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Tom “Flash” Gordon has an impressive resume: he played 21 years in Major League Baseball, was a three-time All-Star and recorded 54 consecutive saves, which set an MLB record at the time.
In addition to his impressive MLB career, esteemed author Stephen King also based a book on him, “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.” King, a great Boston Red Sox fan, showed up at Fenway Park to watch Gordon.
“Stephen King, this great author, his wife (Tabitha), they come to the stadium every day,” Gordon told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “And from what I understand now, I didn’t know that, just, you know, coming out of the dugout and sitting down for a while before I went to the bullpen in the sixth. I didn’t know they were watching everything I did.”
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Former Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon is honored on the field during a pregame ceremony before a Triple-A Minor League baseball game between the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 18, 2023. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“I didn’t know they were sitting there and just saying, you know, let’s see if this is the right guy for this, this moment, and eventually it came to that. I became the guy for that moment.”
Gordon said Stephen and Tabitha King came to his hometown to see if he was the right person for the book.
“They came to meet me in my hometown and ate at a restaurant called Olympic Restaurant. And she told Stephen, she said, Flash is the right person for this. Stephen told me, he said, when she said there was no other body, no other person, we thought that was going to happen with you, my friend,” Gordon said.
“And that was the end result. And I’m grateful.”
Gordon asked King why he was chosen and no one else.
“I asked many times, why me? You know, why me? And he told me there wasn’t a better guy to do this with because we loved the way you approached the game. And I approached the game the same way I did when I was a kid,” Gordon said.
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Pitcher Tom Gordon (36) of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York on May 27, 2005. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“You know, I want to be the guy that at the end of the day the player shakes his hand and says, ‘Hey guys, we won this game. And, and it wasn’t about me, but we won this game today’ and I just like being the guy. I had the ball in my hand, the last pitches, the last two pitchers, so three pitchers in the game. And I like being the guy that shook everyone’s hand at the end.”
Gordon said the timing of the book’s release came at a time when so many “good things” were happening. King’s book on him was about the time he was taking on the role most closely and thriving.
“You know, I went out there when (manager) Jimy Williams gave me the ball and said, Flash, you can close. And I was like, ‘Jimy, you’re out of your mind.’ (Williams responded) ‘No flash, honestly, the pitches you have, you can close out baseball games and be really good at it,'” Gordon said.
“So when he, when he decided to move me closer, Dennis Eckersley was there with me and I’m like, well, we still have Big Eck. And you know who walked (towards you)? He walked, Eck walked up to me, he said, ‘I talked to Jimy, and I know I’m right. I know Jimy’s right, (pitching coach) Joe Kerrigan, you’re the guy for this baseball. You You’re the guy to finish this game.'”
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Stephen King attends the premiere of “The Life of Chuck” during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto, Ontario on September 6, 2024. (Olivia Wong/Getty Images)
Gordon eventually established a MLB record (later broken by Eric Gagné) by recording 54 consecutive saves after taking control of the closer role.
“I had my whole family with me, every stop, every time. I made 54 saves in a row. And it’s just my teammates were really, really proud of that. So, and that’s when I knew it was something special,” Gordon said.
“And Stephen King took it to a different, bigger, higher platform.”
Gordon said King’s book about him sent “shock waves” through his community.
“When Stephen did that, it sent a shockwave through me and the community. My, my family, everyone here, my town, he came here to my town, uh, went to my high school himself and his wife, Tab, and signed autographs. The families here bought the books, the book, and it was really cool, man. It was a moment in my life that I’ll never forget and I’m grateful to have met such a man in person of Stephen King and his wife, Tab,” Gordon said.
“Just humble, down-to-earth people that you fall in love with. And I’m definitely a Stephen King fan and I’m grateful to have had this chance.”
Gordon said there was an added benefit to being part of the book.
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Kansas City Royals’ Tom Gordon (36) pitches during a Major League Baseball game at Royals Stadium. The game took place in Kansas City, Missouri, around 1992. Gordon played for the Royals from 1988 to 1995. (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
“Here’s the funniest part of all this. Even when all this was happening, I started coming to the field. When I heard about it, I started coming to the field, looking around the stadium like, oh my God, all the girls in the stadium like me,” Gordon said.
“It’s awesome. I promise you, not every woman in these stands will boo me.”
For Gordon, he said his life had been “incredible”.
“I just have to give credit to God,” Gordon said.
Gordon is now heavily involved with Perfect Game, the largest and most comprehensive scouting organization in the world. He has a podcast, “Innings of Life,” which will debut shortly.
Gordon has traveled the country in a camper van built with a custom podcast studio, where he interviews current and former baseball players, managers and executives.
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