Jeff Torborg

Jeffrey Allen Torborg

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• School Montclair State University, Rutgers University
• High School Westfield (NJ) High School
• Debut May 10, 1964
• Final Game September 29, 1973
• Born November 26, 1941 in Plainfield, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Jeff Torborg spent a decade in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels. He caught three no-hitters (by Sandy Koufax, Bill Singer and Nolan Ryan) in his career. Although a top hitter in college at Rutgers University, he was not a strong hitter in the majors with a lifetime .214 batting average and a .265 slugging percentage.

He became a Cleveland Indians coach in 1975 and was named the club's skipper in 1977, succeeding Frank Robinson. After that, he spent ten seasons as a New York Yankees coach. He later went on to manage the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Florida Marlins. In 1990 and 1991, his White Sox teams finished second, and he was manager when the rookie Frank Thomas came up. In 2003, he was the manager - for part of the season - for the Florida Marlins, who won the 2003 World Series after he was fired, under the guidance of Jack McKeon.

He was also a television broadcaster for the FOX network from 1997 to 2001 and again in 2004 and 2005. He joined the Atlanta Braves television broadcast team in 2006.

His son, Dale Torborg, played baseball at Northwestern University and later was a professional wrestler known as "The Demon". Dale later became the Minor League conditioning coordinator for the White Sox.

His main teammates included Willie Davis (325), Wes Parker (316), Maury Wills (265), Claude Osteen (263), Don Drysdale (261), Sandy Koufax (259) and Jim Lefebvre (259).

Notable Achievements

• Won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 (he did not play in the World Series)
• AL Manager of the Year Award (1990)

Preceded by Frank Robinson

Cleveland Indians Manager 1977-1979

Succeeded by Dave Garcia

Preceded by Jim Fregosi

Chicago White Sox Manager 1989-1991

Succeeded by Gene Lamont

Preceded by Mike Cubbage

New York Mets Manager 1992-1993

Succeeded by Dallas Green

Preceded by Felipe Alou

Montreal Expos Manager 2001

Succeeded by Frank Robinson

Preceded by Tony Perez

Florida Marlins Manager 2002-2003

Succeeded by Jack McKeon

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1977	Cleveland Indians	American League	45-59	5th	Cleveland Indians		replaced Frank Robinson (26-31) on June 19
1978	Cleveland Indians	American League	69-90	6th	Cleveland Indians
1979	Cleveland Indians	American League	43-52	--	Cleveland Indians		replaced by Dave Garcia on July 23
1989	Chicago White Sox	American League	69-92	7th	Chicago White Sox
1990	Chicago White Sox	American League	94-68	2nd	Chicago White Sox
1991	Chicago White Sox	American League	87-75	2nd	Chicago White Sox
1992	New York Mets	National League	72-90	5th	New York Mets
1993	New York Mets	National League	13-25	--	New York Mets		replaced by Dallas Green on May 19
2001	Montreal Expos	National League	47-62	5th	Montreal Expos		replaced Felipe Alou (21-32) on May 31
2002	Florida Marlins	National League	79-83	4th	Florida Marlins
2003	Florida Marlins	National League	16-22	--	Florida Marlins		replaced by Jack McKeon on May 11

Related Sites

• Jeff Torborg at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page