Ryan grad is a mentor
on the mound

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

For the better part of the last four decades, Tom Filer has been mastering the art of baseball. The Northeast Philadelphia native hurled the heat for four teams during the course of an 11-year career in the major leagues.
The pitcher-turned-coach faced some of the game’s top batters throughout the 1980s, but it wasn’t until recently that he landed a job with his hometown team.
"The game itself and how it’s played out is what makes baseball so special," said Filer, now the pitching coach for the Reading Phillies. "It’s a sport, and it’s very competitive. That’s what kept me in this game so long. I love the sport."
During his playing days, which started in 1982, Filer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets. His last game was in August 1992.
He found renewed life after baseball as a coach, and in 2004 came back to the Philadelphia area. Filer initially was a pitching coach with Lakewood, a single-A minor-league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The following year he moved on to the Reading Phillies, and has found a home at the team’s FirstEnergy Stadium ever since.
"I think playing in the major leagues made a big difference for me," said Filer. "When I’m coaching, I draw on experiences I had as a player — both the hard times and the good times. The game is real easy when you’re doing well, but it’s a different story when you’re struggling.
"I want to develop good work habits when I coach," he added. "We work on commanding the fastball and trying to get hitters out in three pitches or less."
Long before his days as a mentor on the mound, Filer was mastering the art of pitching himself. As a high school senior, he tossed a four-hitter in Archbishop Ryan’s Catholic League championship victory at Veterans Stadium in 1974. He went on to pitch for the La Salle University Explorers, graduating in 1978 with a marketing degree.
He signed with the New York Yankees that year as an amateur free agent.
"I always knew I wanted to (play professionally), but you never know how good you really are until you start facing some real competition," said Filer. "I always had aspirations. I remember simulating games out back with my brother and friends. One team had to be the Reds, and the other team got to be the Phillies."
Filer never pitched for his beloved Phils, but he did end up with the Chicago Cubs after a trade and made his major-league debut in June 1982.
You could say that momentous event hit close to home.
"My first game with the Cubs was in Philadelphia," recalled Filer, who was 25 at the time. "It was very nerve-wracking. I remember walking out to the bullpen and hearing so many well-wishers, and at the same time hearing the hard Phillies fans yelling at me, ‘We’re going to rip your head off!’
"It was quite a difference — the good and the bad like that," he added with a laugh. "I was so nervous and I couldn’t wait to get that first pitch out of the way. After that, I felt so much better."
Filer didn’t get a win that day, but he did achieve something just as memorable.
"My first strikeout in the major leagues was against Mike Schmidt," Filer said of the Phils’ Hall of Fame third baseman. "I grew up watching him, then to finally get an opportunity to face guys like him was incredible."
In 1985, Filer was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays; he finished the season with a 7-0 record with a 3.88 ERA, helping the Blue Jays win the American League East. In 1988 he joined the Milwaukee Brewers for two years, then later was sold to the New York Mets.
"I played for a lot of teams," Filer said. "The switching is part of the game. But once you’re there, you get an opportunity to bond with the players, and within a couple of days you’re part of the team.
"I did have a lot of success at Toronto in 1985, when we won the American East," he said. "They were a lot of fun to play with. I also spent a lot of time with the Brewers. That was fun too. All of the people were great."
For his career — which actually amounted to six years over parts of 11 seasons — Filer had a 22-17 record and a 4.25 ERA. He struck out 115 batters in 307.1 innings — and had a ball doing it.
"I felt like I was good enough to play in the majors, and I was lucky to get an opportunity," said Filer. "I’ve always loved the game."
Filer turned to coaching in 1994. For the next nine years, the ex-hurler taught the art of pitching at various minor-league levels of the Yankees organization.
"The hardest part when I first started coaching was working with the youngest players we had," said Filer. "That was a very hard thing to get used to. The game isn’t as clean as it is in the majors. It’s at its rawest form.
"It teaches you how to be patient," he explained. "What is nice is that it’s still at the level where these kids really love the game."
In 2003, Filer accepted a position with the Toronto Blue Jays’ AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs. The next year — more than 20 years after he broke into professional baseball — Filer headed back to the Philly area to work for the Phillies.
"I love it here," said Filer. "The Phillies organization has been so good to me. They take care of their people and their players as if they were family."
Since returning to his roots in Philadelphia, Filer has worked with Phils pitchers like Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, Ryan Madson and Adam Eaton.
"I worked a lot with them," he said of Kendrick and Hamels. "They’re both great kids. We have some rehab guys come down here too. Shane Victorino was here the other day, and Chase Utley was here last year.
"You really look back on it and start to know how you helped these guys along the way," he said. "But it’s a team thing. There are a lot of people who touch these guys along the way. It’s not just one coach."
Filer, 51, lives in Langhorne with his wife Barb and two sons, Corey and T.C.
"I love Philadelphia," said Filer, who grew up in the Bustleton section of the Northeast. "The city is great, and it gives me an opportunity to see family more often.
"I enjoy the game and I enjoy coaching," he continued. "This is my fifteenth year coaching, and I envision doing this as long as I can." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com