Tommy Fine

Thomas Morgan Fine (October 10 1914 - January 10 2005) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1947) and St. Louis Browns (1950). A switch-hitter, he threw right-handed.

Fine was born in Cleburne, Texas. Despite pitching just two seasons in the major leagues, Fine was a revered professional baseball pitcher for 20 years. He is most remembered for his career in Cuban baseball during five seasons, and especially for being the only pitcher ever to hurl a no-hitter game in Caribbean World Series history.

Major League Career

Fine played for the Scranton Miners of the Eastern League, where in 1946 he broke the leagues record for most consecutive wins with 15.cite news|title=Fine Breaks up No-Hitter in Scoring 15th victory|publisher=The Sporting News|page=27|date= August 7, 1946|accessdate=2007-11-10]

He made his major league debut in 1947 with the Red Sox and finished with a 1-2 record in seven starts. He appeared in the majors again in 1950 with the Browns and posted 0-1 in 14 games as a reliever.

In a 37-game career, Fine compiled a 1-4 record with 16 strikeouts and a 6.81 ERA in 72.2 innings. He was a competent hitting pitcher, batting .333 (6-for-18) with five runs scored and one RBI in 25 games.

On February 21, 1952, Fine appeared in the III Caribbean World Series held at Panama. He was called by the Cuban team as a late replacement for future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm. Fine posted the only no-hitter pitched in any Caribbean series game, to give his team a 1–0 win against Venezuela. Five days later, Fine faced Panama's club and was close to glory. He was three outs from consecutive no-hitters in the series, having allowed a single in the ninth inning to break it up. His 17 hitless streak also is the longest in the series.

After retiring, Fine was a respected businessman. He also served as a deacon in the Baptist church. Fine died in Little Elm, Texas at age 90.

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=f/fineto01
* [http://www.juanperez.com/baseball/IVserie.htm 1952 Caribbean World Series (Spanish)]
* [http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/f/fine_tommy.html Historic Baseball - obituary]

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