by Cary Osborne
Former Dodger catcher and Major League manager Jeff Torborg passed away on Sunday at the age of 83.
Torborg played seven seasons with the Dodgers from 1964–1970 and caught Sandy Koufax’s Sept. 9, 1965 perfect game. He also caught Bill Singer’s July 20, 1970 no-hitter.
He is one of 18 catchers all time who have caught at least three no-hitters. Torborg also caught Nolan Ryan’s May 15, 1973 no-hitter with the Angels.
Torborg appeared in 358 games for the Dodgers, batting .214/.269/.277/.546 with seven home runs and 70 RBI. He also played for the California Angels from 1971–1973.
Torborg had a 36.0 caught-stealing percentage in his career, including a 51.7 CS% in 1967.
Torborg’s bio in the Dodgers’ 1965 Yearbook read:
“Jeff Torborg was with the Dodgers throughout the 1964 season as a first-year player and should enjoy many more campaigns with them during his career. A cat-like catcher and a tremendous hustler, Jeff came into the Dodger organization (for a sizeable bonus) off the Rutgers University campus. At the New Jersey college he hit .537 and captained the team in his senior season. Shortly after the 1964 season Jeff and his wife, Sue, a former Miss New Jersey, celebrated the arrival of Douglas Todd Torborg.”
He managed five Major League teams — Cleveland (1977–1979), the Chicago White Sox (1989–1991), New York Mets (1992–1993), Montreal Expos (2001) and the Florida Marlins (2002–2003) and went 634–718.
Jeff Torborg, catcher of two Dodger no-hitters, passes away was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.