NEWSLETTER (TONY)*

GET TO KNOW :

TONY TORRE

PERSONAL INFO:

NAME: Tony Torre

WWBA TEAM: Queens Chutney Monarchs

YEARS IN WWBA: 30 years

HOW OLD ARE YOU? A very youthful 64

FAMILY MEMBERS: Wife-Desiree (43 years); Children – 4; Grandchildren-7; Great Grandchildren-3

LINE OF WORK: Banker/VP, Commercial Loan Officer

HOBBIES: Golf; Music; Comedy

FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAM & WHY: Toronto Blue Jays (local team); loyalty to STL Cardinals (18-year career as MiLB g.m.)

FAVORITE BASEBALL PLAYER & WHY: Rod Carew. Growing up we did not have a MLB team in Canada. For some reason the NBC game of the week in the late 60’s early 70’s seemed to have a lot of Minnesota Twins games. As a young kid who loved baseball I was captivated by Rod Carew’s approach to hitting. He had so many stances for situations and different pitchers unlike any other player. Upon the arrival of the Toronto Blue Jays they immediately became my team. George Bell and Dave Stieb are my all time favorites. Props to Pat Gillick as a baseball GM.

FAVORITE BASEBALL MEMORY: “Touch ‘Em All Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run.” I still get a chill down my back when I watch that shot and Tom Cheek’s call. Memory #1-A: Winning the NY-Penn League championship in 1994 our first year in NJ. I could write a book with everything that happened that season and in my baseball life.

Also, the first MiLB game I attended was an Oneonta Yankees at Batavia Trojans double header in 1982. Starting CF for Oneonta, John Elway. Coincidentally, I’m a Denver Broncos fan.

1ST MLB GAME YOU ATTENDED & WHEN: Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, Veteran Stadium 1975. Home runs by Willie Montanez and Dusty Baker. Rico Carty lined a double off the CF wall. This was part of a baseball trip with our Police Minor Baseball team exchange that we had with a PAL team from Philadelphia.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE WWBA. When I was in high school I worked p/t at a sporting goods store. Jack Grosvenor was an owner and he had a folder with score sheets that he left on the counter. The line ups didn’t make sense to me; Pat Kelly-CF; Joe Morgan-2B, George Scott-1B, etc and the scoring wasn’t anything I had ever seen. He told me about the REPLAY baseball game and league he played in. He later introduced me to Norm Roth the owner of REPLAY and I ultimately joined 3 or 4 head to head leagues at Norm’s home. With that I met Ray Procwat. Ray and I have been friends ever since and played in many hockey and baseball leagues over the decades Years later. Ray introduced me to Ken Hand and told me about an opening in a play by mail league. This was about the same time we were moving to the US. We were living in Glens Falls, NY and made the trek to the league meeting in Cherry Hill, NJ the following season. That was the one where Tony Fata did his classic impersonation of Sid Fernandez and Phil Sarno brought out his Loris Marshall impersonation.

WHAT OTHER LEAGUES DO YOU PLAY IN: CANUSA hockey.

WHAT YOU LIKE /DISLIKE ABOUT DMB: Very pleased with the game. The technology for playing games over the Internet could improve. Ideally would like to see more detail with the auto manager and player manager sections.

OTHER PRO SPORTS YOU ENJOY WATCHING: Hockey-Montreal Canadiens; NFL-Denver Broncos; NBA: Toronto Raptors; PGA Golf.

YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE: Caddyshack; To Sir With Love; A Night At The Opera; Outlaw Josey Wales

THE TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LIKE: I am a music junky and like several genres from rock, punk, r&b, funk, rap, jazz, pop, reggae, opera, polka, c&w, disco and oldies. My favorite: soca, calypso and chutney music.

THE BEST BOOK YOU EVER READ: Chasing The Dream, Joe Torre/Tom Verducci; God Is My Co-Pilot by Col Robert L. Scott (required reading in grade 7 World Politics & Propaganda class)

ANY PERSON LIVING OR DEAD YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET & WHY?: Jesus. Every member of the WWBA (no explanation needed); Moe Norman.

YOUR WORDS TO LIVE BY:

Cream always rises to the top. And so does the scum. – Bobby The Brain Heenan;
Do unto others as you would do unto yourself. – Matthew 7:12