Frank Torre
From BR Bullpen
Frank Joseph Torre
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.
- Debut April 20, 1956
- Final Game September 29, 1963
- Born December 30, 1931 in Brooklyn, NY USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Frank Torre had a seven-year career in the major leagues, hitting .273 with a reputation as a top defensive first baseman.
The older brother of Joe Torre, Frank was already an established player when Joe first came up with Frank's team in 1960. Their father Joe Torre Sr. was involved in baseball as a scout.
Frank missed the 1952 season due to military service before breaking in with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956, and was the player appearing in the most games at first base in 1957 when the Braves won 95 games and went on to win the World Series. Joe Adcock started most of the Series games at first base, but Frank hit two homers in ten at bats in the Series. In one game on September 2, 1957, the Braves scored 23 runs against the Cubs, and Torre scored 6 runs, tying a record.
In 1958, Torre hit .309, and the Braves again went to the World Series. He again appeared in more games at first base than Adcock, and the two of them alternated at first base in the Series. In 1959, his average fell to .228 with one home run, but he still was the starting first baseman and clean-up hitter in the second game of the two-game playoff which the Braves lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Adcock was available and coming off a great season. In fact Bill James cites manager Fred Haney's insistence on playing Torre that season, in spite of all the evidence that he was not a productive player, as a key piece of evidence in naming the Braves' 1959 season as the worst-ever performance by a Major League manager (The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers, pp. 202-204).
Torre missed the 1961 season. In 1962, after being sold to the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit .310.
He had a heart transplant in 1996.
[edit] Notable Achievement
- Won a World Series with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957
