The Baseball Life of Tom Haley (OOTP11)

[Big Six]

December 24, 2019

Christmas was particularly festive at the Haley house in Lindsay. A huge, lovingly decorated evergreen tree cast a warm glow over the living room, with its vaulted, beamed ceiling. The house was filled with the fragrance of bayberry and cinnamon. All the Haleys had some musical talent, and enjoyed playing and singing Christmas songs together. The snow outside--three fresh inches on top of the six or seven that were already on the ground--made the picture complete.

This was Trish Haley's second Christmas with her in-laws, and she had come to love the family traditions as much as the other members of the family. For example, she had never experienced a white Christmas in Virginia.

Tom's finger injury had healed completely, and he had been cleared by the Braves' medical staff to return to full activity. Right now, that meant running a snowblower and shoveling out the end of the driveway.

Megan Haley, now 23 and working as a speech pathologist in Kitchener, Ontario, had two weeks off at Christmas, just like Trish. Kate Haley was a 21-year-old senior at the University of Toronto, home for the holidays. Neither of the Haley "girls" had a boyfriend at the time. This was surprising, considering the fact they were tall, blonde, and good-looking in a wholesome way, like their older brother.

At dinner on Christmas Eve, Trish smiled bashfully at her husband and tapped her water glass for attention, as if she were at a wedding reception or some other larger gathering.

"I have something I want to tell everyone," she said.

Megan looked straight at her brother. I know what she's about to say, she thought, a sparkle in her eye.

"Tom and I are expecting a baby."

Squeals and handshakes, hugs and kisses followed as the family celebrated the happy news.

Trish would be due in mid-May, about a month into her husband's upcoming season.

Tom excused himself to use his phone. "I want to give Ty a call," he said. His friend and former teammate, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, had invited his parents and sister to visit him in Toronto for Christmas.

"Where is Tom going?" asked Megan. She hadn't heard her brother tell the group what he was doing.

"He's calling his friend Ty," said Kate. "Ty Williams--he used to be on the Braves--now he's with the Blue Jays."

"You know, we ought to invite Ty and his family to get together over the holidays," suggested Grace, who was visibly excited over the prospects of becoming a grandmother soon.

"That would be fun," agreed Ron. They had met Ty and his now-former wife in Atlanta about a year ago.

Kate took the idea to her brother, who suggested it to Ty. "We would all have a great time," Tom said. "Trish and I really want to see you, bud."

Ty passed the suggestion along to the rest of the family, who thought it was a delightful idea. The promise of a real, old-fashioned sleigh ride through the countryside outside Lindsay closed the deal.

[Big Six]

Tom Haley's Closing Time blog
February 24, 2020


We're entering the 2020 season with basically the same core of players we won the division with in 2019. We lost a few guys to free agency, but we traded for or signed players who fill nearly the same role.

For example, Jonathan Broxton and Dennis Puckett are gone, but we got Roy Boyd from the Yankees, and we'll have Arthur Cumberbat for a full season. Boyd and Cumberbat are both power pitchers, so our bullpen will have a lot of big arms again this year. And, if Steven Butler continues to develop, it will be better than ever.

Our front office took a gamble that didn't pay off. We traded Michael Dooley, a promising young outfielder, to the Texas Rangers for Orlando Diaz, a first baseman who was eligible for free agency. Diaz hit .333 last year with an .890 OPS, so he can rake. I suppose we thought we could sign Diaz to a contract, but a month later he signed a one-year deal with the Royals. I guess we traded Dooley for the right to negotiate from a position of strength with Diaz.

Then again, we were looking at a potential surplus of outfielders. We really like the way Jeff Collins played last year, before and after his injury. Jason Heyward is, of course, a superstar. Seika Ine is a solid veteran who can play all three OF positions and hits with some power. And there is a 22-year-old prospect in our system, Joe Hooper, who looks like he could challenge for a position this spring. Hooper is scary fast--possibly as fast as anyone in the game. We might not have had room for Dooley, anyway.

As for me, I'm down in Florida with the pitchers and catchers, and my arm feels really strong and loose. There don't appear to be any lingering effects from my finger injury, and I'm happy for that. I'd never been hurt, after all.

I'm looking forward to another successful, winning season.

[muted79]

Good to see Tom put his time on the DL to good use. Perhapsa boy to be names Patrick, even if he wont have the O'Farrell surname. Will you be tossign a coin again?

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by muted79

Good to see Tom put his time on the DL to good use. Perhapsa boy to be names Patrick, even if he wont have the O'Farrell surname. Will you be tossign a coin again?

Yes, I'll use the coin toss method to determine the gender of Tom's offspring, too. It seems to be the fairest way, after all.

[Tyke]

I now look forward to the next installment of Tom's story in the same way I did for the Pat O'Farrell dynasty. There is no higher praise.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Tyke

I now look forward to the next installment of Tom's story in the same way I did for the Pat O'Farrell dynasty. There is no higher praise.

Thank you very much, Tyke. I was really pleased when people seemed to enjoy the Pat O'Farrell story so much; that response, added to the fact that I enjoy writing, period, hooked me on dynasty writing for good. I hoped I wouldn't be a "one hit wonder," the dynasty-writing equivalent of Los del Rio or Carl Douglas. I'm happy to see people enjoying Tom's story, too.

By the way, I edited the post I messed up, so there's a new blog post from Tom up there for y'all to read.

[Big Six]

Atlanta Braves Radio Network
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
April 11, 2020


Mike Christopher: Tom Haley checks the runner...Allen, on first, has some speed, and he represents the tying run.

The stretch, and the 1-1 pitch to Mu-sang Cho. Fastball, hit on the ground to short. Nick Noonan picks it, tosses to Vizcaino for the force on Allen, and that's the ballgame!

The Braves win it, 4-3, and for Tom Haley, that's his 155th save as an Atlanta Brave. Haley is now the Braves' all-time leader in saves! He breaks a record previously held by Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

Matt Diaz: I was lucky enough to be a teammate of John's for three years, and I can tell you he won't have a problem with Tom breaking his record. Tom respects the game the same way John did, and does...

[Big Six]

From: The O'Farrells (jpandcyndiofarrell@zipmail.com)
To: Jack and Nancy O'Farrell (jacknancyo@zipmail.com)

May 17, 2020

Mom and Dad,

Congratulations! You are GREAT-GRANDPARENTS!

Patrick Sean Haley was born at 4:15 this morning at Emory University Hospital. He and Trish are doing great. He weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

Tom and the Braves are at home, so he didn't even have to fly back to Atlanta to be with Trish. In fact, he pitched last night and got a save--but you're such big baseball fans, I'm sure you knew that already.

Little Patrick Sean is really an adorable baby. He's already less wrinkled and red than most newborns are. I hope you get to meet him very soon.

Love,
J.P. and Cyndi

[Big Six]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 23, 2020


First place Braves sweep Pirates
NL East lead now seven games



...Righthander Zach McAllister continued to pay dividends for the Braves, who signed him to a free agent contract in March. McAllister, the National League Pitcher of the Month for May, threw seven strong innings, holding the Pirates to five hits and two runs.

Relievers Roy Boyd and Tom Haley each struck out the side; Boyd allowed a hit in the eighth and Haley retired the Pirates in order to post his league-leading 20th save...

[Big Six]

To: Tom Haley (thaley120791@jetmail.ca)
From: Ty Williams (knuckler_ty49@speedmail.com)


July 20, 2020

Hey Tom,

First of all, congrats on the All-Star Game. They are going to have to name it the Tom Haley All-Star Game, like the Bing Crosby golf tournament, because you are really becoming a fixture there. The way you guys have been playing, you might be the team that benefits from the home field advantage the NL won the other night.

What I'm really writing about is this. I really enjoyed meeting your sister Megan when our families got together over the Christmas holidays. You might already know we have kinda stayed in touch since then--a few calls, emails, but nothing too intense.

Would you think it was creepy if I asked Megan out? I think we would have a great time, but for some reason I would feel a little bit weird if we were going out behind your back. I'm not asking for your permission like you're her dad or anything, but since we're friends I would hope it woud be cool with you.

Anyway, good luck with the series against the Mets. If you can sweep them you might break their will a little bit.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Ty


Ty Williams has been alternating between starting and working out of the bullpen for the Toronto Blue Jays this year. He's 4-4, with a 4.87 ERA; he's worked 81 innings and has struck out 67 men, walking 30. The Jays have been right around .500 all year, and are currently in third place in the AL East.

As Ty mentioned, the National League All-Stars beat their AL counterparts in this year's Midsummer Classic. The final score: NL 6, AL 2. Tom worked a scoreless sixth inning for the NL, walking one batter.

Braves manager Bill Nesling managed the NL All-Stars. Besides Tom, the Braves were represented by Jason Heyward, who started the game in right field; third baseman Mat Gamel; and pitchers Brian Nolan and Kris Medlen.

[Big Six]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 10, 2020

Braves clinch NL East title
Medlen and Cumberbat combine to shut out Marlins


Despite having only one World Series title to show for their work, the Atlanta Braves have put together a run over the last decades that reminds veteran fans of the glory days of the 1990s.

With a 9-0 victory over the Florida Marlins last night, the Atlanta Braves clinched their ninth National League East Division championship in the last ten years.

Starting pitcher Kris Medlen won his 15th game of the season, throwing seven scoreless innings before giving way to reliever Arthur Cumberbat. The southpaw retired all six batters he faced to complete the shutout.

Deadline acquisition Andre Bryant, the latest candidate to fill the team's persistent void at first base, drove in three runs with a double and a solo home run...

[muted79]

COngrats the the couple on the birth Of Patrick hmmmm Ty going out with Tom's sister.... sounds kinda familiar . Not a criticism.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by muted79

COngrats the the couple on the birth Of Patrick hmmmm Ty going out with Tom's sister.... sounds kinda familiar . Not a criticism.

I did use that plot device before, didn't I? But...I never fully developed the theme. And, besides, who says the story will play out the same way this time?

[muted79]

I don't doubt that you have some twists up your sleeve somewhere

[Big Six]

Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network
Dodgers at Braves, October 8, 2020
Game One, National League Division Series


James Bowles (play-by-play man): OK, here we go. Top of the ninth; two outs; two on; Braves up by one. A classic pitcher-hitter confrontation featuring the best closer in the league and one of the best hitters in the game.

Tom Haley gets the sign from Shaw and comes set. Here's the pitch...

Skipworth drives it into left center field!! Hooper racing back, but he can't get to it! It's off the wall! Crumbliss scores! Here comes Gordon; HE will score! A two-out, two-run double by Kyle Skipworth has given the Dodgers a 4-3 lead!!

Andre Ethier (color man): Skipworth couldn't pull Haley's fastball, but he hit it hard the opposite way. Great piece of hitting by Kyle once again.

James: This almost never happens to the Atlanta Braves. Tom Haley saved 49 games this year with only TWO blown saves.

Andre: Two of the best in the business went head-to-head, and this time Skip got the better of him. Wow.


The Braves won exactly 100 games during the regular season, best in the major leagues. Tom Haley saved the 100th victory on the season's final day, giving him 49 saves and tying him with Jose Escamilla of Colorado for the major league lead.

The Dodgers won Game One of the NLDS and upset the Braves, 3-2, to win the series. Then, the Dodgers rolled all the way to a World Series victory over the AL champion Baltimre Orioles. It was the first World Series title for the Dodgers since 1988.

Andre Ethier suffered a severe concussion in 2013 that ended his playing career at the age of 31. He hit .293 with 159 home runs in his brief career; his best season was 2010 (.326/.379/.615, 33 HR, 52 2B, 142 RBI).

[Big Six]

Here are Tom Haley's stats for the 2020 season, his fifth as the full-time closer for the Atlanta Braves:

TEAM        LEVEL  G  GS  W  L  SV   ERA    IP   H   ER  HR  BB   SO  WHIP
Atlanta     MLB   64   0  1  4  49  2.71  63.0  53   19   5  18   69  1.13

As I mentioned before, Tom's 49 saves were a career high, and tied him with Jose Escamilla for the major league lead. Tom's total was the second highest ever for an Atlanta Brave, trailing only John Smoltz's 55 saves in 2002.

Tom finished the 2020 season with 202 career saves.

On June 16, Tom signed a one-year contract extension with the Braves that will pay him $10,700,000 for the 2021 season.

[Big Six]

Here are some stats for the most important players and pitchers for the 2020 Atlanta Braves:

PLAYER                  AB    AVG  HR  RBI  SB
C   Edward Shaw         535  .301  24  102  27
1B  Joe Agreste         255  .216   5   32   1
2B  Angel Vazquez       552  .268  16   86  15
3B  Mat Gamel           471  .285  19   81   0
SS  Nick Noonan         579  .282   8   78  15
OF  Joe Hooper          541  .275   6   59  85
OF  Jason Heyward       500  .326  29   92   4
OF  Jeff Collins        388  .294  16   69  10

OF  Seika Ine           244  .246   9   44   9
1B  Andre Bryant        196  .321   5   35   0         
OF  Ralph Hughes        188  .271   2   18   4
SS  Billy Hamilton      160  .231   2   13   9
1B  Juan Delgado        158  .266  10   23   0

PITCHER                 W-L    ERA  SV
SP  Brian Nolan         19-6   2.78  0
SP  Kris Medlen         18-7   3.13  0
SP  Brett Oberholtzer   10-8   4.55  0
SP  Arodys Vizcaino     13-10  4.29  0
SP  Zach McAllister     9-6    4.13  0
RP  Roy Boyd            9-4    4.13  1
RP  Arthur Cumberbat    8-3    2.92  3
RP  Tom Haley           1-4    2.71 49
RP  Steven Butler       2-2    2.87  2
RP  Tyler Clippard      4-1    2.79  2
RP  Heath Bell          1-0    5.29  0

I've added AB to the position players' stats, so you can get a better idea of how productive each player was.

Heyward had another monster year. He lost the Best Hitter prize to the Cubs' Bryce Harper, who deserved it (.328/.450/.658, 44 HR, 101 RBI), but he still put together a 75.3 VORP.

Shaw was a huge addition to the lineup. The Braves inked him to a 3-year, $37.5 million contract in June, so he'll be around for a while. Shaw's VORP was 49.7.

Look at Hooper's SB total! It's the highest ever by a Brave, and the most since Michael Bourn swiped 89 sacks back in '10. He was caught only 13 times. Hooper contributed 42.9 worth of VORP.

The Braves snagged Noonan off the free agent scrap heap. He gave them solid production and better-than-average defense at short. Noonan's VORP: 24.7.

Bryant looks like a possible solution to the revolving door at 1B.

Nolan was the Best Pitcher Award winner in the National League for the second straight year. His 2020 season wasn't as insane as '19 was, but he led the league in victories and posted a 58.3 VORP.

Medlen hasn't been spectacular most of the time, but he's a good, steady #2 starter who pitched like an ace in 2020. Medlen's VORP: 47.1.

Cumberbat and Boyd gave the Braves a very effective bridge to their closer. Both have been closers themselves--Boyd only briefly--and they have closer-calibre stuff. Cumberbat is much more than a LOOGY, and was actually the Braves' most valuable reliever, according to VORP.

[Big Six]

To: Tom Haley (thaley120791@jetmail.ca)
From: Ty Williams (knuckler_ty49@speedmail.com)

November 26, 2020

Hey Tom,

I'll apologize in advance if the mood of this email isn't all bright and sunshiny.

I really hope I didn't make a huge mistake when I started seeing Megan. I don't mean that asking her out was a mistake. She is terrific, and we get along great.

I just mean that I was figuring the Blue Jays would offer me a contract. They didn't, and now I'm a free agent. Unless they open the negotiations back up again, I'll be leaving Toronto, and who knows where I'll end up? I could even be out of baseball. And if I am, could I even come back to Canada to live? You might know what the Canadian laws about that kind of thing might be.

I really had a decent season for the Blue Jays. I never paid too much attention to a lot of the stats they use now, but my agent showed me some pretty cool things, and now I am learning more about how the stats show how well I really pitched.

I seem to remember you know what VORP means, so I won't bore you with the explanation again. Anyway, mine was 21.0 last year. Basically, I was that much more valuable than the guys they could sign off waivers or bring up from the minors. I looked yours up, and dude, mine was actually better! I'm just kidding you. You're a 4-time All-Star and I don't have a job. Still, I didn't stink last year.

I saw something else called FIP, for "Fielding Independent Pitching." It looks like an ERA, and mine was 4.40, which is a little better than the league's. So was my ERA, for that matter.

Hopefully someone will look at my VORP and FIP and decide I'm worth a chance. I hope it's Toronto. I never thought I would be talking about VORPs and FIPs, but welcome to the new world.

I'll let you know if anything good happens. Tell Trish hello for me, and have fun with your son. I'm sure you are really enjoying being a dad. I'm happy for you.

Later,
Ty


Ty Williams finished the season with a 12-9 record and a 4.46 ERA. He started 23 games and made 13 relief appearances, working a total of 183.2 innings. He allowed 180 hits, walked 57, and struck out 161.

As Ty told you, his VORP and FIP reinforce the conclusion that he pitched fairly well, and he was an asset to his team. I would think he'd make a fine addition to someone's pitching staff.

[Big Six]

The Lovett School Lion, December 12, 2020

The varsity boys basketball team is off to a great start, with a record of 3-0. On Saturday night, they won a big home game against rival Pace Academy by a 53-48 score.

The leading scorer for the Lions was sophomore point guard Jonah White, who finished with 19 points. He also added five assists. Jonah has been the team's top scorer all season long, with a high game of 22 points against Paideia...

[Big Six]

USA Today Sports Weekly, March 18, 2021

Toronto Blue Jays team notes:

The Jays signed RHP Ty Williams to a one-year contract this week. A versatile knuckleballer who can start and relieve, Williams went 12-9 for the Jays in 2020 and led the staff with 161 strikeouts. Williams will be paid $1,550,000.