Tom Hume threw a curve ball and a changeup mixed into a 90s fastball to stymie opposing batters during his 11-season major league tenure, the first 10 and a half years with Cincinnati. Reds Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench often stated, ‘Tom Hume probably has the best stuff on the staff.’ Tom Hume was 8-11 in 23 starts during his sophomore season and 10-9 with 17 relief saves and had a very fine 2.76 earned run average the next year for the 1979 NL West Champions, including a 9-strikeout game on June 3 1979 vs the Phillies. For the next 3 years Tom Hume was used mainly as a relief closer. From 1980-82 he gathered 25, 13 and 17 saves. In his career he posted 92 saves in 1086 innings, spanning 543 games. |