Angel Torres

Note: This page is for 1970s pitcher Angel Torres; for the author with the same name, click here. For the 1944 Cuban national team player with the same name, click here.

Angel Rafael Torres Ruiz

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 168 lb.

• Debut September 12, 1977
• Final Game October 2, 1977
• Born October 24, 1952 in La Cienaga, Azua, D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Angel Torres had a brief, but successful, major league career. In 8 appearances, he had a 2.16 ERA. He struck out 5 batters in 2 innings of work in his major league debut, which came with the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the 1977 season. The Reds were already Angel's third organization: he had originally been signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971, then was traded to the Montreal Expos as part of a six-player trade following the 1976 season. On May 27, 1977, he was sent to the Reds as a player to be named later alongside fellow lefty Shane Rawley in return for Santo Alcala. Neither Torres nor Alcala pitched again in the majors after the 1977 season, but Rawley, who made his debut in 1978, went on to a long and successful career.

Torres had some success in the Cards' organization, but never pitched above AA for them. In 1972, he was 10-4, 2.74 for the St. Petersburg Cardinals, and in 1973 had an ERA of 2.75 as a swingman for two different teams (the Modesto Reds and Arkansas Travelers). He would pitch for Arkansas for part of 1974 and all of 1975 and 1976, doing relatively well after being moved to the bullpen, but was never given a shot at AAA. He did spent most of the season in AAA prior to his major league debut in 1977, splitting the year between the Expos and Reds affiliates in the American Association, while also appearing with the Trois-Rivières Aigles in AA. In 1978, he went 8-6, 3.46 for the AAA Indianapolis Indians. In 1979, he started the year with the Azucareros de Santo Domingo in the short-lived Inter-American League before finishing the year back in Indianapolis, where he was 6-2, 2.77. However, the Reds had very strong teams at the major league level in those years, limiting opportunities for pitchers like him (Mario Soto, Manny Sarmiento, Doug Capilla, Charlie Leibrandt and Dan Dumoulin were other talented pitchers who couldn't find a regular job in Cincinnati during those years). In 1980, he fell to 2-7, 6.00 with Indianapolis, bringing his career with the Reds to an end. He did pitch one final season in the Mexican League in 1981, going 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA in eight games for the Leones de Yucatán and Saraperos de Saltillo.