: ''For other people named Thomas Byrne, see

Thomas Byrne (disambiguation) Thomas Byrne may refer to: * Thomas Byrne (cricketer) (1866–1951), Australian cricketer * Thomas Byrne (Dublin politician) (1917–1978), Irish politician * Thomas Byrne (Meath politician) (born 1977), Irish politician * Thomas Byrne (VC) (1866� ...

'' Thomas Joseph Byrne (December 31, 1919 – December 20, 2007) was an American left-handed

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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), ...

who played for four

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

teams from through , primarily the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He also played for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(1951–52),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1953) and Washington Senators (1953). Byrne batted and threw left-handed.

Education and military service

Byrne attended the

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

high school and

Wake Forest College Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. In November 1943, Byrne was commissioned an ensign in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and was stationed at Naval Training Station Norfolk, Virginia. In 1944, he reported to the destroyer USS Ordronaux (DD-617) to serve as the

gunnery officer The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory. Background The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to the ...

, with a deployment to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Baseball career

Byrne was a hard-thrower pitcher who never hesitated to pitch inside, but he had really struggled with his control most of his career, earning him the nickname "Wild Man". After making his debut on April 27, 1943, he had four years with more than 130 innings pitched and more than 6 walks per nine innings, a record later tied by

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

. Byrne led the league in

hit batsmen In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

five times and in walks three times. Despite his wildness, he won 15 games twice (1949–50) and enjoyed a career season in with a 16–5 record and a 3.15

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, and led the league in

winning percentage 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 ...

(.762). But Byrne was a dangerous hitter. He hit well enough during his career to be called on by his managers for pinch-hitting duties. He batted .238 in his career (143-for-601) with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 98 RBI in 377 games, including two grand slams and 80 pinch hits. In a 13-year career, Byrne posted an 85–69 record with a 4.11 ERA in 1362

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

. He had a disappointing 0.74

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted ...

(766-to-1037). In four

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 ...

, he went 2–2 with 11 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings. He made the American League All-Star team in . He played his final regular-season game on September 21, 1957 before ending his career in the

defeat to the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

Later life

After the conclusion of his baseball career, Byrne returned to

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Franklin, Granville and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601. That is ...

, where he had attended college (although the college had since relocated to Winston-Salem). Prior to the 1963 season, he joined the New York Mets organization as a minor league scout. When

Clyde McCullough Clyde Edward McCullough (March 4, 1917 – September 18, 1982) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. After his playing career ended, he also managed in the minor leagues and was a major-league coach. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, McCu ...

was promoted to the Mets as a coach, Byrne took over the manager's job for the Raleigh Mets 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 ...

. He managed the team from July 29 through the end of the season. Byrne later became mayor of Wake Forest from 1973 through 1987. He died on December 20, 2007 at age 87 in

, eleven days before his 88th birthday.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Tommy 1919 births 2007 deaths American League All-Stars American athlete-politicians Baltimore City College alumni Baseball players from Baltimore Charleston Senators players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Lácteos de Pastora players Major League Baseball pitchers Mayors of places in North Carolina United States Navy personnel of World War II New York Yankees players Newark Bears (IL) players Seattle Rainiers players St. Louis Browns players Sportspeople from Manhattan Baseball players from New York City Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Wake Forest University alumni 20th-century American politicians People from Wake Forest, North Carolina United States Navy officers

Education and military service

Baseball career

Later life

See also

References

External links