Catcher/First
Baseman, Atlanta Braves
Age: 26 (July 18)
6th season
with Braves
Bats – Right, Throws
– Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 212
Prior to 1966:
A native of the
New York City borough of Brooklyn, Torre played sandlot baseball as a teen.
Slow and overweight, but a good hitter with power, he switched from first base
to catcher and drew the interest of the Milwaukee Braves, the team his older
brother, Frank, played for as a first baseman, and signed with them in 1959 for
a $22,500 bonus. Having dropped 20 pounds as part of his conditioning program,
he first played in the Florida Instructional League in the fall of ’59. Next,
he joined Eau Claire of the Class C Northern League in 1960 and batted .344
with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs. He received a late-season call-up to the Braves
and got his first major league hit as a pinch-hitter. Torre started the 1961
season with the Louisville Colonels of the Class AAA American Association but
was called up by the Braves in May due to an injury to starting catcher Del
Crandall. He hit well from the start and demonstrated a strong throwing arm
from behind the plate as well. In 113 games Torre hit .278 with a .330 on-base
percentage, 10 home runs, and 42 RBIs. He finished second in league Rookie of
the Year voting. With Crandall back in 1962, Torre was limited to 80 games and
batted .282 with 5 home runs and 26 RBIs. Taking over as the regular catcher in
1963, Torre was an All-Star for the first time on his way to hitting .293 with
14 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a .350 OBP. He also saw action at first base, where
he displayed good technique and kept his bat in the lineup. With Crandall dealt
for veteran catcher Ed Bailey in 1964, Torre saw more action at first base
while making 96 appearances behind the plate. He batted .321 with a .365 OBP,
20 home runs, and 109 RBIs. Once again an All-Star, where he was the starting
backstop for the National League, he also placed fifth in league MVP balloting.
In 1965 Torre hit .291 with 27 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .372 OBP. He caught in
100 games and made 49 appearances at first base, as lefty-hitting backup Gene
Oliver split time with Torre behind the plate. Despite questions regarding his
defensive ability as a catcher, Torre received a Gold Glove for his efforts.
The franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966, and Torre hit the first home run for
the Braves in their new ballpark.
1966 Season Summary
Appeared in 148
games
C – 111, 1B –
39, PH – 4
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 614
At Bats – 546
Runs – 83 [18]
Hits – 172 [13]
Doubles – 20
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 36
[4, tied with Willie McCovey]
RBI – 101 [7]
Bases on Balls
– 60 [12, tied with Rico Carty & Clay Dalrymple]
Int. BB – 8
Strikeouts – 61
Stolen Bases – 0
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .315
[6, tied with Willie Stargell]
OBP - .382 [6]
Slugging Pct. -
.560 [4]
Total Bases – 306
[6]
GDP – 18 [6]
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 4
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 21, RBI - 53, AVG - .286, SLG – .542, OBP – .365
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on thirteen occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 18
HR on road – 18
Most home runs,
game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at St. Louis 7/19 – 12 innings
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 3 (.333) with 1 R, 1 3B & 3 RBI
Fielding ( C )
Chances – 685
Put Outs – 607
Assists – 67
Errors – 11
Passed Balls –
13
DP – 9
Pct. - .984
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
(Started for NL at C)
16th
in NL MVP voting (18 points – 6% share)
---
In their first
season in Atlanta, the Braves went 85-77 to finish fifth in the NL, 10 games
behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers while drawing 1,539,801
spectators to Atlanta Stadium and leading the league in runs scored (782), home
runs (207), RBIs (734), and walks drawn (512). The hard-hitting Braves, taking
advantage of their new power-friendly home venue, and lacking quality pitching,
were at 52-59 when manager Bobby Bragan was replaced by Billy Hitchcock in
August. The club caught fire and went 33-18 the rest of the way to finish with
a winning record.
Aftermath of 1966:
Hobbled by an ankle injury in 1967 that required offseason surgery, Torre slumped badly at the plate in his last 40 games and finished at .277 with 20 home runs and 68 RBIs. In an injury-plagued 1968 season, Torre hit .271 with just 10 home runs and 55 RBIs. During spring training in 1969, the Braves traded Torre to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Orlando Cepeda. Torre became the regular first baseman for St. Louis in 1969, appearing in only 18 games behind the plate. His batting production rebounded to .289 with 18 home runs and 101 RBIs with a .361 OBP. The departure of catcher Tim McCarver and the arrival of first baseman Dick Allen in the offseason had Torre appearing more as a catcher in 1970, but he also appeared in 73 games at third base due to the departure of regular third sacker Mike Shannon due to illness. Torre batted .325 with 21 home runs, 100 RBIs, and a .398 OBP. The slimmed down Torre entered 1971 as the Cards’ regular third baseman. He went on to have a spectacular season in which he led the NL in batting (.363), hits (230), RBIs (137), and total bases (352) while slugging 24 home runs along with 34 doubles and 8 triples, as well as a .421 OBP, and .555 slugging percentage. He received league MVP recognition and was named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1972, Torre’s production dropped off to .289 with 11 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .357 OBP. The distraction of off-field problems did not help, but he remained a productive part of the lineup and was an All-Star once again. By 1973 he was seeing the most action at first base and his hitting continued to slip as he batted .287 with 13 home runs, and 69 RBIs, although his OBP was a respectable .376. Torre spent one more season with St. Louis in 1974 in which he hit .282 with 11 home runs, 70 RBIs, and a .371 OBP. In the offseason he was traded to the New York Mets for two pitchers. Playing primarily at third base in 1975, he was troubled by reduced range in the field and batted only .247 with 6 home runs and 35 RBIs. Torre was back at first base in 1976, and as his playing time continued to dwindle, he hit .306 with a .358 OBP. During the 1977 season he replaced Joe Frazier as the club’s manager. While initially a player/manager, his playing career ended in June. For his major league playing career, Torre batted .297 with 2342 hits that included 344 doubles, 59 triples, and 252 home runs. He scored 996 runs and compiled 1185 RBIs, 779 walks, a .365 OBP, and a .452 slugging percentage. With the Braves he batted .294 with 154 doubles, 21 triples, 142 home runs, 552 RBIs, 470 runs scored, 334 walks drawn, a .356 OBP, and a .462 slugging percentage. A nine-time All-Star, he finished among the top 5 in NL MVP voting three times, with the one win in ’71. Following the conclusion of his playing career, Torre continued as manager of the Mets through the 1981 season when he was fired following a 286-420 tenure. His next managerial stop was a return to the Braves from 1982-84. Atlanta won the AL West title in Torre’s first year at the helm and contended in 1983. A losing season in 1984 led to his dismissal after having compiled an overall 257-229 record. Following several seasons as a television commentator, Torre’s next managerial job came with the Cardinals from 1990-95, where his teams went 351-354 with no postseason appearances. The New York Yankees hired him in 1996, and he managed through 2007 with his teams going 1173-767 with six AL pennants and four World Series titles. Along the way Torre overcame a bout with prostate cancer in 1999. Refusing to accept a salary cut for 2008, Torre moved on to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three seasons from 2008-2010 where his teams went 259-227 and twice reached the playoffs. As a manager, Torre put together a record of 2326-1997 with the six pennants and four World Series championships. The Yankees retired his #6 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 in recognition of his managerial success. He was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2016.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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