Nasty", was born in Bontang, Indonesia, and played collegiate baseball at Furman University, where he was primarily used as a starting pitcher.

[7] 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.

Mastny 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.

[11] After a spring training roster battle with Jorge Julio and Scott Elarton for Cleveland's final bullpen spot in 2008,[12] Mastny was slotted to begin the season with Triple-A Buffalo.

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 Mastny's biographical trivia would be subject to scrutiny is in part due to historical implications, as he is the first Indonesian-born player to reach the major leagues, as reported by ESPN columnist Keith Law: Cleveland farmhand Tom Mastny was born in Indonesia, 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.