Unknown Heroes Pt. 30: Tom Bolton

Am I running out of players to write about?  No.  I really did like Tom Bolton.  Part of it had to do with the fact that he was one of my first Red Sox cards.  He was actually probably my very first favorite player.  Back when I only had two cards, my 1991 Topps Tom Bolton card was my favorite, mostly due to the fact that the picture of Bolton was better than the picture of Dennis Lamp, which is my official first Red Sox card.

Bolton was a player who made several attempts at sticking in the Majors in the late 1980's.  He was a left-hander who spent the first two seasons of his Major League career in the bullpen.  Then in 1989 he was converted to a starter.  But that was not until August of that year as he spent most of the season back in the minors.  His numbers were not impressive in 1989 as he went 0-4 with an 8.31 ERA in four starts.

Somehow Bolton got another chance in 1990 and he made the most of it.  Bolton became an impressive fourth starter for the Red Sox, finishing with a record of 10-5 to with a 3.38 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 119.2 innings.  He started 16 out of his 21 games that season.  It was easily the best season of his career.

1991 was a bit of a down season as Bolton only went 8-9 with a 5.24 ERA.  Then he went back to the bullpen in 1992 and was in the midst of a good season when he was traded to the Reds.  He had a 3.41 ERA in 21 games with only one start.  Boston acquired Billy Hatcher in the trade.  Bolton bounced around a bit after that, never able to match the promise of his 1990 season.  He was out of baseball after 1994, he was 32.

1991 Topps #37 Tom Bolton

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps.  This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Along with Dennis Lamp, this was my first Red Sox card.  I got the two cards in my very first pack of baseball cards.  Bolton was the number four starter for the Red Sox in 1990 and had a decent, if unspectacular year.  He went 10-5 with a 3.38 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 119.2 innings with 47 walks.  He started 16 out of his 21 games.  The left-handed Bolton was always a player that Boston had high hopes for but he was never really able to put it all together.  He came closest in 1990.

How I Became a Red Sox Fan

This story is embarassing. But here it goes anyway. What I am about to tell you very few people knew before. But I was 10 years old, what do you expect?

Anyway. When I was 10, it was 1991 and we were on summer vacation. I had gone to a garage sale across the street the day before and bought two very cheap baseball cards. One was a 1990 Score Charles Nagy Indians card and the other was a 1990 Upper Deck Dave Johnson Orioles card. My older brother had collected baseball cards sporadically a couple years earlier but started to become more interested since I was now considering collecting. Well he and I walked to the Kwik Shop just a block away and each bought a pack of 1991 Topps. Back then, a pack of baseball cards cost $0.50 and you got 15 cards. Man, I sound old.

I don't remember exactly what was in the pack except for two cards. One was Dennis Lamp and the other was Tom Bolton. Both Red Sox cards, neither player was exactly a star, more like role players. Bolton had a decent year as the number four starter and Lamp was toward the end of his career. Well I wanted to decide on a favorite team. This is where things get embarassing. I usually tell people that it's because I got two Red Sox in my first pack that I became a Red Sox fan. That's only part of the story.

I played eenie meenie minie moe. That's right. I decided on the Red Sox because they were "it".

I was 10, what do you expect? Rationality?