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Buchholz, Tomlin friends since college days
- Updated: October 9, 2016
BOSTON — Clay Buchholz didn’t know of Josh Tomlin when their paths first crossed. He was just a guy standing in his spot.
He soon realized he had underestimated his competition. When they take the mound at Fenway Park, Buchholz will not make the same mistake in Game 3 of the American League Division Series (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, TBS) that he did for the shortstop position at Angelina College.
“Yeah, shortstop,” Tomlin said with a chuckle.
Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 6 CLE 5, BOS 4 Gm 2 Oct. 7 CLE 6, BOS 0 Gm 3 Oct. 9 4 p.m. CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 4 Oct. 10 6 p.m. CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 5 Oct. 12 6 or 8 p.m. BOS @ CLE TBS *- If necessary | All times listed ET • Division Series start time scenarios • Red Sox vs. Indians ALDS coverageShop for postseason gear: Red Sox | Indians
Even as Buchholz stared at a must-win game ahead, he had to smile about it Saturday.
“This is a pretty cool story,” Buchholz said.
Before they were postseason opponents, Buchholz and Tomlin were teammates at Angelina, a junior college of about 5,000 in Lufkin, Texas. Its list of famous students includes them, fellow pitcher Andrew Cashner and Mark Calaway, better known as The Undertaker in WWE.
Their old coach is still there.
“It seems like about a year ago, honestly,” Jeff Livin said wistfully. “And I can say that about all my guys. But there are games burned into your memory. That team was special. But golly, I can still watch those guys pitch.”
Livin had recruited Buchholz, an athletic infielder out of high school from nearby Lumberton. He opted for McNeese State in Louisiana, but changed his mind after a year.
“He wanted to be a shortstop,” Livin said. “He thought he could move in that direction here. We had his high school teammate.”
The problem for Buchholz was that Angelina already had a shortstop. Livin had lost another recruit, Travis Chick, to the Major League Draft a couple of years earlier, only to have Chick later suggest he check out Tomlin, an …
