Tuesday, February 17, 2015

#376 Tom Henke

About the Front: Tom Henke's oversized glasses look like a relic of the 1980s.

About the Back: Big league hitters fared a bit better against Henke than AAA guys, but didn't thrive by any means. In a 14-year career, opposing batters had a line of .211/.275/.326 against him.

Triple Play:

1. Toronto teammate John Cerutti nicknamed Tom "The Terminator" after the duo saw the Arnold Schwarzenegger film together in 1985.

2. He retired at the end of the 1995 season, despite having made his second All-Star team in his first year with the Cardinals (1.82 ERA, 36 SV, 54.1 IP). For his career, he totaled 311 saves, still the 21st-highest total all-time.

3. Tom now lives on a thousand-acre farm in Taos, MO with his wife Kathy. They have four children. He's also on the board of directors with the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: In my fandom, Henke was an early example of an unconventional-looking athlete who was dominant. I wouldn't have expected somebody who looked like an accountant to be able to mow down hitters.

Bill James Said: "Henke was born in the same month as Lee Smith (December 1957), and is of similar size (6-5, 225 - Smith is 6-6 but weighs more)."

On This Date in 1993: February 12. In Liverpool, England, three-year-old James Bulger is abducted from the New Strand Shopping Centre by a pair of ten-year-old boys. The older boys torture and kill him, and are convicted of murder later that year.

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