Former MLB manager and player Jeff Torborg died on Sunday at the age of 83.
The news was first announced by the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame remembers Jeff Torborg, the 1965 World Series champion and 1990 AL manager of the year, who died Sunday morning.
A 10-year veteran of the Dodgers and Angels, Torborg caught Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, Bill Singer’s no-hitter and Nolan Ryan’s first no-hitter. pic.twitter.com/PdLdY0f9sQ
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) January 20, 2025
Torborg won the 1990 American League Manager of the Year award for leading the Chicago White Sox to second place in the AL West, 94-68. That was a 25-game improvement over the White Sox’s previous season, in which they finished last in the division.
Unfortunately for Torborg and the White Sox, the MLB still consisted of two divisions in 1990. (The Boston Red Sox finished first in the AL East this season with an 88-74 record.) Would there have been one or three wild-card playoff teams? divisions – which MLB introduced four years later – Chicago would have qualified for the postseason.
The White Sox noted Torborg’s death on social media, as did Ozzie Guillen, who played for him for three seasons.
Former MLB catcher and Chicago White Sox manager Jeff Torborg passed away this morning in Westfield, New Jersey at the age of 83.
Torborg was named AL Manager of the Year in 1990 after leading the Sox to a 94-68 record that season, a 25-game improvement from the previous year. pic.twitter.com/cKpNNdLod7
–Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 20, 2025
I am heartbroken. My mentor and my friend passed away. Someone who really understood me and gave me the chance to take the lead, to become captain. A lot of the way I run a clubhouse and be there is something I picked up from him.
My deepest condolences go out to his entire family. Jeff, I’ll miss you pic.twitter.com/VHA30fswkZ– Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) January 20, 2025
That 1990 season was Torborg’s best of his eleven years as a major league manager. The White Sox posted an 87-75 record the following season. He also managed the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins during his career.
When he started with Cleveland in 1977, Torborg was the youngest manager in the MLB at 35 years old. In 1976, he was almost named captain of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the team decided to sign Tommy Lasorda. (That worked out quite well, as Lasorda won two World Series titles and 1,599 games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.)
Torborg finished with an overall record of 634-718 and never managed to get a team to the postseason.
He also coached the New York Yankees from 1979 to 1988 and was a broadcaster for CBS Radio and Fox for six years before returning to management in 2000.
It is very sad to hear of the passing of former Mets manager Jeff Torborg. Extremely nice man with a good sense of humor. When he saw the busts of the Mets Hall of Famers at Shea’s Diamond Club, he said, “You should have one of me.” I was the biggest breast they ever had!” REST IN PEACE.
– Howie Rose (@HowieRose) January 20, 2025
Torborg played 10 seasons in the majors as a catcher for the Dodgers and California Angels. He batted .214 in his career with a .533 OPS, eight home runs, 42 doubles and 101 RBI and was part of the Dodgers’ 1965 World Series championship team.
Torborg’s most notable accomplishments as a player were Sandy Koufax’s perfect catch in 1965, Bill Singer’s no-hitter in 1970, and Nolan Ryan’s first no-hitter in 1973.
Rutgers retired Torborg’s No. 10 jersey in 1992 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame two years later. He earned All-American honors in 1963 and set a program record with a .540 batting average.