.

References

External links

SI.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Tom 1962 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Northwest Missouri State Bearcats baseball players Chatham Anglers players Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri