1963 Proifle: Tom Tresh

1963 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

"Tom Tresh proved that sons of big-leaguers can improve on Daddy. Cracking 20 homers and sending in 93 runs, he also sparkled enough at shortstop and left field to earn Rookie of the Year laurels.
Born in Detroit, his father, Mike, was a meek hitting catcher with White Sox. Tom's training took him to New Orleans, St. Petersburg, Greensboro, Binghamton, Amarillo and Richmond. He attends Central Michigan U. between seasons."

-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook

"When Tom Tresh won the coveted James Dawson Memorial Award (Longines watch) as the outstanding rookie in the Yankee spring training camp in 1962, it was obvious he was to become a top candidate for American League Rookie of the Year honors. He became the fourth Yankee to win the Rookie award, following Gil McDougald, Bob Grim and Tony Kubek. But no one, probably least of all himself, could have imagined that Tom would be the league's runner-up shortstop on the All-Star team, then move to left field to become the defensive star of the World Series.
Tom had a tremendous freshman season, filling in for Kubek at short until Tony returned from service. When Tresh moved to the outfield for the first time in his professional career, he played it as though it were second nature. He hit 20 homers, most in his pro career, 15 of these as a shortstop. He was third in club batting at .286, second to Roger Maris in RBIs at 93, and third in runs scored. Ten times Tommy knocked in the winning run, batting .356 in late-inning clutch situations. Tresh hit .307 right-handed, .287 lefty with 13 homers as a southpaw swinger.
He reported early to spring training this year to perfect his outfield play. During the winter, this fine young competitor resumed his college courses at Central Michigan University."

-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook

Son of former major league catcher Mike Tresh.
Signed by Yankee organization, January 14, 1958.
Named Rookie of the Year in International League, 1961.
Winner of James P. Dawson Award as outstanding Yankee rookie in spring training, 1962.
Named American League Rookie of the Year, 1962.
Attends Central Michigan University during off-season.

-1963 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Tom Tresh, the American League Rookie of the Year in 1962, is ready to make his mark in 1963 as an equal partner in a Mantle-Maris-Tresh outfield, a combination that could blend into one of the top trios of the big time.
Tresh enjoyed a fabulous first year as a Yankee. Named by Manager Houk as the team's regular shortstop after a Spring battle for the spot with Phil Linz, Tresh took over the position like an old pro. His timely hitting, sharp fielding and all-around savvy quickly earned praise from players and fans alike.
When Tony Kubek returned from military service in August, Manager Houk had himself a problem. Kubek had been the Yanks' ace shortfielder before he went away. But Tresh was too good to sit on the bench.
So Houk moved young Tom to left field, a position he was unfamiliar with. Tresh solved the problem though, as Houk felt he would, by performing in fine style as if he'd been New York's left fielder for years.
But the 24-year-old Tresh's finest hour was yet to come. It occurred in the fifth game of the World Series before 63,000 people at the Stadium. The Yanks and Giants were deadlocked at two games apiece, and this pivotal contest was tied at 2-2 as Tresh faced tough Jack Sanford in the eighth inning with two Yanks on base.
Batting left-handed, the switch-hitting rookie tied into one of Sanford's shots, lining it into the right field stands to clinch the victory.
Keep your eye on this son of former A.L. catcher Mike Tresh. He's going to be around for a long, long time."

-1963 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

"He uses a Mickey Mantle model glove. He wears T-shirts with the portraits and autographs of Roger Maris and Yogi Berra printed on them. And he clips and saves New York Yankee box scores from the newspapers. At 24, Tom Tresh, a blond All-America boy type, is one of the Yankees' biggest fans. He is also a Yankee star and the American League's Rookie of 1962.
'We expected Tommy to have a good rookie season, but he surprised us,' says New York manager Ralph Houk. 'He did an exceptional job at shortstop for us until Tony Kubek came back from the Army. Then he did an even better job in left field. Tommy's got quite a future.'
In the 1962 World Series, Tresh, who batted .286 with 20 home runs and 93 runs batted in (four more than hero Mantle and only seven less than Yankee leader Maris) during the regular season, was sensational. He had nine hits (including a three-run homer to win the fifth game), more than anyone else in the Series, and made a spectacular catch to save the seventh game.
Yet as late as the last two weeks of spring training, Tresh, a $30,000 Yankee bonus boy and son of one-time Chicago White Sox catcher Mike Tresh, was one of two New York rookies (the other: Phil Linz) competing for the job left open by Kubek's recall to service. 'Even when I went to a game when my father was catching, I always dreamed of one day being a Yankee,' said Tresh last spring. 'I'd rather sit on the Yankee bench than play for any other team.'
After the Series, Tresh returned to his home in Taylor, Michigan and his physical education studies at Central Michigan University. 'It's still a little dreamlike,' said folk singing, guitar playing Tresh last winter. 'You want something so much for so long and then suddenly it all happens in one season. Making the Yankees, playing in the World Series, and winning the award. I don't think I'll be getting over this season for a long, long time.'"

-Bill Wise, 1963 Official Baseball Almanac

"Tom Tresh, the American League's prize rookie, hits second behind Bobby Richardson [Sports All-Stars 1963 Baseball all-star batting order]. In a number of games in the '62 season, Tom batted third. It has been many a year since a Yankee rookie has been accorded this distinction.
Tresh was equal to the spot, just as he was equal to Houk's decision to switch him from shortstop to left field, traditional Yankee trouble spot, when Tony Kubek returned from Army service. In the World Series, Tresh won a game with a homer and saved the finale with an almost-forgotten heart-stopping catch. Had the longest Series in a half-century dragged on even further, the crew-cut young man from Michigan would undoubtedly have found more ways to show his talents.
These he comes by naturally. Tom's father, Mike, was a catcher with the White Sox and Indians a couple of decades ago. He helped his son toward a major league career, taught him to become a switch-hitter. The Yankees can give the opposition successive switch-hitters in Tresh and Mantle, an awesome handicap for rival [pitching] staffs.
Tresh is a Yankee all the way, from the $30,000 investment spread over a three-year period as bonus and salary to his Rookie of the Year selection. He climbed the ladder from Class D with stops at St. Petersburg; New Orleans; Greensboro, N.C.; Binghamton, N.Y.; and finally Richmond before coming up to the big leagues.
In St. Pete he came close to changing his batting style, and he smiles when he recalls it: 'A day or two before the season started we played an exhibition game and I asked our manager if it was all right if I batted right-handed against this right-handed pitcher they had going.
' 'Okay,' he said, so I did, and hit two home runs and got two other hits for a [4-for-4] game. Afterward, I got to feeling pretty good. I asked him if it was all right if I forgot about being a switch-hitter.
' 'I'll call New York and let you know,' he said. The next day, in the clubhouse I asked about it. The manager almost jumped. 'Hey,' he shouted, 'you should have heard what they said when I suggested it. The answer is 'NO!' '
Does Tresh's future lie in the outfield or infield? The question was first spotlighted the August night Houk moved him into left field.
'Let's face it,' offered Tom. 'As an outfielder, I'll have to hit a lot more than .280 to do well. With that kind of hitting, a shortstop in demand, but a .280 outfielder isn't as valuable, so I may not make as much money.
'On the other hand, I realize that if I do hit well enough I can have a longer and better career as an outfielder. I'm pretty big and pounding those hard infields takes something out of your legs.'
He took the sting out of the initial Giant bid in the final game of the World Series with a tremendous catch on a Willie Mays drive curving into the left field corner. Willie hit it so hard the gusty wind in Candlestick Park had scant effect on the ball.
Tresh chased it into the corner, realizing it was going to be a one-hander. He gloved the ball, reached over with his bare hand to keep it from falling out, then smashed into the wall.
This momentous catch set the stage for Bobby Richardson's equally dramatic one on Willie McCovey for the final out two innings later.
He's in our all-star lineup at short to put extra power in the infield. Come to think of it, 20 homers and 93 runs batted in doesn't constitute any  powder-puff performance for an outfielder, either."

-Harold Rosenthal, Sports All-Stars 1963 Baseball