Jeff Thorborg, three-hit catcher and supervisor, dies at 83

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Jeff Thorborg, three-hit catcher and manager, dies at 83

Jeff Torborg, a nondescript baseball lifer who caught three no-hitters, together with Sandy Koufax’s good sport in 1965, and as a supervisor revived the Chicago White Sox however failed spectacularly with the New York Mets, died Sunday in Port Orange, Fla. . He was 83.

He died in hospital announced of the White Sox, with whom he received the 1990 American League Supervisor of the 12 months. He had struggled in recent times with Parkinson’s illness, his son Greg stated.

Throughout his 10 seasons within the majors, most of them as a backup catcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Torborg had a status as a troublesome, cerebral reliever who could not hit — a flaw he overcame with the worth he added within the skillful administration of pitchers.

“I’ve all the time loved the pondering facet, the mechanical facet of the sport,” he instructed The Sporting Information in 1973. “I’ve all the time gotten a thrill out of doing one thing that does not present up within the subject rating, like stopping a wild pitch.”

Torborg was one of many easiest 18 catchers in Main League Baseball historical past to catch at the very least three no-hitters. His first — Koufax’s good sport during which the left-hander struck out 14 batters in opposition to the Chicago Cubs — ranks among the many biggest pitching performances.

It was solely Torborg’s second season within the large leagues. He known as each step of the sport.

“Sandy did not shake off too many pitches in that exact sport,” he stated in 2005. an interview with Chicago Baseball Museum historian George Citadel.

The Dodgers received the World Collection that season, the one championship Torborg received as a participant or supervisor.

In 1970 Torborg caught his second no-hitter, this one thrown by Dodgers proper fielder Invoice Singer. Torborg joined the California Angels the next yr and in 1973. — his closing season as a participant — he caught Nolan Ryan’s first of seven profession no-hitters.

Catchers do not get credit score for his or her lack of hitting, however Torborg understood the necessary function they play.

“I really feel that the catcher’s pitch choice, his goal location, his information of what the pitcher is throwing and his familiarity with opposing hitters’ strengths and weaknesses will be necessary elements in making a no hit occur,” he said The New York Instances in 1989.

After retiring, Thorborg spent the subsequent three many years as a coach and supervisor, together with stints with Cleveland, the Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, the Mets, the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins.

His finest yr as a supervisor got here in 1990, throughout his second season with the White Sox, when the crew completed 94-68 after dropping 92 video games in 1989. Torborg attributes a lot of his success to the relaxed household environment he maintained, together with permitting wives to journey with the crew.

“I imply, why would not you need guys to be with their household on the street as an alternative of going out someplace?” he stated in a 2010 interview. with Idaho State College sports activities correspondent and White Sox historian Mark Liptak.

The White Sox completed the 1991 season 87-75, however that wasn’t sufficient for the crew’s new basic supervisor, Ron Shuler. Thorborg, inspired to search for work, took over in 1992. as captain of the Mets, a crew full of huge stars like Eddie Murray, Dwight Gooden, Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla and Brett Saberhagen.

However the crew collapsed amid accidents, clubhouse squabbles and poor play. Torborg’s emphasis on household values ​​was not fashionable with most of the crew’s veterans, who objected to the thought of ​​taking wives on journeys.

“The clubhouse, the enjoying subject, the press field have been owned by the previous boys’ community and but Torborg broke all the foundations,” wrote Bob Klapisch and John Harper in “The Worst Team Money Can Buy,” their 1993 e-book. concerning the Mets’ crappy season.

Torborg wouldn’t again down. On the finish of the season, he designated a sequence of street video games in St. Louis and Chicago as a wives’ street journey.

“On the day the Mets left for St. Louis,” wrote Klapisch and Harper, “an eloquent inscription was anonymously scrawled on the blackboard within the clubhouse: SIX DAYS OF HELL.”

The Mets completed 72-90. Torborg was fired early within the 1993 season after a 13-25 begin.

Baseball writers lamented his firing.

“One will get the sense that what New York got here to dislike a lot about Torborg was that they could not flip him into their very own sort of rabid sports activities character,” Claire Smith wrote in The Instances. “You realize, the one who errors diatribe for clever dialogue, the one who believes that the fist is stronger than the thoughts.”

Jeffrey Alan Torborg was born on November 26, 1941. in Plainfield, New Jersey, the youthful of two sons, and grew up in close by Westfield. His father, Robert, labored within the insurance coverage trade. His mom was Winifred (Kenny) Torborg.

Torborg was an All-American baseball participant at Rutgers. He led the nation in hitting with a .537 common in his senior season, and the Dodgers signed him in 1963. with a bonus of $100,000 (equal to about $1 million in the present day). He performed one season for the crew’s Class AA affiliate in Albuquerque, the place his status as a hitter collapsed as a result of higher pitching.

He’s survived by his spouse of practically 62 years, Susie (Barber) Torborg; three sons, Doug, Greg and Dale; 4 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Regardless of poor ends in the decrease leagues, Torborg was shortly promoted to the most important leagues. He marveled at this Dodgers supervisor Walter Alstona Corridor of Fame captain even put him within the lineup.

“He knew I could not make it, however he performed me anyway,” Torborg instructed Baseball Digest in 2002. I do not know the way he went into the Corridor of Fame with that sort of judgment.”

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