Rookie of the Year: Tom Tresh, 1962

Shortstop/Outfielder, New York Yankees

Age:  24 (Sept. 20)

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1962:

The son of major league catcher Mike Tresh, Tresh was a Detroit native. He lettered in football and basketball, as well as baseball at Allen Park High School. He played shortstop as a freshman at Central Michigan University, after which he signed with the Yankees for a $30,000 bonus in 1958. A natural righthanded batter, he had become a switch-hitter at his father’s urging. Starting out with St. Petersburg of the Class D Florida State League, Tresh batted .316 with 24 doubles, 9 triples, 5 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .435 OBP while primarily playing at shortstop and some third base. He finished the year with the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class AA Southern Association. Playing with teams at the Class B and A levels in 1959, he hit a combined .267 with 15 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .383 on-base percentage. In 1960 with Binghamton of the Class A Eastern League and Amarillo of the Class AA Texas League, Tresh batted a combined .247 with 15 home runs, and 62 RBIs. In 1961 with Richmond of the Class AAA International League, he hit .315 with 23 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .380 OBP, earning a late-season call-up to the Yankees. With regular shortstop Tony Kubek having been called to active military duty, Tresh won a competition with another highly touted rookie, Phil Linz, for the open shortstop job in 1962.

1962 Season Summary

Appeared in 157 games

SS – 111, LF – 43, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 712 [8]

At Bats – 622 [7]

Runs – 94 [10, tied with Norm Cash]

Hits – 178 [10]

Doubles – 26

Triples – 5

Home Runs – 20 [19, tied with Chico Fernandez]

RBI – 93 [13]

Bases on Balls – 67 [19, tied with Gary Geiger]

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 74

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 8 [5, tied with Chuck Cottier & Bob Rodgers]

Average - .286 [18]

OBP - .359 [18]

Slugging Pct. - .441

Total Bases – 274 [11]

GDP – 3

Hit by Pitches – 8 [6, tied with Lenny Green]

Sac Hits – 8 [15, tied with ten others]

Sac Flies – 7 [10, tied with five others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 12, HR - 6, RBI - 45, AVG - .269., OBP - .338

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 7 AB) vs. Boston 9/9 – 16 innings

Longest hitting streak – 16 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) vs. Minnesota 8/7

HR at home – 10

HR on road – 10

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Minnesota 6/27

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000) with 1 BB

Fielding (SS)

Chances – 529

Put Outs – 201

Assists – 312

Errors – 16

DP - 51

Pct. - .970

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. San Francisco)

PA – 30, AB – 28, R – 5, H – 9, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 4, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 4, SB – 2, CS – 0, AVG - .321, OBP - .345, SLG -.464, TB – 13, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

All-Star

12^th in AL MVP voting (30 points, 1 first place vote, 11% share)

AL ROY Voting:

Tom Tresh, NYY: 13 of 20 votes, 65% share

Bob Rodgers, LAA: 4 votes, 20% share

Bernie Allen, Min.: 1 vote, 5% share

Dean Chance, LAA: 1 vote, 5% share

Dick Radatz, Bos.: 1 vote, 5% share

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Yankees went 96-66 to win the AL pennant by 5 games over the Minnesota Twins while leading the league in runs scored (817), hits (1509), RBIs (791), batting (.267), slugging (.426), and total bases (2404). The Yankees were among the leaders in the AL from the start and took over first place to stay on July 8, although they faltered in August and September. Tresh performed ably at shortstop until Tony Kubek returned from his military commitment, at which time he moved to left field. Won World Series over the San Francisco Giants, 4 games to 3. Tresh’s three-run home run in Game 5 lifted the Yankees to a crucial 5-3 win.

Aftermath of 1962:

Starting off the 1963 season as the regular left fielder for the Yankees, Tresh was shifted to center field due to an injury to Mickey Mantle. He went on to bat .269 with 25 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a .371 OBP while again being selected as an All-Star and placing eleventh in AL MVP voting. The Yankees won the pennant but were swept by the Dodgers in the World Series. Tresh primarily appeared in left field for the Bronx Bombers in 1964, although he again spelled Mantle in center field when needed, and hit .246 with 16 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a .342 OBP. The club again won the AL pennant but fell to St. Louis in seven games in the World Series, despite Tresh’s two homers and 7 RBIs. The Yankees dropped in the standings in 1965 but Tresh batted .279 with 26 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .348 OBP. He also received a Gold Glove for his outfield play and placed ninth in league MVP voting. Shortstop Tony Kubek retired following the 1965 season and replacing him in 1966 proved difficult. With the infield being juggled as a result, Tresh played 64 games at third base as opposed to 84 in the outfield. While his batting average dropped to .233, he still slugged 27 home runs along with 68 RBIs for the last-place Yankees, and placed nineteenth in AL MVP balloting. In 1967, Tresh, back in left field, suffered a knee injury during spring training that limited him to 130 games and a .219 average with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. He had knee surgery in the offseason, which still caused him difficulty in 1968. Appearing primarily at shortstop, he hit a dreadful .195 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs. Starting the 1969 season with the Yankees, Tresh was traded to Detroit at midseason and ended up hitting a combined .211 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs. Released by the Tigers at the end of spring training in 1970, Tresh retired at age 32. For his major league career, spent almost entirely with the Yankees, he batted .245 with 1041 hits that included 179 doubles, 34 triples, and 153 home runs. He scored 595 runs and compiled 530 RBIs and a .335 OBP with a .411 slugging percentage. Appearing in 18 World Series games, he hit .277 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs. The versatile Tresh was a three-time All-Star who received MVP votes following four seasons. Following his playing career, he became an administrator and assistant baseball coach at Central Michigan University. He died at age 70 in 2008.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.