Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:15, 20 January 2025

Jeff Torborg
Torborg with the Yankees in 1982
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1941-11-26)November 26, 1941 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Died: January 19, 2025(2025-01-19) (aged 83)
Batted: RightThrew: Right
MLB debut
May 10, 1964, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1973, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average	.214
Home runs	8
Runs batted in	101
Managerial record	634–718
Winning %	.469
Stats at Baseball Reference
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1970) California Angels (1971–1973) As manager Cleveland Indians (1977–1979) Chicago White Sox (1989–1991) New York Mets (1992–1993) Montreal Expos (2001) Florida Marlins (2002–2003) As coach New York Yankees (1979–1988)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1965) AL Manager of the Year (1990)

Jeffrey Allen Torborg (November 26, 1941 – January 19, 2025) was an American catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels from 1964 to 1973. He managed the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Florida Marlins.

Playing career

Torborg grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, where he was the catcher on the Westfield High School baseball team. He caught at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was a 1963 All-American, setting the school record for season batting average; his .537 batting average was the highest for 100 at-bats and under. His .537 average was the highest ever recorded up to that time and since then, only two college players have hit for a better average. His slugging percentage that year (1.032) is also a single-season standard. He led the team with 21 RBI and six home runs. In his three-year career from 1961–63, the Torborg batted .390. His number (#10) was retired in 1992. He still holds the career slugging percentage mark of .684. During his career, the Knights were 15–4–1, 14–4 and 11–5 for a three-year mark of 40–13–1 (.741 winning percentage).

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Torborg as an amateur free agent in 1963. On September 9, 1965, Torborg caught Sandy Koufax's perfect game. On July 20, 1970, he was the catcher receiving Bill Singer's no-hitter,

On March 13, 1971, his contract was sold by the Dodgers to the California Angels. On May 15, 1973, Torborg also caught the first of Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. He was traded from the Angels to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Andrews at the Winter Meetings on December 6, 1973. On March 25, 1974, he was released by St. Louis Cardinals.

Coaching, managing, and broadcasting career

In 1977, Torborg became the bullpen coach of the Cleveland Indians. During the season, the Indians fired manager Frank Robinson and Torborg assumed the position, which he held for three years. He was a coach on the New York Yankees from 1979 to 1988. In 1989, Torborg left the Yankees to become the manager of the Chicago White Sox. A year after he took the helm, the White Sox won 94 games, which was a 25-game improvement from the team's 1989 season. For his efforts with the 1990 White Sox, Torborg won the American League Manager of the Year Award. Torborg stayed with the White Sox for one more year before moving to the New York Mets on a four-year deal of $1.7 million that dwarfed his previous deal of $250,000 a year.

A year after leading the White Sox to an 87–75 (.537) win-loss record, Torborg's 1992 New York Mets posted a 70–92 (.432) record. After starting the 1993 season with a 13–25 (.342) record, the Mets fired Torborg and replaced him with Dallas Green.

For the rest of the 1990s, Torborg worked as a sportscaster for the likes of CBS Radio and Fox. At CBS Radio, Torborg served as a color commentator for three World Series (1995–1997) alongside Vin Scully. While at Fox, Torborg served as a color commentator from 1996–2000.

Torborg returned to managing in May of 2001 to replace Felipe Alou with a three-year deal. When Jeffrey Loria, who had owned the Expos, sold the team and bought the Florida Marlins in 2002, he brought Torborg to Florida with him to serve as manager. The team went 79–83 (.488) that year. After starting the 2003 season with a 16–22 (.421) record, the Marlins fired Torborg. Jack McKeon was hired to replace him and led the team to a 2003 World Series victory.

Torborg returned to broadcasting for Fox. He served as the color commentator for Atlanta Braves games on FSN South and Turner South in 2006, where he was partnered with Bob Rathbun. Neither Torborg nor Rathbun was retained for the 2007 season.

Managerial record

Personal life

Torborg is of Danish descent. His son, Dale, is a former professional wrestler and his daughter-in-law, Christi Wolf, is a bodybuilder and former professional wrestler.

For more than 25 years, Torborg lived with his family in a home in Mountainside, New Jersey.

Torborg developed Parkinson's disease.

On January 19, 2025, Torborg died at the age of 83.

References

1. Merkin, Scott. "Ozzie takes fine in stride" Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Major League Baseball, May 30, 2010. Accessed March 5, 2011. "Torborg was a three-year starting catcher at Westfield High School and an All-American at Rutgers."
2. "Jeff Torborg". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
3. "Baseball Slate – May 2008 – Most No-Hitters Caught (As of 5–19–08)". Archived from the original on May 22, 2008.
4. Rappoport, Ken. "National League Tentatively Agrees to Move Padres to Washington, D.C." The Associated Press (AP), Friday, December 7, 1973. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
5. "An Indian tomahawked - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com".
6. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/12/nyregion/new-jersey-q-a-jeff-torborg-taking-over-the-white-sox-helm.html
7. "'INSECURE' TORBORG LEAVES SOX". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1991. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
8. "Mets fire Torborg; name Dallas Green replacement - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
9. Stewart, Larry (October 17, 1997). "With Scully and Torborg, Less Is More". Los Angeles Times.
10. Best, Jason. "Jeff Torborg – Society for American Baseball Research".
11. "Expos replace manager Alou with Torborg". chron.com. May 31, 2001. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
12. "Torborg fired as Marlins skipper". The Star Banner. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
14. "Jeff Torborg". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
15. Skrbina, Paul (September 4, 2016). "Dale Torborg's journey: From baseball to pro wrestling and back".
16. Vecsey, George. "Sports of The Times; Torborgs Aren't Selling The House" Archived August 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, October 12, 1991. Accessed August 15, 2016. "They built the house. Well, not with their own hands, but they had it built for them, and that is nearly the same thing, after 26 years.... The home in Mountainside is not far from Westfield, the New Jersey town where Jeff Torborg was born."
17. "SCF Through the Mail Manager". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
18. "Jeff Torborg Passes Away". MLB Trade Rumors. January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Jeff Torborg managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Jeff Torborg at IMDb
• Jeff Torborg radio interview WSLR with Doug Miles on YouTube

• 1941 births
• 2025 deaths
• Major League Baseball catchers
• Los Angeles Dodgers players
• California Angels players
• Minor league baseball managers
• Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award winners
• All-American college baseball players
• Cleveland Indians managers
• Chicago White Sox managers
• New York Mets managers
• Montreal Expos managers
• Florida Marlins managers
• Atlanta Braves announcers
• New York Yankees coaches
• Major League Baseball broadcasters
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball players
• Sportspeople from Plainfield, New Jersey
• Baseball players from Union County, New Jersey
• Sportspeople from Westfield, New Jersey
• Cleveland Indians coaches
• Albuquerque Dukes players
• 20th-century American sportsmen
• Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players
• Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni
• People with Parkinson's disease