Thomas Anthony Henke (born December 21, 1957[1]), nicknamed "the Terminator",[2] is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher.

He was one of the most dominant and feared closers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, pitching for the Texas Rangers (1982–1984, 1993–1994), Toronto Blue Jays (1985–1992), and St. Louis Cardinals (1995).

Tom Henke was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and started out throwing every night to his father, who caught his pitches while sitting on a five-gallon bucket.

[4] In 1980, a couple of friends, who believed Henke had pro-caliber stuff, told him they would buy the beer if he showed up at a talent evaluation opportunity; he did and was noticed.

[7] In 1981, Henke started the season back at Asheville, where his 8-6 record with 3 saves and 2.93 ERA in 92 innings earned him a promotion to the AA Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League.

Henke spent the entire 1982 minor league season back at Tulsa, despite putting up similarly impressive numbers (14 saves with a 2.67 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 87+2⁄3 innings).

In 1983, Henke was finally promoted to the Oklahoma City 89ers in the American Association, but again his development stalled and he spent much of the next three seasons at AAA.

After blazing through the hitters at AAA Syracuse to the tune of a 0.88 ERA and 18 saves in 51+1⁄3 innings over 38 appearances, he won the International League Most Valuable Pitcher Award in 1985.

Henke was promoted to Toronto during the 1985 pennant drive[9] and never looked back, not allowing a run in his first 11 appearances and finishing the season with 13 saves.

[15] Other career accomplishments are: Henke lives on his 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) farm in Taos, Missouri, with his family: wife Kathy and children Linsay, Ryan, Kim, and Amanda (who has Down syndrome).

[18] He also volunteers with Down syndrome charities, the Special Olympics and the Cancer Society, and is on the board of directors with the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

[23] On August 28, 2009, Henke threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Busch Stadium during the Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.

Former Blue Jays starters Roy Halladay, Dave Stieb, Pat Hentgen and Juan Guzman were welcomed back too.