JOE TORRE – C
In his nine years with Milwaukee and Atlanta, Joe Torre set the bar for the next generation of offensive-minded catchers.
Signed out of Brooklyn’s St. Francis Prep in 1959, Torre made the Braves by the end of 1960. A full-time catcher in 1961, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting after a 21-double and .330 on-base percentage campaign. He made the first of five straight All-Star teams in 1963, won a Gold Glove in 1965 and had his best season with the Braves in their Atlanta debut season in 1966.
As Georgia fell in love the Braves, Torre slugged a career-high 36 home runs, drove in 101 while hitting .315. With a rifle arm, he threw out a whopping 49 percent of would be base stealers in ’66 and 47 percent in ’67.
Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in March 1969—where he would win the 1971 MVP—for Orlando Cepeda, Torre’s 12 seasons with the Braves were productive. With the Braves, he smacked 142 home runs in 1,037 games. Torre’s 33.3 career WAR is still in the Braves’ top 20 all-time.
A borderline Hall of Famer based on his playing career, most of you know him from his years managing the Yankees. Hard to believe, but Torre’s playing career flew under the radar.
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