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Hector Epitacio Torres
Houston Astros
Shortstop
Born: September 16, 1945, Monterrey, Mexico
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent, March 25, 1962
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1968-70; Chicago Cubs 1971; Montreal Expos 1972; Houston Astros 1973; San Diego Padres 1975-76; Tortono Blue Jays 1977
Hector Torres was originally drafted by the Giants in 1962 (as a 16-year-old), traded to the Angels in 1966, and traded again to the Astors in 1967. He won the opening day shortstop job for the Astros in 1968, and he'd appear in a career-high 128 games, batting .223 with 11 doubles, a home run and 24 RBIs. Torres was fifth in the league in errors committed at shortstop with 24. He'd bounce around the next five years, spending time with the Cubs, Expos and back with the Astros for part of the 1973 season. After a full season in the minors in 1974, Torres re-emerged with the Padres in 1975, making 90 starts at either shortstop, third base or second base. In his best season in the majors, Torres batted .259 with five home runs and 26 RBIs for the fourth place club. He'd finish up his career with the expansion Blue Jays, as their opening day shortstop in 1977. Torres became the first player to appear with both Canadian-based major league teams, and he hit the first grand slam in Blue Jays history on June 27, 1977 off the Yankees' Ron Guidry.
After a few more years in the minors, Torres retired as a player and began his minor league managerial career. He managed in the Blue Jays' system (1982, 1985-86, 1993), with the Brewers' organization (2003) and in Mexico (2005). Torres was a coach for the Cito Gaston (#304) managed Blue Jays in 1990 and 1991. In his 622 games in the majors, Torres batted .216 with 46 doubles, 18 home runs and 115 RBIs.
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 15th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 15th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $2 after the dealer discount.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The rookie shortstop pool must have been shallow in 1968, as Topps named Torres to its All-Star Rookie team for the year. The cartoon on the back highlights Torres' heroics in the Little League World Series. He starred in the 1958 series as a member of the Monterrey, Mexico Little League team.
Accuracy Index: Torres' card earns a +5.
1969 Season
It would appear as if Torres was hurt for much of the 1969 season, as he played in a combined 63 games with the Astros and the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers. Having lost his starting shortstop job to Denis Menke (#487), Torres played in 34 games for the Astros, batting .159 with two extra-base hits. With the 89ers, he played in 29 games and batted .238.
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First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #526
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1969-72, 1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #988
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 50 in the Beckett online database as of 10/11/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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