Indians Josh Tomlin Will Get To Pitch In The World Series In Front Of His Father, Who Was Paralyzed In August
I love the personal stories that come out during the World Series, the stories that we never would’ve heard otherwise had these two teams not made it to the biggest stage in the sport.
Before I read this story, the only correlation that I would’ve been able to make between the name “Josh Tomlin” and the month of August would’ve been a very poor performance. I remember looking at Tomlin’s game log prior to the ALDS against Boston, and noticing that he was very, very bad in that month, and it actually cost him a spot in Cleveland’s rotation for a brief period. How bad was he? An ERA of 11.48, and opponents were hitting .365 with a 1.084 OPS against him with 10 home runs in just six starts. That’s how bad. Turns out, there might’ve been a reason for that, although Tomlin is not using it as an excuse.
Jerry (Tomlin’s father) was working at a power plant in Whitehouse, Texas, in August when he felt a burning sensation in his stomach. Ultimately, that feeling vanished. So, too, did every feeling from his chest down to his toes.
Tomlin received word that his father had fallen ill, and it took some time for doctors to determine that Jerry suffered an arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of blood vessels on his spinal cord, which required surgery.
“I told him many times, I said, ‘The minute you feel like you want to be home, even if it’s for your mom, we’ll handle this,'” said Tribe manager Terry Francona. “He had a lot going on. That was tough.”
The Indians placed Tomlin on the family medical emergency list. Mike Seghi, the team’s traveling secretary, arranged for a private jet to take Tomlin to his hometown. He was one of the first people to greet his father following his procedure.
“I can’t imagine how hard it was for him and how difficult of a situation it was to go through,” said teammate Corey Kluber.
The day that the Indians clinched the American League pennant in Toronto was also the same day that Tomlin’s father was released from Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. It was also Tomlin’s birthday. The story on Tomlin and his father for Cleveland.com details Josh’s upbringing, and how his father would sit on a bucket and watch his son imagine that he was pitching in the bottom of the ninth of the World Series. In Game 3 of the 2016 World Series, it’ll be a wheelchair instead of a bucket, but his father will be there at Wrigley Field to watch his son pitch in the World Series.
“It was cool to be able to look back,” Tomlin said, “and think, ‘Man, I was doing that when I was 4 years old and now I’m actually going to live it and he’s actually going to get to see it. That’s pretty special to me and that’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
I never understood how baseball fans lose interest in watching the World Series if their team isn’t there. With your team out of it, you have the luxury of being able to root for individual players and their stories. I’ll be rooting for Tomlin in Game 3, as he looks to improve to 3-0 when he takes the mound for the Cleveland Indians this postseason, and 1-0 when he pitches in front of his dad in the World Series.