Stellar MLB debut Tatum's professional career began when he signed with the Angels in 1966 after he was selected in the second round of the secondary phase of the
1966 Major League Baseball draft. In his fourth
minor league season, in , he was converted from a
starting pitcher to a relief role, and he was recalled by the Angels in May. He quickly established himself as the team's top
short reliever—the term "closer" was not then in use. By the end of July, he had amassed seven
saves and three
wins in relief, with an
earned run average of 0.95 in 21 games. He finished the year with a
win–loss record of 7–2, 22 saves, and an earned run average of 1.36 in 45 games pitched. He placed fourth in
American League Rookie of the Year balloting. Tatum began with another skein of excellent relief pitching. During the season's first two months, he appeared in 20 games, won two of three
decisions, netted eight saves, and posted a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched. But in the eighth inning of his 20th appearance on May 31, while he was in the process of notching a four-inning save in a 6–1 victory over the
Baltimore Orioles at
Anaheim Stadium, Tatum threw a pitch that hit the Orioles'
Paul Blair in the face. Blair sustained a broken nose,
orbital floor fractures below his left
eye and a broken
cheekbone, and he missed three weeks of action; his vision, however, was not affected. He remained the Orioles' regular
center fielder through and retired from the Majors during the campaign. The
beaning was unintentional, as Tatum had grazed the jersey front of the previous batter
Boog Powell. Affected by Blair's traumatic injury, he became reluctant to pitch inside. By August 1, his earned run average had risen by two full points to 3.00 Ten days after the 1970 season ended, the Angels traded Tatum to the Red Sox in a six-player swap that brought slugger
Tony Conigliaro to Anaheim. (Ironically, Conigliaro's career was curtailed by the after-effects of a
beanball in a game between the Red Sox and Angels on August 18, 1967.) But Tatum was ineffective in Boston. In his first game, on
April 8, 1971, he blew a 2–1 ninth-inning lead for
Sonny Siebert and lost to the
Cleveland Indians on a walk-off single to
Gomer Hodge. Tatum recovered to pitch well over his next 16 games, but on May 23, he was injured by a line drive to the face during
batting practice. Coincidentally, he fractured his cheekbone, and the injury occurred in
Baltimore, with Blair still an Oriole stalwart. Tatum would miss a full month of action, and his pitching suffered. He ended the season having worked in only 36 games, with a 2–4 record, 4.09 earned run average and only nine saves. Troubled by a nerve problem in his back and leg, he would appear in only 22 games in , and spend most of in the minor leagues. He was dealt along with
Reggie Smith from the Red Sox to the
St. Louis Cardinals for
Bernie Carbo and
Rick Wise on October 26, 1973. After spending the
spring training of with the Redbirds, he was traded again in April, to the White Sox, where he got into ten games. He retired at the close of that season. All told, Tatum compiled a 16–12 record in the big leagues with 52 saves and a career ERA of 2.93. He allowed 230 hits and 117
bases on balls in 282
innings pitched, with 156
strikeouts. ==References==