Top Blue Jays Player #13: Tom Henke
Position: Relief Pitcher
Seasons With the
Jays: 8 (1985-1992)
All-Star Game
Selection: 1987
Stats: Games Pitched 446 Innings Pitched 563
Wins/Losses 29-29 Saves
217
ERA 2.48 Strike
outs 644
Games Started 0 Games
Finished 386
Complete Games 0 Shutouts 0
Tom Henke is the greatest closer
in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays. More than two decades after leaving
the club, his 217 saves still rank at the top of the franchise list. He earned
the nick-name “The Terminator” due to his ability to dominate hitters at the
end of ballgames.
Henke was originally drafted by
the Seattle Mariners in the 20th round of the 1979 Amateur Draft but
did not sign with the club. He was then selected by the Chicago Cubs in the
January Secondary Draft in 1980 but, again, did not sign. Finally, he was taken
by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round in June of 1980 and made his Big
League debut in 1982. He saw limited action in his first two season, but
managed to pick up his first career save in 1983. After one more season with
Texas, Henke was awarded to the Blue Jays as a compensation pick after
Toronto’s DH Cliff Johnson signed with the Rangers before the 1985 season.
Henke’s ability made him the
closer before the season had ended. The Jays had lacked a solid, reliable
closer for pretty much their entire existence and Henke filled the role quite
well. In his first season with Toronto, he pitched in 28 games, posted a 3-3
win/loss record, a 2.03 ERA and recorded 13 saves while striking out 42
batters. His late-inning dominance helped the Jays to the postseason for the
first time. Despite a seven-game loss to the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS,
Henke picked up two wins in three relief appearances.
He would pitch in 63 games in
1986, recording 27 saves, winning nine games while striking out 118 batters.
But this was just the beginning. He would lead the American League with 34
saves in 1987 and strike out 128 batters. Unfortunately, the Jays would lose
the division race to the Detroit Tigers on the final weekend of the season.
A 4-4 record with 25 saves would
follow in 1988 but Henke’s best year would come in 1989. He struggled in the
first part of the season, seemingly unable to get anybody out, but after
manager Jimy Williams was fired and replace by Cito Gaston, Henke flourished. While
he only saved 20 games, his lowest total since his half-year of 1985, he still
won eight games in relief and had an impressive 1.92 ERA. His 20th
and final save of the season won the Jays the AL East title from the Baltimore
Orioles after being as many as ten games behind in the middle of June.
In the ALCS against the Oakland
Athletics, Henke pitched in three games and while he didn’t earn a save, he
also didn’t allow any runs, hits or walks.
1990 saw him back in the 30-save
range with 32. He also won two games and recorded a 2.17 ERA. He missed some
time due to injury in 1991 but still managed another 32 saves as Toronto won
their third division title. In the ALCS against the Minnesota Twins, Henke
pitched in two of the games and just like in 1989, did not allow a run or a
hit.
His final year in a Toronto
uniform was 1992. He recorded 34 saves, won three games, posted a 2.26 ERA and
struck out 46 batters. However, there were a few chinks in the armour that
perhaps prompted the Jays management to allow him to sign elsewhere after the
season. He was unable to save the division-clinching game and was pulled in
favour of the Jays’ future closer Duane Ward. Later, in the World Series, he
would blow the save in the final game of the series, although Toronto would
rally to win the game—and the Series—in extra innings.
But he did record three saves in
the ALCS against Oakland and another two in the World Series helping the Jays
to their first World Series Championship in team history.
For 1993, Henke signed with the
Texas Rangers, his second stint with the team. He would record 40 saves with
Texas, the only time he hit that mark in his career. Fifteen saves followed in
1994 and his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1995 would see him
record 36 saves, bringing his career total to 311, which has him currently
ranked at 22 on the all-time list for MLB.
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