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The Hall of Fame Case: Tom Gordon

The Hall of Fame Case: Tom Gordon

Sure, there will be plenty who vote for the likes of Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz on their National Baseball Hall of Fame player ballots. Even players like Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado have a shot at the Class of 2015. But there are players on the ballot that require a little more voter-cajoling. Players that may not have the on-field resume, but deserve an impassioned Hall of Fame case nonetheless. Players like …

Thomas Flynn Gordon. "Flash" is appearing on Hall of Fame ballots for the first time this year. He spent parts of 21 seasons in the bigs, logging eight years of service for the Royals, four with the Red Sox, three with the Phillies in addition to stints with the Cubs, Astros, White Sox, Yankees and D-backs. Before you gloss over Gordon's resume to punch tickets for The Big Unit, Pedro and Smoltz, take a second to genuinely consider the case for inducting Flash:

He's the only pitcher in MLB history to earn 100 wins, 100 saves and 100 holds.

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He's the only guy on this year's ballot with his own theme song.

In the 1998 and '99 seasons, Gordon set a then-MLB record for most consecutive saves, tallying 54 in a row. 

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE 

While it's his MLB contributions we're focused on, it's interesting to note that Gordon struck out 263 hitters in 185 2/3 innings across Class A, Double-A and Triple-A in his 1988 season in the Minor Leagues.

Stephen King wrote novel about a girl who loved Tom Gordon and got lost in the woods.

SPOILER ALERT: At the end of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon -- when the girl is fighting pneumonia and near-death -- she encounters a bear and saves herself by DOING AN IMPRESSION OF TOM GORDON, PITCHING HER WALKMAN INTO THE BEAR'S FACE. That's the real ending to a real story that was actually published and sold for money.

His JAWS mark is better than Hall of Famers Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers.

And he didn't need to harness power from ridiculous facial hair to achieve such marks, either.

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Vote Tom Gordon to the HOF Class of 2015, because a vote for Flash Gordon is a vote for humanity.

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