Print Photos  |  View Full-Size Image

 

Thomas Michael Tresh was a Major League Baseball infielder and outfielder who played for the New York Yankees (1961-69) and Detroit Tigers (1969). Tresh was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He was the son of catcher Mike Tresh. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Tresh started his career with the Yankees as a shortstop when Tony Kubek was in military service. In 1962 he won both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards, after hitting .286 (the highest mark of his career) with 20 home runs and 93 RBI in 157 games. When Kubek returned during the 1962 season, Tresh was moved to left field. At various times with the Yankees, Tresh played shortstop, outfield, and third base. On Opening Day of that 1962 season, Tresh was in the Yankees' lineup at shortstop. Not until Derek Jeter in 1996 would another Yankee rookie shortstop gain such an honor. In Game 5 of the 1962 World Series, he broke a 2-2 tie with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th ining off Jack Sanford (who had won 24 games that season), leading to a 5-3 Yankee win and a 3-2 lead in games. Tresh hit 114 home runs from 1962-66, with a career-high 27 in 1966, and made the American League All-Star team in 1962-63. A Gold Glove winner in 1965, he also homered from each side of the plate in three games, including a doubleheader in that season in which he hit four home runs, three of them in the second game. After nine years in New York, he was sent to Detroit in the 1969 midseason. Tresh was born and grew up in Detroit, making him a home-town favorite. However, he retired a year later after being released by the Tigers. In a nine-season career, Tresh was a .245 hitter with 153 home runs and 530 RBI in 1192 games. Following his playing career, Tresh returned to his alma mater, Central Michigan University. where he worked as an assistant placement director for many years. He helped to invent the Slide-Rite, a training tool to teach sliding and diving skills for baseball, softball, football and soccer. Tresh died of a heart attack at his Venice, Florida home on October 15, 2008. Tom Tresh was married to the grand daughter of Clarence Husted from Elwell, Mi.