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Frank Torre

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Frank Torre
First baseman
Born: (1931-12-30)December 30, 1931
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died: September 13, 2014(2014-09-13) (aged 82)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 20, 1956, for the Milwaukee Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1963, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs13
Runs batted in179
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Frank Joseph Torre (/ˈtɒri/; December 30, 1931 – September 13, 2014) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman. Torre, who batted and threw left-handed, played for the Milwaukee Braves (1956–60) and Philadelphia Phillies (1962–63). He is the older brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member Joe Torre, himself a former Major League Baseball player and longtime manager.[1]

Playing career

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Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent in 1950,[2] Torre spent four seasons in the Braves' farm system. He debuted with the team in 1956 (the Braves had since moved to Milwaukee) and played in 111 games, most of them as a backup. He hit .258 in 159 at-bats.

Torre's two best seasons were in 1957 and 1958; in the former year, he batted .272 with 5 home runs and 40 runs batted in. He also tied a National League record that year by scoring six runs in one game, the first game of a September 2 doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, which the Braves won 23–10.[3] The Braves defeated the New York Yankees in that year's World Series; Torre homered twice in the Series, which the Braves won in seven games on the strength of Lew Burdette's three victories. In 1958 Torre established career highs in batting average (.309), home runs (six) and runs batted in (55) as the Braves repeated as National League champions. However, the Yankees defeated Milwaukee in their World Series rematch after trailing 2–0 and 3–1 in the series. In the second inning of the seventh and final game, the normally sure-handed fielder was charged with throwing errors on consecutive plays, which allowed the Yankees to take a 2–0 lead without the benefit of a hit. The Braves went on to lose the game 6–2 and the series.

In his career Torre played 714 games, batting .273 with 13 home runs and 179 RBIs. He was also a difficult man to strike out, fanning only 64 times in 1482 at-bats, or one per 23.2 at-bats. Torre also was an accomplished gloveman, often replacing Joe Adcock late in close games. Torre led National League first basemen in fielding percentage in 1957 and 1958 and finished his career with a .993 fielding percentage. He committed only 28 errors in 564 games.

Personal life

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In 1996, as his brother Joe was managing the New York Yankees to a World Series title over the Atlanta Braves, Torre received a heart transplant from doctors Mehmet Oz and Eric Rose after a two-and-a-half month wait.[4] Due to its proximity to Yankee Stadium, Joe brought him to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for the procedure.[5] Many were worried about Torre dealing with the pressure of watching his brother, but he watched from his hospital bed as Joe managed the Yankees to the World Series title the next night.[6] As in the 1958 World Series against Frank's Milwaukee Braves, the Yankees had rallied from a 0–2 deficit to win this Series, taking the next four games.

Torre served as a Vice President of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League and Negro league players through financial and medical hardships.[7]

In 2006, it was reported that Frank needed a kidney transplant as a result of the medication he had been taking for his heart. A year later he received a kidney from one of his daughters.[6]

Torre died at age 82 in a hospice in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on September 13, 2014.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Joe Torre". Retrosheet.
  2. ^ Baseball-Reference.com transactions register for Frank Torre
  3. ^ "Milwaukee Braves 23, Chicago Cubs 10 (1)". Retrosheet. September 2, 1957.
  4. ^ "Frank Torre 'Doing Great' After A Heart Transplant". Washington Post. October 26, 1996.
  5. ^ "Frank Torre, baseball player and brother of Yankee ex-manager Joe Torre, dies at 82". Washington Post. September 13, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Torre led Milwaukee Braves to WS". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  7. ^ Laymance, Austin (September 13, 2014). "Former Major Leaguer Frank Torre dies at 82". MLB.com. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "Frank Torre dies at 82; Gardens man was Yankee manager's older brother". The Palm Beach Post. September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  9. ^ "Frank Torre, World Series star and brother of Joe Torre, dies at 82". Los Angeles Times. AP. September 13, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2017.

Further reading

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