Position players soon rolled into camp and the exhibition games began. Many of the games, particularly the early ones, were devoted to evaluating young players and discarded veterans who were trying to make the team. The latter group was closely scrutinized to determine who was washed up and who had a chance to contribute as a bench player.
Before he took the mound, Tommy had to wait behind a batch of new pitchers who were invited to camp. Even though he’d never been invited to spring training with the Braves before, he was now considered a “veteran.”
One day, Blasingame approached him while he shagged fly balls in batting practice.
“Tommy, time to get you throwing hard again. We’re playing the college kids Wednesday in a friendly exhibition. I’m going to start you and let you go three
