Tommy Moore: Short Time Early 1970's Mets Pitcher (1972 -1973)
was born July 7th, 1948, in Lynwood, California. His is of English, Croatian & Austrian decent. He attended John Glenn High School in Nowalk, California where he played baseball, football & basketball.The five foot eleven, right-handed pitcher was first drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1966 but did not sign, choosing to go to Cerritos college instead. In 1967 he was signed by the New York Mets in the 10th round. The scout who secured Moore was Nelson Burbank who had previously landed Tom Seaver.
Serious Hit by Pitch: In the minor leagues he was a position player then suffered a serious beaning, where he was hit in the face with a pitch, broke his jaw & lost many of his teeth, requiring him to get dentures. After sitting on the bench, he decided to become a pitcher.
games. In 1971 at AA Memphis, he went 11-10 with 160 strike outs, four shut outs & a 3.20 ERA in 27 appearances.
By 1972 he was at AAA Tidewater having a great year going 11-5 with a 2.80 ERA & 100 strike outs as it seemed the Mets farm system was just pulling good young pitchers off the trees. That year he pitched two one hitters & a no hitter.
Mets Career: Moore was called up to the Mets staff that September, making his debut on September 15th pitching three relief innings in a 9-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He was greeted with a HR off the bat of Hall of Famer, Billy Williams while giving up three runs. He made three appearances that month.
That off season Mets manager Yogi Berra said he looked Moore's curveball & called him a bulldog. He along with Buzz Capra & Hank Webb were looked at as the Mets best pitching prospects. They all began the 1973 Mets pennant season at AAA Tidewater.
1973 Mets Pennant Season: Moore was called up to the Mets staff in late May, finishing off a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals. On May 26th he pitched a scoreless inning finishing off a loss in L.A. On May 28th, he got a start in San Francisco, but the Giants lit him up for five runs on six hits, including a Bobby Bonds HR taking a loss. He made an appearance as a pinch runner then was sent back down to AAA Tidewater. There he went 9-11 with a 3.15 ERA. He did not get called up again during the exciting pennant race in September.
In Spring Training 1974 he was beat out by Bob Apodaca & was back at AAA Tidewater. He spent the year there going 7-12 with a 3.22 ERA.
In June 1975 he was traded along with Ed Brinkman to the Texas Rangers for Willie Davis. He appeared in 12 games posting an 8.14 ERA. He was also used twice as a pinch runner.
Original Mariner: His contract was then purchased by the expansion Seattle Mariners for their inaugural season. Moore went 2-1 for the Mariners finishing off six games with a 4.91 ERA in 14 appearances. That December he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Parrott but was released during Spring Training. He retired from baseball at age 29.
Retirement: Moore pitched in the short lived Senior Professional League in 1989. He then oved to Yucca Valley in Southern California & became a casino pit boss.
Family: Moore was married four times. He was first married at age 18 to Tina with whom they had two children. He had two children with his second wife Pam, no children in his third marriage. Fourth time around he married his first wife's sister who he had known since high school.
Passing: Moore was diagnosed with lymphoma of the brain in September 2017 & passed away two months later in November 2017 at age 69.
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