When Ricky Torres played in the Florida State League in 1985, he struck out his share of batters. But a pitching coach would tell the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Torres had a good slider, but one pitch wasn't going to get him to the big leagues.Whether or not he got more than that slider, Ricky Torres would not get to the big leagues.
Torres, a native of Puerto Rico signed with the Yankees out of a try-out camp in 1984. He bounced around the Yankees' system from Fort Lauderdale to Oneonta to Albany, then finally Columbus.
Along the way, he played with - and cooked for - some notable players, among them Bernie Williams, who is also a member of the 1990 CMC set. The two shared an apartment in Troy, NY, along with Oscar Azocar, when the three played for the AA Albany Yankees.
It was Ricky who did the cooking, Williams said in a story on Baseballfans.net.
"(Ricky) was a great cook. He cooked Latin food mostly, rice and beans, shrimp, seafood. We would barbecue after the games, too, sometimes at 11 or 12 at night," Williams said. He recalled Torres buying a "very little car" that they used to get around.
Torres played 1990 between Albany and Columbus, his final year with the Yankees organization. Four years passed then Torres signed with the Expos during the strike shortened year of 1995, playing in 32 games with an ERA of 5.01 at AAA Ottawa. That would be his last year in organized ball.
These days Torres is apparently back in Puerto Rico. A post on SportGraphing.com had him signing cards last year.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, June 22, 1985: Slider Makes Torres Yanks' Strikeout King
- BaseballFans.net, June 10, 2004: Bernie's Come A Long Way
Cards Reviewed: 24/880 - 2.7%
Major Leaguers: 11 - 46%
Never Made the Majors: 13 - 54%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 5
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 8
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