1962 Profile: Tom Tresh

1962 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

B: S, T: R.. Ht.: 6-0, Wt.: 180. Born Sept. 20, 1938, in Detroit, Mich., resides in Taylor, Mich.

Son of big league catcher Mike. Hit .315 in 141 games at Richmond (AAA International League) in 1961.

Scouting report: "Outstanding prospect. Excellent in field, switch hits, good bunter and can hit ball where pitched. Best of all, he loves to play."

-Baseball Digest Scouting Reports, March 1962

"As this was written, switch-hitting Tom Tresh and Phil Linz were waging a battle for Tony Kubek's temporarily vacated shortstop berth. These two rivals are long-time friends and competitors.

Tom is the son of the former star catcher, Mike Tresh. While Tom was in high school in Detroit, Mike urged his son to try switching from his normal right-handed stance. It worked and the young shortstop has been hitting with authority ever since. He was the International League's 1961 Rookie of the Year. He would like to repeat this season in the American League."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Tom Michael Tresh (SS)     #15

Born September 28, 1938, in Detroit, Michigan, resides in Taylor, Michigan. Ht.: 6-1/2 inch., weight: 180. Bats left and right, throws right. 

Married.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Son of former major league catcher Mike Tresh.

Named Rookie of the Year in International League, 1961.

Attends Central Michigan University during off-season.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Young Tom Tresh, who came up to the Yankees at the end of the 1961 campaign, looms as the number one candidate for the Bombers' shortstop job this season. Certainly, based on his showing last season, he will be the man to beat for the job formerly held by Tony Kubek, who is now in the Army.

The 23-year-old rookie batted a healthy .315 in 141 games for Richmond last season and was the International League's All-Star shortstop. He had fair power, was an excellent bunter and showed plenty of desire.

In his brief stint with the Bronx Bombers, nine games, Tom had two hits in eight official appearances at the plate.

A six-foot and one half-inch, 180-pounder, Tom is the son of former American League catcher Mike Tresh. His dad toiled for the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians during the '30s and early '40s. Tom was born in Detroit and now makes his home in Taylor, Michigan.

He's a switch-hitter and rates highly as a glove man."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

BORN TO THE MAJORS

Tom Had A Big League Uniform At Three

"Tony Kubek had just returned from nine months' duty in the Army reserves and the clubhouse chatter was all about him and his shortstop replacement, Tom Tresh. Tony had been the American League's premier shortstop in 1961. Would he go back to his old post or be shifted to the outfield? If he went back to pivoting what would happen to young Tresh, who was batting .276 with ten home runs and 58 RBI's and fielding glitteringly?

Newspapers had been grinding out reams of speculation about Tony and Tom. Manager Ralph Houk hadn't tipped his hand. As for Tresh, he reported a few minutes late that August morning. 'Had to drive my wife in from Jersey,' he explained. 'She's seeing today's game with the Twins.'

Just then Tony strode by, clad in a smile. 'Looks like I'm playing today in left field.'

Someone asked Tom if he didn't feel the pressure of fighting to hang on to a job he had already won.

'Heck, no,' he said. 'I've been playing under pressure ever since my first game of ball. People have always expected more of me than from any other player. If I hit a home run or pulled off some clutch play I was only doing the expected because, as they'd say, 'He ought to be good- he's the son of Mike Tresh, the big leaguer.' '

Tom was all but born on the diamond. His father was just about his own age, 23, when he caught his first big league game for the Chicago White Sox in 1938. Like Tom, Mike married the girl of his choice during his rookie year. Like Mrs. Tom Tresh, Mrs. Mike Tresh was expecting a baby within a year after her marriage, and Mrs. Mike's baby was Tom.

Within a year after his birth, Tom was watching games at Comiskey Park from a seat in his mother's lap. 'And she went to the game every day,' Tom says. 'My father bought me a White Sox uniform when I was three. I had the run of the clubhouse and dugout at four. I worked out with the White Sox from the time I was six. I shagged flies in the outfield and ran with the pitchers; Dad wouldn't let me practice in the infield for fear I'd get hurt.

'We lived in a hotel on the South Side, where my favorite playmate was Judy Moses, daughter of Wally Moses, who's the Yankee batting coach now. When my parents took an evening off Don Lee was my babysitter. Don's the son of Thornton Lee, then the Sox' star southpaw; Don's now starting on the Los Angeles Angels. He's four years older than I am. My father's closest friend on the team was Luke Appling, who was just about the best hitting and fielding shortstop in the game in the '30s and '40s. Luke gave me a pretty good idea about how shortstop should be played.'

-Charles Dexter, Baseball Digest, October-November 1962

"Tom Tresh, the Yankees' outstanding candidate for Rookie of the Year, played a vital part in the Bombers' title defense this year. The youngster from Detroit replaced Tony Kubek at short while that All-Star was in military service, then moved to left field and played as though he had been there all his life.

Tom showed power at bat, speed on the bases and ability in the field."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)