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 1969, 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.\n', '

Tatum began 1970 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, Tatum threw a pitch that hit the Orioles\' Paul Blair in the face. The pitch broke Blair\'s cheekbone and nose and he missed three weeks of action; his vision, however, was not affected. He remained the Orioles\' regular center fielder through 1976, and retired from the Majors during the 1980 campaign.\n', '

But the incident may have been a turning point that ruined Tatum\'s career. Affected by Blair\'s traumatic injury, he became reluctant to pitch inside. By August 1, his earned run average rose by two full points to 3.00 and it would climb as high as 3.30 on August 30 before he was able to string together enough effective appearances to lower it to 2.94 at season\'s end. For the year, he went 7–4 with 17 saves in 62 games. Wrote Peter Gammons in 2013: "After [Tatum] retired, he admitted he pitched with the fear \'that I might kill someone. I could never pitch on the inside half of the plate again.\'"\n', '

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