Tom Mastny

Tom Mastny
Mastny signing autographs at Indians' Spring Training 2008 in Winter Haven, Florida. Cleveland Indians — No. 40 Relief pitcherBorn: February 4, 1981(1981-02-04) (age 27)
Bontang, IndonesiaBats: Right Throws: Right Major League Baseball debut July 30, 2006 for the Cleveland Indians Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007) Win-Loss 7-3 Earned run average 4.86 Strikeouts 66 Teams

Cleveland Indians (2006-present)

Thomas Raymond "Tom" Mastny (born February 4, 1981 in Bontang, Indonesia) is a Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He made his major league debut with the Indians on July 25, 2006. He stands 6 feet, 6 inches in height and weighs 220 pounds. Mastny is the first Indonesian-born player in Major League history, although he was raised in Zionsville, Indiana, where he played for Zionsville High School. He earned his first major league save on August 19, 2006.

Mastny, nicknamed "Mr. Nasty," played collegiate baseball at Furman University, where he was primarily used as a starting pitcher. In 2003, he was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year, but was not widely regarded as a top-tier prospect. He was selected in the 11th round of the 2003 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, and began his professional career with the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A New York-Penn League.

In 2004, he played a full season with the Class A Charleston Alley Cats, before being sent to the Cleveland Indians in the offseason to complete an earlier trade in which Toronto acquired infielder John McDonald.

After beginning the 2005 season in the starting rotation of the Class A Kinston Indians, Mastny was converted into a relief role. Later that year, he was promoted to the Class AA Akron Aeros, with whom he remained to begin the 2006 season, before being called up for a stint in the bullpen of the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons.

Although still mostly unheralded as a prospect, due partly to his age (then 25), Mastny's career quickly accelerated that summer as the unexpectedly non-contending Indians began shuffling a bullpen that often struggled, particularly after the trade of closer Bob Wickman. The rookie pitcher—whose role with Akron and Buffalo was almost exclusively in middle relief, and who'd recorded only three saves in the minors—was given an opportunity to close essentially by default, earning his first with two scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays August 19.[1] That day, manager Eric Wedge announced that Mastny would be among those tried out in the role over the remainder of the season.

After a spring training roster battle with Jorge Julio, Mastny was slotted to begin the season with the AAA Buffalo Bisons. He was recalled on April 15, [2008]] when Joe Borowski went on the 15 Day Disabled List.

Mastny catapulted onto the national scene after earning a victory in game two of the 2007 American League Championship Series. He was brought in to face the heart of the Red Sox lineup in the bottom of the tenth inning, in which he retired David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez and Mike Lowell in order. The Indians would go on to score seven times in the top of the 11th, handing the victory to Mastny.

Mastny's birthplace was briefly the source of some confusion after the Philadelphia Daily News's Paul Hagen reported incorrectly on August 11, 2006, "it was discovered that the [Cleveland Indians] media guide lists Indiana-born reliever Tom Mastny as being from Indonesia". Hagen's quote was part of a brief that was syndicated on several Internet news sites and subsequently was repeated by other writers and bloggers. That same weekend, it was reported that members of the Society for American Baseball Research had contacted Mastny's father to confirm that, although the family hails from Indiana, the pitcher was indeed born on the Indonesian island of Borneo.

That the relatively unknown player's biographical trivia would be subject to scrutiny is in part due to historical implications, as Mastny is the first Indonesian-born individual to reach the major leagues, as reported by Scouts Inc. scribe Keith Law, in his July 9, 2006 column for ESPN Insider.

"Cleveland farmhand Tom Mastny was born in Indonesia," wrote Law, "although it was to American parents who wanted to travel the world. The 6-5 [sic] Mastny has a fringe-average fastball but outstanding control, and with a good season so far between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Buffalo, he seems likely to become the first big leaguer born in Indonesia, which would become the 52nd country to produce a major league player."

Mastny will make his first career start on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 vs. the Texas Rangers.