Meet Tommy “The Blade” Hall
Tommy “The Blade” Hall was born in Thomasville, North Carolina on November 23, 1947. When Tommy, a lefthander, pitched for the Minnesota Twins he was a 6’0” and weighed only 155 dripping wet and thus the nickname “The Blade” was born. Hall was drafted by the Twins in the third round off the 1966 amateur draft and quickly found his way through the Twins minor league system. After signing in 1966 he played rookie league ball and single A ball for the Twins, winning 7 games. In 1967 he played single A ball in the Midwest league winning 14 games and had an ERA of 2.16. In 1968 Tommy won 10 games playing for Charlotte in the AA Southern league and Denver in AAA PCL before being called up by the Twins.
Hall made his major league debut in relief against the Washington Senators on June 9, 1968 at RFK Stadium in Washington.
Hall pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1968-1971 compiling a 25-21 record. During those four seasons with Minnesota, Hall pitched in 139 games starting 44 times. In 455+ innings, Hall ended up only giving up 354 hits while striking out 431 batters and had an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.186. After the 1971 season, the Twins traded Hall to the Cincinnati Reds for relief pitcher Wayne Granger who pitched in Minnesota for one season before the Twins sent him packing. Hall ended up pitching in the big leagues for 10 seasons with the Twins, Reds, Mets, and the Royals and finished his career with a 52-33 record in 358 games. Tommy was lucky enough to appear in the ALCS with the Twins in 1969 and again in 1970, the NLCS and the World Series in 1972 with the Reds and the NLCS in 1973 again with the Reds and a final ALCS with the Kansas City Royals in 1976.
I think the thing that amazes me the most when I look at Tommy Hall’s numbers is that in every season that he pitched both in the minors and in the majors, he always had more innings pitched then hits allowed, to me that is incredible. Today, Tommy Hall is retired and enjoying life in Riverside, California.
The interview with Tommy is 21 minutes in length and took place in August of 2009.
I thought of Tom when I learned of Vida Blue’s death. As I recall, both he and Ray Corbin pitched brilliant, valiant games against Blue when Blue was at the pinnacle of his career. Glad to hear that Mr. Hall is enjoying retirement.
Great 2009 interview with Tom, it took me back to the conversations we would have about his carrer over the years.
Tom and I became friends in the late 80s in Riverside, California and I lost contact with him through various moves.
I now live in Seattle Wa., Is it possible for someone to get my information him?
Please and Thank you,
Brian Casey