Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pitcher dreamed
Baseball ace Tom wanted to wind up in Dundee
TOM Waddell made the journey from Broughty Ferry to Major League Baseball and became the most important right arm in Cleveland.
But the trappings of fame held no attraction for him.
The man with the $250,000 salary was happiest coming home to Dundee to visit relatives and go for a pint in the Boars Rock.
Waddell’s story is one of exceptional perseverance.
He was born in Church Street before emigrating with his parents Jean and Tom to New Jersey in the early 1960s.
As a youngster he spent his holidays here with his sister Marilyn to visit relatives.
Back home in the US he played most sports. “Baseball, though, was my first love, and I began playing in the Little League set-up as a youngster,” he revealed in a forgotten interview with The Sunday Post in 1988.
After graduating in 1981, Waddell was not selected in the college draft, but drove to spring training camps where team scouts could see aspiring players.
He was signed as a free agent by legendary baseball player Hank Aaron, who claimed the MLB home run record from Babe Ruth in 1974.
“I approached Hank, president of the Atlanta Braves, in 1981 to find out if there was a place for me in their plans,” he said.
“He saw me play, and shortly after signed me.”
He spent three years in the Braves’ minor-league system – but it was to be another team that gave him his big break.
His performances caught the eye of Pat Corrales, manager of the Cleveland Indians – since renamed the Cleveland Guardians – and he joined the team in 1984.
Waddell made his debut in the
Major Leagues on April 15 1984 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Though he was developing a constant pain in his elbow, the 25-year-old quickly established himself in the side.
In his 1988 interview, Waddell discussed his strict routine between games to make sure he was in the best possible shape.
“During the game itself, I’ll throw roughly 110-135 pitches over a three-hour period, varying the pace and power on every occasion,” he said. “That, more than anything, takes it out of you.
“After the game I plunge my right arm into a bucket of ice.”
Injuries were still common and arm trouble dogged his time in the major leagues.
He became a starter when Eddie Camacho was injured, beating the visiting New York Yankees.
But Waddell was unable to
pitch effectively because of constant pain as the innings and starts added up.
He had surgery in September 1985 to remove bone spurs but was never able to bounce back completely. After another spell out to rehab the arm, he returned to the majors in 1987 but was not the same pitcher.
Cleveland finished bottom of their division and the coach who signed him was sacked.
In September that year he returned to visit relatives in Dundee, which gave him a rare chance of a couple of rounds of golf at Downfield with his father Tom.
Waddell was yet to throw a ball in anger during the 1988 season when he spoke to The Sunday Post but he was already looking to the future. “I’m keen to play or manage a side back home,” he
said. “Failing that, I may return to help promote baseball in the UK. I hope to settle back in Scotland at the end of my career.”
He wound down his career and pitched in the minors before retiring in 1989.
Back in Broughty Ferry in 1990 to weigh up his next career move, he told us the time required to make the grade in management was putting him off and admitted he’d love to relocate. “We love this part of the world and especially Dundee and it would be great if something came up that could keep us here,” he said.
He would go on to co-own an indoor training facility where he would coach hundreds of youngsters, and to release a DVD of baseball tips in 2012.
In 2016 he was named in the Evening Telegraph’s Inspiring Dundonians series, where he
recalled the sights and smells of his childhood. He said: “I remember taking the bus to the city centre, passing through the underground markets, barrels of whelks and slot machines.
“The smell of fish and chips, sausage rolls and Scotch pies. It feels like home when I’m back.”
A copy of the story took pride of place in his home in Arizona, where he died suddenly on September 14 2019. He was 60.
He was survived by his wife Sande, daughter Kady and son Kyle, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a professional pitcher in Germany.
Tom Waddell’s legacy lives on just across the water from where he was born.
The Tayport Breakers named their home ground in honour of the Dundonian who achieved the American dream.