Tom House
Encyclopedia
Thomas Ross House is a former left-handed relief pitcher
in Major League Baseball
, as well as an author and a pitching coach.
, and he began his professional career after the Atlanta Braves
selected him with the 48th overall pick of the 1967 draft's secondary phase, as part of the draft's third round. He had passed up an earlier chance to turn pro two years before, when the Chicago Cubs
used the 201st overall pick to take him in the 11th round of the June draft's main phase.
Advancing quickly through the Braves' system, House made his major league debut on June 23, 1971, pitching one inning in relief of Pat Jarvis
in the seventh inning of a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Expos
. Relying mainly on a curveball
and a screwball
, House was an important part of the Braves' bullpen in the mid-1970s. His best season was 1974, when he pitched 102⅔ innings
, all in relief, with a 1.93 ERA
and a 0.98 WHIP
. His 38 games finished ranked seventh in the National League
, and his 11 saves were good for fifth. House also ranked among the league leaders in those categories in 1975, when his 45 games finished ranked third, and his 11 saves placed tenth.
On December 12, 1975, the Braves traded House to the Boston Red Sox
, in exchange for another left-handed reliever, Roger Moret
. After he spent 1976 in Boston, the Red Sox sold his contract to the Seattle Mariners
, an expansion team
, early in the 1977 season. House concluded his major league career after two seasons with the Mariners in 1977 and 1978. He finished with 29 wins, 23 losses, 34 saves, and a 3.79 ERA in 536 major league innings.
, with a focus in sports psychology. Early in his career, he employed unusual methods such as having pitchers under his tutelage throw a football
, but has since retracted those views.
House became the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers
in 1985, during which time he was notable for his work with Nolan Ryan
. During Ryan's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 1999, he credited House as a positive influence on his career, saying:
House has also worked as a coach for the Houston Astros
, San Diego Padres
, and Chiba Lotte Marines
. He is an advisor with the American Sports Medicine Institute
, and is the co-founder of the National Pitching Association. Through the NPA, he runs a series of camps and clinics for athletes, and markets a series of instructional videos for young baseball players. House has also written or co-written nineteen instructional books on baseball, as well as an autobiography.
In 1998, the American Baseball Coaches Association
presented House with a lifetime achievement award.
House is currently a coach with the USC Trojans baseball program.
in the 1970s, making him one of the earliest players to admit to using performance-enhancing drugs. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle
, he described his use of steroids as "a failed experiment", although he increased from around 190 pounds to around 220 while using them. He viewed the experience as a failure since the extra muscle did not enhance his substandard 82-MPH fastball
, while the drugs contributed to knee problems, eventually necessitating a total of seven operations. He claims to have stopped using them after learning about the potential long-term effects of steroid use in college classes during the off-season.
House has stated that "six or seven" pitchers on every major league staff in the 1970s were "fiddling" with steroids or human growth hormone. He attributes players' willingness to experiment with performance-enhancing substances to the permissiveness of the drug culture of the 1960s, and he believes that steroid use has declined in major league baseball since the 1970s, as players have become more aware of the potential long-term drawbacks.
's record for career home run
s. Aaron hit the record-setting 715th home run in the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers
, on April 8, 1974, against pitcher Al Downing. The ball landed in the Braves' bullpen in left-center field, where it was caught on the fly by House. Bill Buckner
, then the Dodgers' left fielder, climbed to the top of the fence and begged House for the ball. The game stopped to celebrate the achievement, and after sprinting to the infield, House presented the ball to Aaron at home plate. His only payment was a TV given by a local store. Photos of House catching and presenting the ball are often included in displays honoring Aaron's achievement, such as the one at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Aaron admitted later to not recognizing House when he delivered the ball. House's youthful appearance and glasses, plus his wearing a warmup jacket over his uniform, led Aaron to believe he was one of the Braves' batboys.
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, as well as an author and a pitching coach.
Player
House pitched at the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and he began his professional career after the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
selected him with the 48th overall pick of the 1967 draft's secondary phase, as part of the draft's third round. He had passed up an earlier chance to turn pro two years before, when the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
used the 201st overall pick to take him in the 11th round of the June draft's main phase.
Advancing quickly through the Braves' system, House made his major league debut on June 23, 1971, pitching one inning in relief of Pat Jarvis
Pat Jarvis (baseball)
Robert Patrick Jarvis is a retired American professional baseball player. He was a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played eight seasons for the Atlanta Braves and the Montreal Expos from to in the National League. Jarvis, who stood tall and weighed , is best known for being Nolan...
in the seventh inning of a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. Relying mainly on a curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
and a screwball
Screwball
A screwball , is a baseball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action....
, House was an important part of the Braves' bullpen in the mid-1970s. His best season was 1974, when he pitched 102⅔ innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
, all in relief, with a 1.93 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and a 0.98 WHIP
Walks plus hits per inning pitched
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...
. His 38 games finished ranked seventh in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, and his 11 saves were good for fifth. House also ranked among the league leaders in those categories in 1975, when his 45 games finished ranked third, and his 11 saves placed tenth.
On December 12, 1975, the Braves traded House to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, in exchange for another left-handed reliever, Roger Moret
Roger Moret
Rogelio "Roger" Moret is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox , Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers . In 168 games , he posted a career won-lost record of 47-27 and an earned run average of 3.66...
. After he spent 1976 in Boston, the Red Sox sold his contract to the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
, an expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
, early in the 1977 season. House concluded his major league career after two seasons with the Mariners in 1977 and 1978. He finished with 29 wins, 23 losses, 34 saves, and a 3.79 ERA in 536 major league innings.
Coach
After his retirement as a player, House became a pitching coach. He holds a PhD in PsychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, with a focus in sports psychology. Early in his career, he employed unusual methods such as having pitchers under his tutelage throw a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, but has since retracted those views.
House became the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in 1985, during which time he was notable for his work with Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
. During Ryan's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 1999, he credited House as a positive influence on his career, saying:
"While I was[with the Rangers] I was very fortunate to have a pitching coach by the name of Tom House. And Tom and I are of the same age and Tom is a coach that is always on the cutting edge. And I really enjoyed our association together and he would always come up with new training techniques that we would try and see how they would work in to my routine. And because of our friendship and Tom pushing me, I think I got in the best shape of my life during the years that I was with the Rangers."
House has also worked as a coach for the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, and Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
. He is an advisor with the American Sports Medicine Institute
American Sports Medicine Institute
American Sports Medicine Institute located in Birmingham, Alabama was founded in 1986 by Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Lawrence Lemak with original funding from HealthSouth Corporation...
, and is the co-founder of the National Pitching Association. Through the NPA, he runs a series of camps and clinics for athletes, and markets a series of instructional videos for young baseball players. House has also written or co-written nineteen instructional books on baseball, as well as an autobiography.
In 1998, the American Baseball Coaches Association
American Baseball Coaches Association
The American Baseball Coaches Association is a baseball coaching organization formed in 1945. It is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.-History:...
presented House with a lifetime achievement award.
House is currently a coach with the USC Trojans baseball program.
Steroids
House has admitted to using steroidsAnabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
in the 1970s, making him one of the earliest players to admit to using performance-enhancing drugs. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, he described his use of steroids as "a failed experiment", although he increased from around 190 pounds to around 220 while using them. He viewed the experience as a failure since the extra muscle did not enhance his substandard 82-MPH fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
, while the drugs contributed to knee problems, eventually necessitating a total of seven operations. He claims to have stopped using them after learning about the potential long-term effects of steroid use in college classes during the off-season.
House has stated that "six or seven" pitchers on every major league staff in the 1970s were "fiddling" with steroids or human growth hormone. He attributes players' willingness to experiment with performance-enhancing substances to the permissiveness of the drug culture of the 1960s, and he believes that steroid use has declined in major league baseball since the 1970s, as players have become more aware of the potential long-term drawbacks.
Aaron's home run
House and Hank Aaron were both members of the Braves in 1974, the season when Aaron broke Babe RuthBabe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's record for career home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s. Aaron hit the record-setting 715th home run in the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, on April 8, 1974, against pitcher Al Downing. The ball landed in the Braves' bullpen in left-center field, where it was caught on the fly by House. Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...
, then the Dodgers' left fielder, climbed to the top of the fence and begged House for the ball. The game stopped to celebrate the achievement, and after sprinting to the infield, House presented the ball to Aaron at home plate. His only payment was a TV given by a local store. Photos of House catching and presenting the ball are often included in displays honoring Aaron's achievement, such as the one at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Aaron admitted later to not recognizing House when he delivered the ball. House's youthful appearance and glasses, plus his wearing a warmup jacket over his uniform, led Aaron to believe he was one of the Braves' batboys.
Partial bibliography
- The Winning Pitcher: Baseball's Top Pitchers Demonstrate What it Takes to Be an Ace, NTC Publishing Group, 1988. ISBN 0-8092-4878-6.
- Jock's Itch: The Fast-Track Private World of the Professional Ballplayer, NTC Publishing Group, 1989. ISBN 0-8092-4779-8.
- Diamond Appraised: A World-Class Theorist and a Major League Coach Square off on Timeless Topics in the Game of Baseball, Simon & Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-67769-1. (With Craig T. Wright.)
- Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible: The Ultimate Guide to Power, Precision and Long-Term Performance, Simon & Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0-671-70581-4. (With Nolan RyanNolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
and Jim RosenthalJim RosenthalJim Rosenthal is a sports presenter on British television.-Early life:Rosenthal grew up in Oxford and attended Josca's Preparatory School before going to Magdalen College School...
.) - Play Ball: The New Baseball Basics for Youth Coaches, Parents, and Kids, West Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN 0-314-02575-8. (With Coop DeRenne, Thomas W. Harris, and Barton Buxton.)
- Power Baseball, West Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN 0-314-01849-2. (With Coop DeRenne and Thomas W. Harris.)
- Pitching Edge, Human Kinetics Publishers, 1994. ISBN 0-87322-503-1.
- Fit to Pitch, Human Kinetics Publishers, 1996. ISBN 0-87322-882-0. (With Randy JohnsonRandy JohnsonRandall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....
.) - Stronger Arms and Upper Body, Human Kinetics Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-88011-977-2.
- The Picture Perfect Pitcher, Coaches Choice Books, 2003. ISBN 1-58518-602-3. (With Paul ReddickPaul ReddickPaul Reddick is an award-winning Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.-History:Paul Reddick began playing the harmonica at the age of twelve. In 1990, he formed The Sidemen, a blues band based out of Toronto, which toured and recorded until the early 2000s. The Sidemen's album...
.) - The Art and Science of Pitching, Coaches Choice Books, 2006. ISBN 1-58518-960-X. (With Gary Heil and Steve Johnson.)
External links
- Tom House's official homepage