The Baseball Life of Tom Haley (OOTP11)

[Big Six]

Miami Herald, October 16, 2024

Williams baffling, brilliant as Marlins take 1-0 NLCS lead


The Florida Marlins offered Ty Williams a lucrative long-term contract last winter so he could pitch games just like last night's, and today the Marlins are feeling very good about their investment.

Their ace knuckleballer dazzled the Pittsburgh Pirates for seven innings, allowing two runs and two hits en route to a 4-3 Marlins victory in Game One of the National League Championship Series.

Williams' flutterball was particularly unpredictable tonight, which was one reason why the Pirates couldn't make consistent contact. However, Williams couldn't always direct it into the strike zone, either; he walked five batters, which is the biggest reason why the Pirates scored two runs.

"Hori [catcher Horiuchi Hirayama] did a great job tonight," Williams said after the game. "He had his hands full, because I had no idea where the knuckler was going tonight."...

[Big Six]

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

October 20, 2024

Hey buddy,

Sorry I didn't answer your text last night, but I was already asleep.

Keep your head up. I couldn't see any real flaws in your delivery last night, and I know it pretty well. Dan Albright was wearing you out, but he's having a tremendous postseason. When a guy is as hot as he is right now, the ball looks like it's the size of a basketball.

All you can do is let it go and count on your teammates to win one more game. Then you'll be in the Series, and you'll have a chance to prove last night was just a fluke.

Hang in there,
Tom


Ty Williams allowed ten hits and all seven Pirates runs as his Marlins lost Game Four of the NLCS, 7-6. Still, the Marlins hold a 3-1 series lead.

[Big Six]

With spring training in full swing, I'm back in the mood for some baseball. I'm currently reading through the Tom Haley story so I bring it back to the front of my mind, and as soon as I'm done I'll update the story.

I hope any of you who used to follow along haven't forgotten the story, and that you might like hearing about Tom and the rest of the gang once again.

[Big Six]

Miami Herald, November 2, 2024

One more time
Marlins counting on Williams to close out Series tonight

BALTIMORE--The weather will be cold tonight, and there is a good chance of rain, but it will take more than lousy weather to kill the buzz surrounding tonight's World Series Game Seven.

The Marlins, as expected, will pin their championship hopes on the right arm of Ty Williams. Winners in both games Williams has pitched in the Series, the Marlins are confident their knuckleballing ace can recapture the form he displayed in Game Four. That night, before a large, joyous home crowd, Williams allowed only one run in eight-plus innings as the Marlins won, 6-1...

[Tyke]

Good to see you pick this up again, Big Six - I always enjoy your writing.

[Big Six]

Fish Tales blog, November 2, 2024

I freely admit I was very skeptical of the Marlins’ decision to pay Ty Williams $38 million to toss knuckleballs for four years. I’m always a little worried that the league will eventually catch up to any pitcher who relies on “junk.”

However, I’m happy to announce that I was wrong. Signing Williams was, in retrospect, a good move. Even if Williams’ knuckler stops knuckling and he never wins another game for the Marlins, the World Series championship he helped win will always be there.

I confess I didn’t know much about Williams other than the things any fan knows: he throws a knuckleball and he’s recently become one of the better pitchers in the National League. I had no idea he was the kind of competitor he showed himself to be during the Series.

In Game One, Ty didn’t have anywhere close to his best stuff, but he battled hard enough to give the Marlins a chance to win in extra innings. In Game Four, he was nothing short of dominant.

Last night, the weather conditions were ideal for the Williams and his knuckler—cold and damp—and, as a result, the ball danced all over the place. Ty had trouble throwing strikes, walking four men and going deep into the count numerous times.

But every time the Orioles threatened, Williams gamely refused to let them score. He left the game after the sixth inning—even knuckleballers get tired if they throw 115 pitches in six innings—but he handed the bullpen a 4-0 lead.

The 2023 Marlins won 104 games, but they couldn’t win the World Series. This year’s club wasn’t quite as dominant during the regular season, but they toughened up during the playoffs and won it all.

Having an ace like Ty Williams, an ace who refused to let his team lose, made all the difference.

[Springbokus]

Oh yes, I googled on the off chance you'd written some more Big Six. Very happy Hoping there is some more to come!

[Big Six]

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

November 4, 2024

Hey Ty,

Congratulations on the Series, buddy. We'll have to compare rings when I see you at Christmas.

You know it's my turn again in 2025, right?

Give my sister a hug for me.

Later,
Tom

[Big Six]

Braves Beat Magazine, December 2024


Q & A With: Tom Haley

Q: Should we start with a hard one, or an easy one?

A: That’s a question, so you’ve started already (laughing). Hard one.

Q: OK. You’ve been a big league closer for nine years now. Only one pitcher has been a regular closer longer than you have (Kao-tsu Niu, now with Seattle). Why do you think so few managers are willing to keep a veteran in the job?

A: I think maybe it’s a prejudice against guys that don’t throw really, really hard. The guys who are my age, or close to it (33) who are still closing all throw in the mid-to-upper 90s.

Q: Have you lost anything off your fastball?

A: Not yet. I was hitting 100, 101 at the end of last season when I needed to.

Q: Which hitter do you least like to face in pressure situations?

A: The first name that comes to mind is [San Diego 1B] Archie Faulkner.
He’s tough on everyone. Another guy who is really tough is [San Francisco C] Raul Colon.

Q: Your wife is descended from one of the great hitters of all time, Pat O’Farrell. Was that one of the reasons why you married her?

A: I didn’t know Trish was related to him until we were engaged, so it wasn’t really an issue.

Q: How much did you know about O’Farrell before you met your future wife?

A: I knew quite a bit about him. I read The Glory of Their Times about every other year when I was growing up.

Q: If you faced Pat O’Farrell in his prime, what would happen?

A: I’d strike him out on three pitches. (grinning) Seriously? He’d probably hit the ball off the wall for a stand-up triple. He could fly.

Q: What do you think of the Braves’ chances in 2025?

A: I think they’re very good. We didn’t make many offseason moves because our front office thinks we have a good foundation in place already. We didn’t go hard after [Stephen] Strasburg, who signed that big contract with the Angels. We have several young players who have come up through our system who look like they are ready to contribute at the big league level.

Q: Which young players are you talking about?

A: John Lang hit the ball really well as a rookie last year. He should be even more productive this season. Blake Farley is an excellent defensive outfielder who hits .300. There’s another outfielder, Leonard Tennyson, who’s hit something like 70 homers over the last two years in the minors.

Q: The Braves do seem to have a lot of home-grown players, in an era when that isn’t common anymore. Why do you think that is?

A: I think the Braves do a great job of preparing young players for the big leagues, for one thing. There is a lot of consistency from level to level in terms of how things are done. I pitched at four different levels in our minor league system, and I wasn’t forced to learn a different approach every time. Plus, I think the Braves treat us players the right way. We’re treated with respect, and when a guy experiences that—and gets to play with a winning club—he’s more likely to stay.

Q: You’re usually regarded as the biggest hockey fan among MLB players. Did you play any hockey growing up in Ontario?

A: I think every athletic boy in Ontario plays hockey at some time.

Q: Were you any good?

A: I was a stay-at-home defenseman. I wasn’t a great skater, so my hockey career was never going to amount to much. I played my first two years of high school, and that was it. I still love to watch it, however.

Q: What else do you particularly enjoy in your spare time?

A: My favorite off-season pastime is fishing. The lakes up in Ontario are great. I play a little bit of golf, but I’m not as much into it as a lot of ballplayers are. I also like to work out and spend a lot of time with my wife and sons.

Q: Do either of your sons look like they’ll turn out to be ballplayers?

A: They’re guaranteed major leaguers. (laughing). Patrick is four and David is almost two. They like to play ball, but they’re still trying to figure out which hand they throw with.

[Springbokus]

It always makes my day a hell of a lot better when I see an update here Big Six!

Bring on 2025!

[TheKenoshaKid]

So glad to see this story's getting continued. I've loved reading Tom's story!

Small favor though, could you post Ty Williams' stats? I'm just curious how he's doing and I wanna see what his career numbers are.

[AZTarHeel]

Hey Big Six, enjoying your latest story. I'm only on about page 5, so I'm not completely caught up yet. But I'm hooked on your latest character. Keep up the good work.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by TheKenoshaKid

So glad to see this story's getting continued. I've loved reading Tom's story!

Small favor though, could you post Ty Williams' stats? I'm just curious how he's doing and I wanna see what his career numbers are.

Thanks, TKK. Here are Ty's career statistics, through the end of the 2024 season:

YEAR  TEAM    W  L  SV   ERA   G  GS     IP    H   ER  HR  BB    SO  WHIP
2017  ATL     0  0   0  4.50   2   0    2.0    3    1   1   1     1  2.00
2018  ATL     8 11   0  4.88  25  25  164.0  179   89  25  56   137  1.43
2019  ATL     8  5   0  5.01  16  16  109.2  108   61  12  44    96  1.39
2019  TOR     4  5   0  5.47  19  10   72.1   73   44  13  22    62  1.31
2020  TOR    12  9   0  4.46  35  26  183.2  180   91  26  57   161  1.29
2021  TOR    11 15   0  5.50  33  33  224.0  247  137  45  94   177  1.52
2022  STL     8 11   0  4.47  40  21  177.0  174   88  21  84   163  1.46
2023  SD     19 11   0  3.97  35  34  249.2  241  110  28  83   211  1.30
2024  FLA    17 10   0  3.31  33  33  258.2  220   95  30  71   220  1.13
8 yrs.       87 77   0  4.48 238 200 1439.0 1425  716 201 512  1228  1.35

Like many knuckleballers, Ty took his time becoming an ace, but if he continues to pitch like he did in '23 and '24, his career stats will look much more impressive.

Ty will turn 31 on January 14, 2025. I'm curious to see if the game will recognize him as a knuckleballer and let him pitch well into his forties.

[kenyan_cheena]

Hi, Big Six. I was just wondering if you've ever considered expanding or realigning the league as it is in Tom Haley's world?

I've looked at different posts throughout the thread and have really enjoyed it but I'm going to read the whole thing through from the beginning.

Thanks.

k_c

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Hi, Big Six. I was just wondering if you've ever considered expanding or realigning the league as it is in Tom Haley's world?

I've looked at different posts throughout the thread and have really enjoyed it but I'm going to read the whole thing through from the beginning.

Thanks.

k_c

Hey k_c,

Actually, I've thought about doing both, but I've never taken that final step. One reason why I haven't yet is the fact that I have two major subplots in the story already: the careers of Tom's friend, Ty Williams, and Trish Haley's former student, Jonah White.

As I was writing the Pat O'Farrell story, I discovered that as I diverged from my focus on Pat, I tended to lose interest somewhat. The subplots were fun, but looking back, I almost wish I'd written separate threads for them.

I might change the league setup after Tom decides to retire. I hope that's not for a while, however.

Thanks for following the story! I hope you keep reading. I've always enjoyed your dynasties, too.

[Big Six]

FYI: The start of my new dynasty doesn't mean the end of this one. I don't multitask well in most areas of my life, but I can manage two OOTP dynasties at a time.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Big Six

FYI: The start of my new dynasty doesn't mean the end of this one. I don't multitask well in most areas of my life, but I can manage two OOTP dynasties at a time.

I started a new one recently, "1935: Baseball Returns to New Jersey", and have deliberately been going slow with it to avoid getting burnt out. I realised that the reason why I didn't have the staying power with some of my previous baseball dynasties is because I was so concerned with posting often and moving quickly through seasons. That turns it into more of a chore than a labor of love, so I've decided not to worry about it any more and just do the write ups when I really feel like it.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I started a new one recently, "1935: Baseball Returns to New Jersey", and have deliberately been going slow with it to avoid getting burnt out. I realised that the reason why I didn't have the staying power with some of my previous baseball dynasties is because I was so concerned with posting often and moving quickly through seasons. That turns it into more of a chore than a labor of love, so I've decided not to worry about it any more and just do the write ups when I really feel like it.

That's the key for me, too. When it feels like work, that's a good sign that I need to stop for a while, until I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

[Big Six]

From: Tom Haley (thaley120791@jetmail.ca)
To: Jeff Hazmaier (jhazmaier@unity.org)

January 13, 2025


Hey Jeff,

Thanks for the email the other day. I'm sorry it took me longer than usual to get back to you, but I've been pretty busy. The Braves basketball team had a charity game for Habitat for Humanity last night. I played, but the only thing I have going for me on the basketball court is my height. And, you know, I'm not as young as I used to be. This kind of thing is for guys like John Lang, who are 10 years younger than I am.

I've been spending a lot of time with the boys, too, which I really, really enjoy. They're growing up so fast! We can do more fun things together than we could when they were babies.

The other day, Patrick asked me, "Dad, how many days until you have to leave?" That question really hit me hard. I hate saying good bye to Trish and the boys when I leave for spring training. It's usually the longest time I have to spend away from them.

For the first time I thought," how great would it be if I didn't have to leave?" I'm lucky that I've made enough money playing baseball that I don't have to spend the rest of my life working my butt off for a paycheck. My current contract is up after the 2027 season. I'll be almost 36 then, and I might think seriously about retiring. Right now, I feel good, I'm healthy, and I still love what I'm doing. But I'm finding myself thinking more and more about what I'm missing. Does that make sense?

Thanks for being the kind of friend who will let me "vent" like this. You're one of the few friends I have outside baseball whom I can trust enough to be completely honest with. I know you won't throw me under the bus and post this on your blog, or anything like that.

Say hello to your family to me, ok? Hopefully you can get to Atlanta for series sometime this year. Let me know, and I'll get your tickets lined up.

Your bud,
Tom

[Big Six]

Tom Haley's Closing Time blog
April 13, 2025

It's amazing what will get a baseball team fired up sometimes.

Last night, we were playing the Diamondbacks, and we were behind 5-2 in the top of the eighth. Kris Medlen was pitching--he's healthy again, and now he's working out of the bullpen.

Bobby Borchering was up, and a pitch got away from Kris and hit him in the shoulder. Bobby charged the mound, which really surprised all of us. Kris stepped off the mound, threw his glove down, and caught Bobby with a really good right hand before Bobby could hit him.

The benches emptied, and there was a lot of the grabbing and shoving that you usually see in a baseball fight--except for Kris and Bobby, who really went at it. And, to his credit, Kris got the better of hm. He's about 5'10" and 190 pounds, so he's hardly a heavyweight. Borchering is 6'4", maybe 200. And, Kris is nearly 40 years old.

Both Kris and Bobby were ejected, and when the game started again, we were ready to take a few things out on the D-backs. We scored three runs in the eighth, and in the ninth, we loaded the bases and Alfredo Rodriguez hit a walk-off grand slam! Our bench emptied again, but this time the D-backs didn't join us...