Tom Gordon
A flame-throwing reliever nicknamed 'Flash', he dominated the late innings with a devastating curveball and set a historic saves record.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American baseball player·Birthday: November 18·Generation X
Biography
Tom 'Flash' Gordon's baseball journey was one of remarkable reinvention. He arrived in the majors with the Kansas City Royals as a blazing starter, even throwing a shutout in his first career start. But it was his mid-career transformation into a shutdown closer that cemented his legacy. With the Boston Red Sox in 1998, Gordon unleashed one of the most dominant relief seasons ever, saving 46 games and earning the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award. His signature was a hellacious overhand curveball that seemed to drop off a table, complementing a fastball that still sizzled. During that '98 season and into '99, he set a then-major league record by converting 54 consecutive save opportunities, a streak of relentless reliability. Gordon's career spanned 21 seasons, and he remained effective into his 40s, making an All-Star team as a setup man for the Yankees in 2004 and finishing with 158 saves and over 1,500 strikeouts. His path from promising starter to record-setting closer to veteran bullpen anchor illustrates the longevity and adaptability of a true pitching craftsman.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Tom was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tom Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Tom's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Set a then-Major League Baseball record with 54 consecutive save conversions spanning the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
- Won the American League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award in 1998 after leading the league with 46 saves for the Boston Red Sox.
- Was selected as an All-Star three times, in three different decades (1998 as a closer, 2004 and 2006 as a setup pitcher).
- Pitched in 21 MLB seasons for eight different teams, amassing 158 saves and 1,538 strikeouts.
Did You Know?
His son, Dee Strange-Gordon, is a two-time MLB All-Star and won the National League batting title in 2015.
He earned the nickname 'Flash' early in his career for his quick pitching motion and lively fastball.
He was the winning pitcher for the American League in the 1998 MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field.
He began his professional career as a shortstop before being converted to a pitcher in the minor leagues.
“You either adapt when your fastball fades, or you go home.”
