Tony Torcato

Anthony Dale Torcato

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Woodland (CA) High School
• Debut July 26, 2002
• Final Game April 21, 2005
• Born October 25, 1979 in Woodland, CA USA

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Biographical Information

"Tony Torcato, regarded as the best hitting prospect in the Giants' organization, showed why with two hits Sunday, one of them a double laced sharply down the right-field line. Then, he was sent back to Fresno after Kenny Lofton was obtained. . . " - from SF Gate, July 30, 2002 [1]

Tony Torcato hit .298 during four years in the majors and had a long pro career in the majors, minors, foreign ball and independent leagues.

Tony, born in Woodland, CA, was a first round pick in the 1998 Amateur Draft out of Woodland High School, not far from Sacramento, CA. He attended the high school a few years after Dustin Pedroia. He played in the San Francisco Giants organization from 1998-2005. He hit .291 during both of his first two years in the minors, and then in 2000, mostly with the San Jose Giants, he hit .327 with 37 doubles and 19 stolen bases. In 2001, he played for three different teams, in A+, AA and AAA leagues, continuing the trend with an overall .323 batting average, 38 doubles and not many walks or home runs.

Almost all of 2002 was spent with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies, where he hit .290 with a peak in home runs of 13. He came to the majors for 5 games with the Giants, posting a batting line of .273/.273/.364.

The trend continued - he spent most of 2003, 2004 and 2005 with Fresno, hitting close to .300 during the first two years, with few walks and little home run power. He came up to the majors each season. With the Giants in 2003, he was in 14 games, hitting .188; in 2004, he appeared in 13 games, going 5-for-12, for a batting average of .556; and in 2005, he was in 11 games, hitting three singles for a .273 batting average.

In all, he hit .298 in the majors, with 2 walks and 2 hit-by-pitch in 53 plate appearances. He had 2 doubles but no triples or home runs in 14 total hits.

At this point, he was still only 25 in 2005. The Giants granted him free agency after the 2005 season. He played some in the Italian Baseball League, then signed with the Chicago White Sox and was sent to the Charlotte Knights for whom he hit .249 in 2006. He was again a free agent after that and signed with the Seattle Mariners but was released before the 2007 regular season started.

He later played several seasons in independent ball.

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