Question about Tom Tresh

dakota

Looking for some insight from anyone who followed the Yankees in the 60s. Tom Tresh was a NY Yankee who had cards in the early 60s and his last card was in 1970 with the Tigers I believe.Pretty much just under 10 years which is not very long in the majors. My questions are 1. Was he a good ballplayer? 2.Why the short career? I wasnt alive during that era but collect sets and always wonder every time I come across his cards. Thanks in advance for any comments.

stevek

Just some very quick thoughts based on little information. I grew up as a kid in Connecticut in the early 1960's and was a huge Yankees fan while living there. I clearly remember how the media constantly said that Tom Tresh was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. Perhaps this "pressure" got to him a little bit. Just a complete guess on my part - of course the media also stated this about the pressure getting to Tresh.

pandrews

isnt this him?

VintageJeff

LOL um thats Tesh

Cubfan

Tom Tresh was signing autographs at the National when I was there. I remember they would always note that his dad played for the White Sox when he would come to bat against them (on the home WGN games).

I always thought he had suffered an injury of some sort. If I remember correctly, he made a great Series saving defensive play once, maybe against the Giants in 62 and also hit a few World Series home runs.

Buccaneer

His 63T card stands out (dollar-wise), ranks right up there with many of the stars.

denwd1

tresh was rookie of the year and an all star his first 3 years(?). he was the yankee shortstop ,where he was outstanding.when kubek got back...tresh was inserted to left field where he continued to play well. he got injured in spring training 1964 and played the season on a bad leg.his leg was never the same after the injury. the bad leg coupled with 64-69 being the pitchers era his average fell. he was a switch hitter and a yankee so the comparisons to mantle. he was never a hall of fame bound star(like say tony conigliaro or tony oliva of the same era) but like them injuries led to a short career. stats

digicat

www.baseball-reference.com
www.baseballlibrary.com

A couple of awesome sites to help out in searches like this.

helionaut

Once again the GABCFT&BG Book proves invaluable for gaining some comtemporary insight on a now-obscure player. Here's what they have to say about Tresh (and this follows a note on Rocky Colavito for context):



<< <i>But if you want to talk about a guy whose career just seemed to disintegrate, to come apart at the seams and unravel--slowly, methodically, almost geometrically--like a $35 polyester suit, then Tommy Tresh is definitely your man. In 1962 Tommy was one of the best rookies in the American League. He hit .286, had 20 home runs, 93 RBIs and played both shortstop and the outfield competently, if not spectacularly, for a pennant-winning New York Yankee ballclub. He was a college graduate, the son of a former major leaguer, a minor league all-star, twenty-five years old, clean cut, a Yankee, and with a name like Tom Tresh can anybody possibly doubt that he was the very epitome of the all-American boy? Well, just to show you that things don't always go by the book, from 1962 to 1968 Tom Tresh's batting average declined almost 100 points from its peak--from .286 to .269 to .246 to .233 to .219 to .195, a neat 20 points a year--and his home run output fell off from a high of 27 to a low of 11. Now, not even a young Yankee with a name like a movie star and a face like a choirboy can get by on a .195 batting average, even if he is a switch-hitter. In 1962 Tom Tresh had everything. He loved the world and the world certainly loved him. By 1968 he didn't have much of anything. He was thiry-one years old; New York was in ninth place (two spots behind the Washington Senators); he was plaing in an infield which consisted of Joe Pepitone, Ruben Amaro, and Bobby Cox (the catcher was the immortal Jake Gibbs); he had completely forgotten how to hit; the Yankees were desperately trying to trade him for just about anything. He was even beginning to get crow's feet. All that red-hot potential had turned as cold as a Harry M. Stevens hot dog. Tommy, baby, maybe they made the pants too long. >>



Hmm, actually that's kind of a harsh evaluation, even for that cynical book.

studentT206

Greg Jeffries of the 60's? Lots of similarities but Tom did have a better name and stayed in NY. Kind of funny Bobby Cox is the biggest name of that infield. Maybe I am just biased as a Brave fan. Interesting look at baseball history and rookie speculation at a time before I was alive.

Damian

pc

with horace clark and ruben amaro it's a wonder
the yankees survived