Tom Tresh

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Tom Tresh

Tresh in 1962.
Left fielder / Shortstop
Born: September 20, 1938(1938-09-20)
Detroit, Michigan
Died: October 15, 2008(2008-10-15) (aged 70)
Venice, Florida
Batted: Switch Threw: Right 
MLB debut
September 3, 1961 for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1969 for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics
Batting average     .245
Home runs     153
Runs batted in     530
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Thomas Michael Tresh (September 20, 1938 – October 15, 2008)[1] was a Major League Baseball infielder and outfielder who played for the New York Yankees (1961–69) and Detroit Tigers (1969). Tresh was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He was the son of catcher Mike Tresh.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Tresh started his career with the Yankees as a shortstop when Tony Kubek was in military service. On Opening Day of the 1962 season, Tresh was in the Yankees' lineup at shortstop. Not until Derek Jeter in 1996 would another Yankee rookie shortstop gain such an honor.

In 1962 he won both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards, after hitting .286 (the highest mark of his career) with 20 home runs and 93 RBI in 157 games. When Kubek returned during the 1962 season, Tresh was moved to left field. At various times with the Yankees, Tresh played shortstop, outfield, and third base. In Game 5 of the 1962 World Series, he broke a 2–2 tie with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning off Jack Sanford (who had won 24 games that season), leading to a 5–3 Yankee win and a 3–2 lead in games.

Tresh's batting averages declined precipitously during his career.

Tresh never again hit as well as he did in his rookie year, and after nine years in New York, he was sent to Detroit in midseason 1969. Tresh was born and grew up in Detroit, making him a home-town favorite. However, his career was over when he was released by the Tigers after the 1969 season; he had just turned 32 when he played his last game.[2]

Tresh hit 114 home runs from 1962 to 1966, with a career-high 27 in 1966, and made the American League All-Star team in 1962-63. A Gold Glove winner in 1965, he also homered from each side of the plate in three games, including a doubleheader in that season in which he hit four home runs, three of them in the second game. In a nine-season career, Tresh was a .245 hitter with 153 home runs and 530 RBI in 1192 games.

Following his playing career, Tresh returned to his alma mater, Central Michigan University. where he worked as an assistant placement director for many years. He helped to invent the Slide-Rite, a training tool to teach sliding and diving skills for baseball, softball, football and soccer.

Tresh died of a heart attack at his Venice, Florida home on October 15, 2008.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Goldstein, Richard (2008-10-17). "Tom Tresh, a Two-Time Yankees All-Star, Dies at 70". New York Times: pp. A22. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/sports/baseball/17tresh.html 
  2. ^ "Tom Tresh". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/T/Ptrest101.htm. Retrieved December 19, 2010. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Don Schwall		 American League Rookie of the Year
1962		 Succeeded by
Gary Peters
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