The Cleveland Guardians’ community lost a former franchise member. Reliever Tom Timmermann passed away at 85 years old.
The right-hander had a long career in the minors and played in the majors for six years. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1969, and joined Cleveland during the 1973 season.
He appeared in 33 games with 15 starts for the franchise.
Tom Timmermann, a veteran of 6 major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers & Cleveland Indians from 1969-74, died Friday. He was 85. #RIP #TomTimmermann #DetroitTigers #Tigers #Indians #Cleveland #MLB #baseball #Tribute pic.twitter.com/4UdgwwgNfq
— Mark's Signing Bonus (@signing_s) November 16, 2025
After making his professional debut at 20 years old, Timmermann made his MLB debut as a reliever at 29 years old. In 1972, he began to get consistent time as a starter. At 32 years old, he started 25 of 34 games and logged a 2.89 ERA, but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers to keep him in the rotation full-time.
He moved primarily back to the bullpen, and they ultimately traded him to Cleveland for pitcher Ed Farmer. In Cleveland, he also split time as a starter and reliever.
He posted a 9-8 record with a 4.96 ERA in 1973 and 1974. He ended his career in the minors after that final MLB season.
For his career, Timmermann was 35-35 with 35 saves, 315 strikeouts and a 3.78 ERA in 548.0 innings of work. He was also the father of former MLB pitcher Phil Leftwich.
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