1946
Born August 28, 1946
Topeka, KS, USA
Mike Torrez Marquee
b. August 28, 1946 · St. Louis Cardinals 1967–1971, Montreal Expos 1971–1974, Baltimore Orioles 1975, Oakland Athletics 1976–1977, 1984, New York Yankees 1977, Boston Red Sox 1978–1982, New York Mets 1983–1984
Mike Torrez won two complete games for the New York Yankees in the 1977 World Series, including the clincher in which Reggie Jackson hit three home runs. He signed with Boston that winter, and the following October he was on the mound at Fenway Park when Bucky Dent hit the home run that decided the one-game playoff for the division.
Between those two afternoons he was a durable and useful starter for eighteen years: 185 wins, 117 complete games and more than 3,000 innings across seven clubs, with twenty-win seasons in Baltimore in 1975 and Montreal before that.
Born in Topeka, Kansas in 1946, Torrez struck out 1,404 batters and finished 185-160, ending his career back in Oakland in 1984.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | STL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1968 | STL | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .286 |
| 1969 | STL | 24 | 41 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .073 |
| 1970 | STL | 30 | 63 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .270 |
| 1971 | MON/STL | 10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .143 |
| 1972 | MON | 34 | 85 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 0 | .176 |
| 1973 | MON | 36 | 69 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | .174 |
| 1974 | MON | 36 | 64 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 1 | .125 |
| 1975 | BAL | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | OAK | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | NYY/OAK | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | BOS | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | BOS | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | BOS | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | BOS | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | BOS | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | NYM | 39 | 65 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0 | .046 |
| 1984 | NYM/OAK | 11 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .300 |
| Career | — | 499 | 412 | 24 | 64 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 131 | 1 | .155 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | STL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3.18 |
| 1968 | STL | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 19.1 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 2.79 |
| 1969 | STL | 10 | 4 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 107.2 | 96 | 43 | 62 | 61 | 3.59 |
| 1970 | STL | 8 | 10 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 179.1 | 168 | 84 | 103 | 100 | 4.22 |
| 1971 | MON/STL | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 39.0 | 45 | 24 | 31 | 10 | 5.54 |
| 1972 | MON | 16 | 12 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 243.1 | 215 | 90 | 103 | 112 | 3.33 |
| 1973 | MON | 9 | 12 | 35 | 34 | 0 | 208.0 | 207 | 103 | 115 | 90 | 4.46 |
| 1974 | MON | 15 | 8 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 186.1 | 184 | 74 | 84 | 92 | 3.57 |
| 1975 | BAL | 20 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 270.2 | 238 | 92 | 133 | 119 | 3.06 |
| 1976 | OAK | 16 | 12 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 266.1 | 231 | 74 | 87 | 115 | 2.50 |
| 1977 | NYY/OAK | 17 | 13 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 243.1 | 235 | 105 | 86 | 102 | 3.88 |
| 1978 | BOS | 16 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 250.0 | 272 | 110 | 99 | 120 | 3.96 |
| 1979 | BOS | 16 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 252.1 | 254 | 126 | 121 | 125 | 4.49 |
| 1980 | BOS | 9 | 16 | 36 | 32 | 0 | 207.1 | 256 | 117 | 75 | 97 | 5.08 |
| 1981 | BOS | 10 | 3 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 127.1 | 130 | 52 | 51 | 54 | 3.68 |
| 1982 | BOS | 9 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 175.2 | 196 | 102 | 74 | 84 | 5.23 |
| 1983 | NYM | 10 | 17 | 39 | 34 | 0 | 222.1 | 227 | 108 | 113 | 94 | 4.37 |
| 1984 | NYM/OAK | 1 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 40.0 | 64 | 28 | 21 | 18 | 6.30 |
| Career | — | 185 | 160 | 494 | 458 | 0 | 3044.0 | 3043 | 1340 | 1371 | 1404 | 3.96 |
On this day & linked events
1967
Major-league debut: Mike Torrez
Mike Torrez made a major-league debut on September 10, 1967.
1976
Chicago White Sox Combined No-Hitter, 1976
Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios threw a combined no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox against the Oakland Athletics on July 28, 1976, winning 2–1.
1984
Final major-league game: Mike Torrez
Mike Torrez played a final major-league game on July 27, 1984.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain