Eastern League Extra:
What would you say is your best moment in baseball?
Tom Filer:
One of my best moments in baseball was when I came back from
the minor leagues, my first game back was against Detroit
and I threw a shutout. That was probably the best highlight
I ever had. I believe it was in '88 or '89, I don't remember
the exact date. I was with Milwaukee then, and I got called
up. I was throwing real well in Triple-A at the time and I
got called up, and everything just kind of fell into place.
ELX: How about your worst moment?
Filer: One of my worst moments was when I had to
leave a game in Spring Training because my elbow was killing
me. It led to a surgery, I'd hurt it the year before. It was
bothering me all year, and they said that if you don't do
your exercises in the off-season, your arm's going to feel
the same. I did the exercises and I came back for Spring
Training, it was actually my first game of Spring Training,
and I tried to throw. I remember just walking off the mound
and the pain was so excruciating.
ELX: Who's the most talented player you've ever
played with?
Filer: I played with Robin Yount, I played with Paul
Molitor...geez, I played with so many guys, so many good
players. But I'd have to say either one of those two guys,
they were really fantastic players and individuals at the
same time.
ELX: The Cubs called you up in June of 1982. How did
you find out you were going up?
Filer: The day I got called up, we were playing an
exhibition game. The Triple-A team was playing the big
league team. They told me, 'Today, you'd be dressing with
the other team.' I said, 'excuse me?' and they said ,'yeah,
you're going to the big league team and somebody's going to
come to us.' So that was pretty wild.
ELX: Your big league debut was June 8, 1982 in your
hometown of Philadelphia at The Vet. A few of the first
batters you faced were Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt. What was
that like?
Filer: Nerve racking. That whole day I received so
many phone calls and well wishes. I was so nervous when I
took that mound, I was so pumped up. The two guys you
mentioned; Mike Schmidt was my first Major League strikeout
and Pete Rose was my second. So I remember that game, but I
don't have the greatest memories of that game because I
didn't win.
ELX: Your first big league win was about a month
later at Busch Stadium. You went seven innings, outdueling
Joaquin Andujar. That must have been pretty nice for you...
Filer: It was, because I think they went on to win
the league that year. I'd pitched pretty well in a couple of
other games, but that one was pretty neat. It was my first
win, and I remember going back to my hotel room and it was
storming out. And I remember looking out my window and I was
so excited because I got my first win.
ELX: You faced all the big name guys when you were up
in the big leagues. Was there any one at-bat or batter you
faced that stands out for you?
Filer: There was George Brett, a guy who had such
great plate coverage, but the guy who really, really wore me
out was Jose Canseco. Oh God, I think I faced him ten times
and I think he has five home runs off of me. I remember
facing him, and I knew my arm wasn't right and I was trying
to compete with subpar stuff. He was right in the middle of
one of his hot streaks, and I added fuel to the fire. I
think I was the one who got him that five year, 25 million
dollar contract from way back when.
ELX: Safe to say you didn't see a cut of that...
Filer: Oh no, I didn't see any of that. In fact, it
got me a trip back to the minor leagues.
