Thomas Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash", is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox.

[2] Gordon began his career as a starting pitcher with the Kansas City Royals, first appearing in five games at the age of 20 late in the 1988 season.

Gordon continued to post top-10 strikeout totals during the 1990 and 1991 seasons, but his number of wins dropped each year and his ERA crept upwards.

His success continued in 1999 setting a major league record with his 54th consecutive save in June, but an ongoing elbow injury limited him to just 21 appearances, which required ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (or UCL) also known as Tommy John surgery, that forced him to spend all of 2000 on the disabled list.

His popularity in Boston at this point led New England–based writer and Red Sox fan Stephen King to reference him as the object of infatuation for the young protagonist of the 1999 novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.

The Chicago Cubs, who were in the process of massively overhauling their pitching staff, signed Gordon to a two-year, $5 million contract on December 15, 2000.

[5] He was blocked from closing on his new team by bullpen staple Billy Wagner, as well as by setup man Octavio Dotel, but Gordon found his position as a middle reliever for Houston.

[6] After going 1–3 with a 3.02 ERA in 33 appearances between Chicago and Houston, Gordon's family sent him a bouquet to celebrate that he had closed the season in full health for the first time since 1999.

[9] Gordon and Damaso Marte were the only consistent bullpen presences for the White Sox, and in an attempt to keep the two pitchers healthy for the final stretch of the regular season, manager Jerry Manuel was forced to call up Billy Koch and Jose Paniagua from the minor leagues.

On May 2, 2007, Gordon was placed on the disabled list due to a rotator cuff inflammation, at which time he was replaced in the closer slot by former starting pitcher Brett Myers.

Fellow reliever Brad Lidge praised Gordon calling him "a stud" and said that the Phils were hoping for him to return to the team after his 15-day stint.

On February 6, 2009, Gordon agreed to a one-year, $500,000 contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with additional bonuses up to $2.5 million based on how much time he spent on the active roster.