59 Facts About Mike Torrez

Mike Torrez made his MLB debut with them in 1967 and became a full-time major leaguer in 1969, winning nine of his final 10 starts that year.

The Orioles sent him to Oakland for 1976 as part of the Reggie Jackson trade; Mike Torrez won 16 games for Oakland in 1976 before getting traded to the Yankees in April of 1977.

Mike Torrez reached the playoffs for the only time in his career that year, winning two World Series games as the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in six games.

Boston and New York finished the season with identical records, and Mike Torrez pitched the tie-breaker game to determine the winner.

Mike Torrez allowed a pivotal home run to Bucky Dent of the Yankees, and though he was initially cheered by Red Sox fans as he left the game, he would soon become a scapegoat for a frustrated fan base.

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Mike Torrez pitched for Boston for four more seasons, winning 16 games in 1979 and finishing second in the AL in winning percentage in 1981.

Mike Torrez was released in 1984 and pitched two games with Oakland that year before finishing his career in the minor leagues in 1985.

Mike Torrez was born on August 28,1946, in Topeka, Kansas, the descendant of Mexican immigrants who had come to the United States to work for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.

Mike Torrez was the fifth of eight children of Juan and Mary Torrez, who lived in the Oakland neighborhood of Topeka, Kansas.

At Topeka High School, Mike Torrez played basketball but not baseball; the sport was dropped by the school in the late 1950s because it conflicted with the track schedule.

Mike Torrez was named to the Eastern Kansas All-Star team and, in his final American Legion game, struck out 18 when he faced the Nebraska All-Star team.

Mike Torrez attended a tryout with the Detroit Tigers, who were so impressed with him that they later offered him a $75,000 contract–but their offer was too late.

Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, Mike Torrez signed for $20,000 with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent on September 10,1964.

Mike Torrez then appeared in nine games for the Cardinals' affiliate in the Florida East Coast Instructional League.

Mike Torrez had some highlights during the year, such as a game against the Winston-Salem Red Sox where he retired 15 batters in a row.

Mike Torrez pitched for the Single-A Rock Hill Cardinals of the Western Carolina League in 1966.

Just 20 years old in 1967, Mike Torrez thought he had a chance to make St Louis's Opening Day roster.

Mike Torrez struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a double and a run scoring base hit for his first career loss.

The Cardinals won the 1967 World Series, but Mike Torrez was not on their roster for it because he was promoted too late in the season.

Mike Torrez again continued to pitch after the season, as he joined St Louis for a month-long exhibition tour of Japan.

In 1969, Mike Torrez competed with several other pitchers for the role of fifth starter in the Cardinals' rotation.

Mike Torrez again pitched for Licey after the year, posting a sub-3.

Mike Torrez retired the first batter he faced, then could not retire a second.

Mike Torrez faced seven more batters, walking four, giving up two singles and a triple, uncorking one wild pitch and allowing six earned runs.

Mike Torrez hit one batter, walked three, gave up two singles and a grand slam to John Bateman for six earned runs.

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Mike Torrez won his first two starts with the team but never won again all season for a ballclub that would lose 17 of its final 74 games.

Mike Torrez proved that last season, and he should do even better with a great Baltimore infield behind him.

Mike Torrez hit Munson with a pitch in the first inning, gave up a single to him in the fourth, and threw a pitch up by his head in the sixth.

Mike Torrez led the American League with 133 walks, topping Nolan Ryan by one.

Mike Torrez finished 16th in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player Award.

Less than a week after his acquisition, Mike Torrez got the opening day nod over Vida Blue with his new team.

Mike Torrez pitched the A's to victory over the California Angels.

Dissatisfied with the way Finley was cutting costs and trying to trade his star players, Mike Torrez made it clear he would not resign with the club after 1977, when he would be eligible to be a free agent.

Mike Torrez's wife was in the hospital with serious medical issues following the birth of their first son, but there were rumors that Torrez was actually on an Arizona fishing trip with his agent, Gary Walker.

Mike Torrez won his second start with the team, then saw mixed results thereafter.

Mike Torrez reached the playoffs for the first time in his career as New York won the division.

Mike Torrez made his first World Series start in Game 3, with the series tied at one game apiece.

Meanwhile, Mike Torrez would go the rest of the way, and only allow three more base runners, striking out the last two batters of the game.

Meanwhile, on the mound for the Yankees, Mike Torrez held the Dodgers to one earned run and three overall until there were two outs in the ninth, when Vic Davalillo had an RBI single to score a fourth run for the Dodgers.

Just after the World Series, Mike Torrez became a free agent, thanks to the Seitz decision in 1975 that had overruled baseball's reserve clause.

Mike Torrez pitched the second game; the Yankees countered with Hunter.

Mike Torrez allowed a run in the first and a run in the fifth, and the game was tied at two heading to the ninth.

Mike Torrez pitched a three-hit shutout against the Tigers, his 16th win of the season.

Over his final three starts of the season, Mike Torrez won twice, losing a game to the Tigers in which he pitched 10 innings and surrendered just two earned runs.

Mike Torrez suspected that the PA announcer called him on purpose to draw the boos, and he said that the Celtics apologized for the incident.

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Since he had played in the major leagues for 10 years and with the same team for five, Mike Torrez had to approve the transaction; wanting a better contract, he refused to agree to it until the Mets gave him a two-year contract for the same amount he had been earning annually, with incentives that would raise it if fulfilled.

Mike Torrez Davis was eventually sent to Boston to complete the trade.

Mike Torrez joined returning Mets pitcher and future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver as part of a Mets rotation filled with young pitchers; he was expected to give experienced help and advice to Ed Lynch, Walt Terrell, Jesse Orosco, Tom Gorman, and Ron Darling, as well as Dwight Gooden once he reached the major leagues.

Mike Torrez lost his first two starts under new manager Frank Howard.

Mike Torrez led the league in earned runs allowed and walks, striking out just 94 batters.

Mike Torrez lasted a little more than an inning, surrendering six earned runs to the Cincinnati Reds.

Mike Torrez made two relief appearances with the Athletics but was ineffective, posting a 27.

Not ready to retire, Mike Torrez pitched for Licey following the 1984 major league season, helping the Dominican club win the Caribbean Series.

In 2009, Mike Torrez became a pitching coach for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

At the time he was dismissed, Mike Torrez claimed he was owed $60,000; the salary dispute had still not been settled five years later.

Mike Torrez threw a slider, which became a key complement to the fastball during the 1972 campaign.

Danielle felt that, since coming to Boston, Mike Torrez had been paying more attention to the game and less attention to her in a desire to prove himself worth the $2.

In New York, Mike Torrez accepted a sales position with Contract Furnishing Systems.

Mike Torrez is a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.