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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.
On top of his impressive MLB career, esteemed author Stephen King also based a book on him, “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.” King, a big Boston Red Sox fan, showed up at Fenway Park to observe Gordon.
“Stephen King, this great author, his wife (Tabitha), they’re coming to the ballpark every single day,” Gordon told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “And from my understanding now, I didn’t know this, just, you know, coming out of the dugout and sitting for a moment before I go to the bullpen in the sixth. I didn’t know that they watched 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 that they sat there and just kinda say, you know, let’s just 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 and met me at my hometown and ate at a restaurant called Olympic Restaurant. And she told Stephen, she says, Flash is the right person for this. Stephen told me, he said, when she said that there was no other body, no other person, we were thinking that this was gonna happen with you, my friend,” Gordon said.
“And that was the actual final outcome. And I’m grateful.”
Gordon questioned King about why he was chosen and not anyone else.
“I asked a couple times, why me? You know, why me? And he said to me, there was no better guy to do this with because we liked how you approached the game. And I approached the game the same way I did as 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 wanna be the guy that, at the end of the day, the player shook his hand and said, ‘Hey guy, we won that game. And, and it’s, it wasn’t about me, but we won that game today’ and I just like being the guy. I had the ball in my hand, the last pitches, last two pitchers, so three pitchers in the game. And I like to be the guy that was shaking everyone’s hand at the end.”
Gordon said the timing of the book came at a time when so many “good things” were happening. King’s book about him was around the same time he took over the closer role, and thrived.
“You know, I went out there when (manager) Jimy Williams gave me the ball and said, Flash, you could close. And I’m like, ‘Jimy, you lost your mind.’ (Williams responded) ‘No flash, honestly, the, the pitches that you have, you can close baseball games and be really good at it,'” Gordon said.
“So when he, when he decided to make me (the closer), Dennis Eckersley was there with me and I’m like, well, we still have the Great Eck. And you know who walked (over) ? He walked, Eck walks up to me, he says, ‘I’ve spoken to Jimy, and I know that I’m right. I know Jimy’s right, (pitching coach) Joe Kerrigan, you’re the guy for this baseball. You’re the guy to finish these games.’”
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Stephen King attends the premiere of “The Life of Chuck” during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, on Sept. 6, 2024. (Olivia Wong/Getty Images)
Gordon ended up setting an MLB record (later broken by Eric Gagne) by recording 54 consecutive saves upon taking control of the closer role.
“I had all my family with me, every single save, every single time. Reeled off 54 saves in a row. And it was just my teammates were really, really proud of that. So, and that’s when I knew then this is something special,” Gordon said.
“And Stephen King took it to a different, bigger and higher platform.”
Gordon said King’s book about him sent “shock waves” through his community.
“When Stephen did that, it sent shock waves through me and the community. My, my family, everybody here, my town, he came here to my town, um, went to my high school himself and his wife, Tab, and signed autographs. Families here bought the books, the book, and it was just really cool, man. It, it was a moment in my life that I’ll never forget and I’m grateful that I met such a man in Stephen King and his wife, Tab,” Gordon said.
“Just humble, down-to-earth people that you just fall in love with. And I’m definitely a Stephen King fan and I’m grateful that I got a chance.”
Gordon said there was an added benefit to being apart of the book.
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Tom Gordon (36) of the Kansas City Royals pitches during a Major League Baseball game at Royals Stadium. The game was played in Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1992. Gordon played for the Royals from 1988 to 1995. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
“Here’s the funniest part about that. Even when all that took place, I started coming to the field. When I heard about it, I started coming to the field, looking in the stadium like, oh my God, every girl in the stadium likes me,” Gordon said.
“This is awesome. Every woman, I promise you, not a woman in these stands will boo me.”
For Gordon, he said his life has been “amazing.”
“I just gotta give God his credit,” Gordon said.
Gordon is now heavily involved with Perfect Game, the world’s largest and most comprehensive scouting organization. He has a podcast “Innings of Life” that will be debuting shortly.
Gordon traveled the country in an RV, built with a custom podcast studio, where he interviews current and former baseball players, managers, and executives.
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