On the blog today, the next "card that never was" from my never-released 1971 All-Star Game ticket set, the starting third baseman for the National League in that historic game, Joe Torre of the St. Louis Cardinals:
Of
course, we all know that Torre had the season of his career in 1971,
leading the N.L. in both batting average, hitting at a .363 clip, while
also pacing the league with his 230 hits and 137 runs batted in.
The
man was just converting over to full time third base work after coming
up as a catcher with the Milwaukee Braves in 1960 at the age of 19,
before shifting to first base later on when the team moved to Atlanta in
1968.
The Brooklyn-native really did put together a career that gives him a second look as a Hall of Fame player.
It’s easy to forget how he came up as a catcher and had some monster years for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves between 1961 and 1968 before being traded to St. Louis for Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda right before the 1969 season opened.
Five times he would top 100 runs batted in, while topping 200 hits twice, 20 home runs six times and a .300+ batting average five times on his way to career numbers of 1185 RBIs, 2342 hits, 252 homers and a very nice .297 MLB average.
He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 1961 behind future Hall of Famer Billy Williams, and was named to nine all-star teams over the course of his career.
Of course, once he moved on to managing, particularly when he took over duties with the New York Yankees in 1996, his path to Cooperstown was laid out in front of him, leading the Bronx Bombers to World Series wins four times, including three in a row between 1998-2000, with the ‘98 team considered one of the best teams of all-time, winning 114 regular season games along with 11 more, steam-rolling through the San Diego Padres for a world championship.
Over 29 seasons as a manager, Torre finished with 2326 wins along with a nifty .538 winning percentage. Looking at his Yankee tenure, he finished an incredible 1173 and 767, good for a sparkling .605 percentage, averaging just under 100 wins a season!
So of course, in 2014 he made it into the Hall, being selected by the Veteran’s Committee after a combined 47 years in Major League ball as a player or manager.
It’s easy to forget how he came up as a catcher and had some monster years for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves between 1961 and 1968 before being traded to St. Louis for Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda right before the 1969 season opened.
Five times he would top 100 runs batted in, while topping 200 hits twice, 20 home runs six times and a .300+ batting average five times on his way to career numbers of 1185 RBIs, 2342 hits, 252 homers and a very nice .297 MLB average.
He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 1961 behind future Hall of Famer Billy Williams, and was named to nine all-star teams over the course of his career.
Of course, once he moved on to managing, particularly when he took over duties with the New York Yankees in 1996, his path to Cooperstown was laid out in front of him, leading the Bronx Bombers to World Series wins four times, including three in a row between 1998-2000, with the ‘98 team considered one of the best teams of all-time, winning 114 regular season games along with 11 more, steam-rolling through the San Diego Padres for a world championship.
Over 29 seasons as a manager, Torre finished with 2326 wins along with a nifty .538 winning percentage. Looking at his Yankee tenure, he finished an incredible 1173 and 767, good for a sparkling .605 percentage, averaging just under 100 wins a season!
So of course, in 2014 he made it into the Hall, being selected by the Veteran’s Committee after a combined 47 years in Major League ball as a player or manager.
