Milwaukee’s Best, Part 4: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 20-11
By Phil Watson
Joe Torre, as shown on a 1965 Topps baseball card.
19. Joe Torre, C
Braves 1960-65
The Milwaukee Braves signed catcher Joe Torre as an amateur free agent out of Madison High School in Brooklyn in August 1959 and he debuted in the majors a little more than a year later, in September 1960.
Torre went on to take over the starting catcher duties for good by 1963 and was a three-time All-Star in Milwaukee, including hitting .321/.365/.498 with 20 homers and 109 RBI in 1964, when he finished fifth in the MVP voting.
In 1964, Torre was fourth in the NL in batting and RBI, sixth in hits, seventh in doubles and 10th in on-base percentage and slugging.
Torre moved with the Braves to Atlanta after the 1965 season and was later traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in March 1969. With the Cardinals he was the NL MVP in 1971 before he was traded to the New York Mets in October 1974.
He was released in June 1977 to become manager of the Mets and later managed the Braves, Cardinals, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last year, Torre was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager.
Here are Torre’s statistics from his six seasons with the Braves in Milwaukee:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 19 | MLN | NL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 186 |
| 1961 | 20 | MLN | NL | 113 | 441 | 406 | 40 | 113 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 60 | .278 | .330 | .424 | .754 | 106 |
| 1962 | 21 | MLN | NL | 80 | 248 | 220 | 23 | 62 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 24 | .282 | .355 | .395 | .750 | 104 |
| 1963 ★ | 22 | MLN | NL | 142 | 556 | 501 | 57 | 147 | 19 | 4 | 14 | 71 | 1 | 5 | 42 | 79 | .293 | .350 | .431 | .781 | 125 |
| 1964 ★ | 23 | MLN | NL | 154 | 646 | 601 | 87 | 193 | 36 | 5 | 20 | 109 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 67 | .321 | .365 | .498 | .863 | 140 |
| 1965 ★ | 24 | MLN | NL | 148 | 594 | 523 | 68 | 152 | 21 | 1 | 27 | 80 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 79 | .291 | .372 | .489 | .862 | 141 |
| TOTALS | 639 | 2487 | 2253 | 275 | 668 | 105 | 15 | 76 | 328 | 7 | 15 | 191 | 310 | .296 | .356 | .458 | .814 | 127 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/20/2015.
Next: 18. An Original Milwaukee Brave