1940
Born July 18, 1940
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Joe Torre Marquee Hall of Fame 2014
b. July 18, 1940 · Milwaukee Braves 1960–1965, Atlanta Braves 1966–1968, St. Louis Cardinals 1969–1974, New York Mets 1975–1977
He caught 897 games, played 793 at first base and 515 at third, and batted .297 with 2,342 hits, 252 home runs and 1,185 runs batted in over eighteen seasons. He was an All-Star nine times, won a Gold Glove behind the plate in 1965, and took The Sporting News player of the year award in 1971.
The Braves traded him to St. Louis for Orlando Cepeda in 1969, and in his third year there he moved to third base and hit better than he ever had: 230 hits and 137 runs batted in, both league-leading, 24 home runs and a .363 average. That was the Most Valuable Player season.
Eighteen seasons brought no pennant and no division title. The writers kept him on their ballot for fifteen years without getting him past 105 votes of 473, and four veterans committees passed on him as a player. The committee that finally elected him, in 2014, voted him in as a manager, with all sixteen votes.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 9 | 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 4 | 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971 |
| Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - HOF Player | 1 | 2021 |
| Gold Glove | 1 | 1965 |
| Hutch Award | 1 | 1971 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1971 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1976 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 1971 |
| The Sporting News Player of the Year | 1 | 1971 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | MLN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| 1961 | MLN | 113 | 406 | 40 | 113 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 28 | 60 | 3 | .278 |
| 1962 | MLN | 80 | 220 | 23 | 62 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 1 | .282 |
| 1963 | MLN | 142 | 501 | 57 | 147 | 19 | 4 | 14 | 71 | 42 | 79 | 1 | .293 |
| 1964 | MLN | 154 | 601 | 87 | 193 | 36 | 5 | 20 | 109 | 36 | 67 | 2 | .321 |
| 1965 | MLN | 148 | 523 | 68 | 152 | 21 | 1 | 27 | 80 | 61 | 79 | 0 | .291 |
| 1966 | ATL | 148 | 546 | 83 | 172 | 20 | 3 | 36 | 101 | 60 | 61 | 0 | .315 |
| 1967 | ATL | 135 | 477 | 67 | 132 | 18 | 1 | 20 | 68 | 49 | 75 | 2 | .277 |
| 1968 | ATL | 115 | 424 | 45 | 115 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 55 | 34 | 72 | 1 | .271 |
| 1969 | STL | 159 | 602 | 72 | 174 | 29 | 6 | 18 | 101 | 66 | 85 | 0 | .289 |
| 1970 | STL | 161 | 624 | 89 | 203 | 27 | 9 | 21 | 100 | 70 | 91 | 2 | .325 |
| 1971 | STL | 161 | 634 | 97 | 230 | 34 | 8 | 24 | 137 | 63 | 70 | 4 | .363 |
| 1972 | STL | 149 | 544 | 71 | 157 | 26 | 6 | 11 | 81 | 54 | 64 | 3 | .289 |
| 1973 | STL | 141 | 519 | 67 | 149 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 69 | 65 | 78 | 2 | .287 |
| 1974 | STL | 147 | 529 | 59 | 149 | 28 | 1 | 11 | 70 | 69 | 88 | 1 | .282 |
| 1975 | NYM | 114 | 361 | 33 | 89 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 35 | 35 | 55 | 0 | .247 |
| 1976 | NYM | 114 | 310 | 36 | 95 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 21 | 35 | 1 | .306 |
| 1977 | NYM | 26 | 51 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .176 |
| Career | — | 2209 | 7874 | 996 | 2342 | 344 | 59 | 252 | 1185 | 779 | 1094 | 23 | .297 |
On this day & linked events
1960
Major-league debut: Joe Torre
Joe Torre made a major-league debut on September 25, 1960.
1973
Joe Torre Hits for the Cycle, 1973
Joe Torre hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 27, 1973.
1977
Final major-league game: Joe Torre
Joe Torre played a final major-league game on June 17, 1977.
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0