What years did Tom Bolton play?

Tom Bolton played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994.

Was Tom Bolton a pitcher?

Yes. Tom Bolton pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 336 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Tom Bolton hit?

Tom Bolton hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Tom Bolton play for?

Tom Bolton played for 4 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1987–1992), the Cincinnati Reds (1992), the Detroit Tigers (1993), and the Baltimore Orioles (1994).

What were Tom Bolton's career stats?

In 209 games, Tom Bolton went 31-34 with a 4.56 ERA, 336 strikeouts, 540.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.

What was Tom Bolton's salary?

Tom Bolton's last recorded salary was $475,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $525,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $62,500, in 1987. The Salary History table lists each season from 1987 to 1993.

What position did Tom Bolton play?

Tom Bolton played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Tom Bolton and how much did he weigh?

Tom Bolton was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 172 pounds.

What was Tom Bolton's career ERA?

Tom Bolton finished with a 4.56 career ERA, going 31-34 with 336 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Tom Bolton have?

Tom Bolton recorded 336 career strikeouts.

Is Tom Bolton in the Hall of Fame?

No. Tom Bolton has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tom Bolton

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1987-1994)

Tom Bolton was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994 for 4 teams, including the Boston Red Sox, a span of 8 seasons. Across 209 career appearances, he went 31-34 with a 4.56 ERA and 336 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 31–34

ERA 4.56

WHIP 1.59

SO 336

Pitcher PIV -2581.1

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 172 lb
Born: 5/6/1962 in Nashville, TN, USA
MLB Debut: 1987-05-17
Last Game: 1994-07-30

Full name: Thomas Edward Bolton

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Career Pitching Statistics

Tom Bolton — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
31	34	209	56	3	0	1	540.1	614	274	46	244	336	4.56	-2581.1

Career ERA 4.56 vs. league average 3.98 across their career seasons — 14.7% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Bolton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1987	BOS	AL	1	0	29	0	0	0	61.2	83	30	27	49	4.38	4.29 (-2%)	853.7
1988	BOS	AL	1	3	28	0	0	1	30.1	35	16	14	21	4.75	3.73 (-27%)	409.1
1989	BOS	AL	0	4	4	4	0	0	17.1	21	16	10	9	8.31	3.71 (-124%)	-214.4
1990	BOS	AL	10	5	21	16	3	0	119.2	111	45	47	65	3.38	3.86 (+12%)	717.4
1991	BOS	AL	8	9	25	19	0	0	110.0	136	64	51	64	5.24	3.91 (-34%)	-2997.4
1992	BOS	AL	1	2	21	1	0	0	29.0	34	11	14	23	3.41	3.75 (+9%)	651.5
1992	CIN	NL	3	3	16	8	0	0	46.1	52	27	23	27	5.24	3.75 (-40%)	-2335.3
1993	DET	AL	6	6	43	8	0	0	102.2	113	51	45	66	4.47	4.19 (-7%)	879.0
1994	BAL	AL	1	2	22	0	0	0	23.1	29	14	13	12	5.40	4.51 (-20%)	-544.6
Career · 9 seasons			31	34	209	56	3	1	540.1	614	274	244	336	4.56	—	-2,581

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Tom Bolton — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
209	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Bolton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1987	BOS	AL	29	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	BOS	AL	28	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	BOS	AL	4	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	BOS	AL	21	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	BOS	AL	25	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	BOS	AL	21	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	CIN	NL	16	14	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	DET	AL	43	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	BAL	AL	22	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 9 seasons			209	14	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Tom Bolton — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Tom Bolton — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1990	ALCS	BOS	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Tom Bolton — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	2	0	0	3.0	2	0	2	3	0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Tom Bolton — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1990	ALCS	BOS	0	0	2	0	0	3.0	2	0	2	3	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (418 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Tom Bolton — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	96	7	0	0	0	0	.000
Away	113	7	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Tom Bolton — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	96	278.0	313	131	107	175	4.24
Away	113	262.1	301	143	137	161	4.91

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Tom Bolton — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1994-07-30	BAL	TOR	—	0.0	0	1	1	1	0	0
1994-07-26	BAL	CLE	—	2.2	3	2	2	0	1	0
1994-07-24	BAL	OAK	L	0.0	0	1	1	1	0	0
1994-07-18	BAL	SEA	—	0.1	0	0	0	1	1	0
1994-07-08	BAL	OAK	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1994-06-30	BAL	CLE	—	0.1	0	0	0	1	1	0
1994-06-27	BAL	CLE	W	2.2	4	1	1	4	1	0
1994-06-22	BAL	MIL	—	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1994-06-19	BAL	MIN	—	0.1	3	3	2	1	0	1
1994-06-16	BAL	NYY	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tom Bolton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	209	56	22	89	6	9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tom Bolton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1987	BOS	P	29	0	3	9	0	1
1988	BOS	P	28	0	1	10	0	0
1989	BOS	P	4	4	1	2	0	0
1990	BOS	P	21	16	4	21	1	1
1991	BOS	P	25	19	1	15	2	3
1992	BOS	P	21	1	0	6	1	1
1992	CIN	P	16	8	3	8	0	0
1993	DET	P	43	8	6	15	2	2
1994	BAL	P	22	0	3	3	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tom Bolton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	209

Salary History

Tom Bolton's recorded salaries total $1,487,500 over 5 seasons, 1987 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Bolton's career ran from 1987 to 1994. No salary is recorded for 1988, 1989, and 1994.

Tom Bolton — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1993	DET	AL	$475,000
1992	BOS	AL	$525,000
1991	BOS	AL	$290,000
1990	BOS	AL	$135,000
1987	BOS	AL	$62,500
Total recorded salary (partial)			$1,487,500

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Tom Bolton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Tom Bolton: the record in brief

According to the bio, Tom Bolton debuted on May 17, 1987 and played a final game on July 30, 1994. Bolton played for the Boston Red Sox (1987 through 1992), the Cincinnati Reds (1992), the Detroit Tigers (1993), and the Baltimore Orioles (1994). Born on May 6, 1962, in Nashville, TN, USA, Bolton is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit left-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-2 and 172 pounds. The given name on file is Thomas Edward Bolton.

Across 209 games (56 starts), Bolton recorded 31 wins against 34 losses with a 4.56 ERA. The totals include 336 strikeouts. Against a 3.98 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.56 mark was 14.7% worse. Bolton won 10 games in 1990, the most of any season listed. 1993 produced Bolton's most strikeouts, 66. 1990 was Bolton's sharpest full season, a 3.38 ERA against the league's 3.86.

Pitching in the playoffs, Bolton went 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 2 games. Those appearances came in 1990.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tom Bolton

What years did Tom Bolton play?: Tom Bolton played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994.
Was Tom Bolton a pitcher?: Yes. Tom Bolton pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 336 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Tom Bolton hit?: Tom Bolton hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Tom Bolton play for?: Tom Bolton played for 4 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1987–1992), the Cincinnati Reds (1992), the Detroit Tigers (1993), and the Baltimore Orioles (1994).
What were Tom Bolton's career stats?: In 209 games, Tom Bolton went 31-34 with a 4.56 ERA, 336 strikeouts, 540.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
How much did Tom Bolton earn in his career?: Tom Bolton's recorded salaries total $1,487,500 over 5 seasons, 1987 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Bolton's career ran from 1987 to 1994. No salary is recorded for 1988, 1989, and 1994.
What was Tom Bolton's salary?: Tom Bolton's last recorded salary was $475,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $525,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $62,500, in 1987. The Salary History table lists each season from 1987 to 1993.
What position did Tom Bolton play?: Tom Bolton played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tom Bolton and how much did he weigh?: Tom Bolton was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 172 pounds.
What was Tom Bolton's career ERA?: Tom Bolton finished with a 4.56 career ERA, going 31-34 with 336 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Tom Bolton have?: Tom Bolton recorded 336 career strikeouts.
Is Tom Bolton in the Hall of Fame?: No. Tom Bolton has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.