PLAYER OF THE WEEK

June 01, 1964

The good philosophers are few and can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Kant and Frank Torre. Frank Torre lives in Brooklyn, and one day he said to his brother Joe, "You are a fat slob, Joe. With all that blubber you'll never be a big-leaguer. You're too fat to be anything but a catcher. Buy yourself a catcher's mitt and go on a diet." Joe Torre was 16 then and weighed 240 pounds, but he did buy a catcher's mitt, went on a diet, and today, at 23, it looks like he will be the starting National League catcher in the All-Star Game. Joe Torre is actually one of the best and most versatile pieces of property that the Milwaukee Braves have ever owned, because he is not only a fine catcher but a good first baseman as well. And he can hit. Last week the Braves were leading the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. The bases were loaded in the top half of the ninth and Joe Torre drove everyone in with a homer. Torre had hit another one the night before in the eighth inning to help the Braves win 4-2. For the week he hit .300 and scored seven runs. Currently Torre leads the Braves in all offensive categories, with a batting average of .346, 25 RBIs, seven homers and 10 doubles. Manager Bobby Bragan maintains, "Joe is smart and level-headed. He's our best catcher and also our best first baseman. He will be a truly great player and he should be the All-Star catcher for the next 10 years." Thanks to brother Frank.